The Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Periods

1. The Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Periods The Middle Ages British Literature 449-1485 Taken from The Longman Anthology of British Literature and *The Language of Literature

2. Geological signs indicate that Paleolithic man arrived some 50,000 years before the ice cap severed Britain from the continent The Celts Approx. 400 BC - The first British people were Celtic people (inhabitors of the British Isles and northern France, also called Brittany)

3. The Celts • The Celts that settled in Ireland formed a distinct culture and eventually colonized in parts of Scotland • the Picts, a pre-Celtic people, also lived there

4. The Invasions • Approx. 1st through 5th centuries – Romans occupied Briton (Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in the 4th century brought Christianity to Briton) • The Picts and Scots were never “Romanized”

5. The Romans* • Introduced cities, fine paved roads, written scholarship, and eventually Christianity. • The “Romanized” Britons became dependent on the Roman military for protection.

6. The Invasions • Early fifth century: Roman armies abandoned Britain to defend the city of Rome, and Britain became the target of invasion. • The Picts and the Scots began to harass the “Briton” Celts

7. The Invasions • Approx 6th and 7th centuries - the Britons invited German allies, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from Europe, to come to their aid • The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes eventually also become oppressors • The Britons resisted (possibly under the leader that later became known as Arthur)

8. Anglo-Saxons • Many of the Briton Celts retreated westward (Wales) • In southern and central Britain, Celtic culture all but disappeared. • Angles and Saxons intermarried and became the Anglo-Saxons

9. Anglo-Saxons* • Anglo-Saxons eventually began calling themselves the British (after the Britons they originally displaced) and even took on the Celtic hero Arthur as their own. • The Angles were dominant in the early history of the Heptarch; therefore, the area of Germanic settlement became known as Angle-land , or England, and the people became known as the English.

10. Anglo-Saxons* • Scholars use the term Anglo-Saxon to refer to this time period in British History.

11. Growth of Christianity* • Despite the collapse of Roman power, Christianity never completely died out in British Isles. • In 597, A Roman Missionary, Augustine, established a monastery at Canterbury. • By 690 most of Britain was Christian.

12. The Vikings • Late 9th century – the Vikings invade (Danish)

13. The Norman Conquest • 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy (France) invades when the Anglo-Saxon king Edward dies and his successor, King Harold, is disputed • Normans (North Men) were originally Vikings that settled in France that eventually accepted French ways • William’s introduction of French practices started the Medieval (middle) period in England

14. The Normans: feudalism • The Normans established the feudal system: • The king kept a fourth of the land, gave a fourth to the church, and parceled the rest out to his barons* • A nobleman (fief) held land from the king and owed the king military and judicial services (including providing knights) • The knights held land from the fief (their lord) and owed him military service and other duties • Serfs (Anglo-Saxons) lived on the land belonging to the knight, took care of it, and owed him agricultural produce and rent (some of which the knight then in turn owed this fief); they were bound to the land on which they were born

15. The Normans: culture • The cultural impact of the Normans was great • The with the Norman conquest also came a strong influence of the intellectual current and the arts of Europe along with frequent travel back and forth • Aristocratic women were educated (at convents), became the focus of much literature, and were central to social rituals like courtly love

16. Celtic Roman Danish German French

17. Henry II & Becket • The Normans also believe that the church and its law should be separate from secular power, causing conflicts between monarchs that wanted to control the clergy • Becket was Henry II best friend and fellow rabble-rouser • Henry II decided to name Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury so than he could have influence over the church • Becket took his new position very seriously and strove to follow God’s will (causing many great conflicts with Henry) • Henry II had Becket killed in 1170 at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral • Becket was quickly canonized (made a saint) and Canterbury became the destination of a regular religious pilgrimage

18. William’s Descendants* • Eleanor of Aquitaine, former French Queen and wife of Henry II, brought ideals of chivalry, code of honor, knightly behavior, and encouraged holy quests • Henry II’s 2 sons: • Richard I (the lionhearted) fought the Crusades in France, where English possessions were threatened. • John—the villain in many Robin Hood legends– plotted against Richard I.

19. John becomes King* • In 1215 John I was forced to sign the Magna Carta (Great Charter) which limited royal authority by granting more power to the barons. • Under Edward I, the House of Commons (commoners) were included in parliament.

20. Return of English • The Normans and Anglo-Saxons began to intermarry, and by the 13th century, English was the official language of discourse

21. The Hundred Year’s War* • War between England and France continued off and on for more than a century… • during which England experienced many domestic crises • Black Death • Peasant’s Revolt • Richard II forced to abdicate

22. The Hundred Year’s War* • These things led to the conflict between the house of York (white rose) and the house of Lancaster (red rose) for the claim of the throne: War of the Roses. • In 1485 Lancaster’s Henry Tudor killed York’s king Richard III, ending the war… • becoming King Henry VII, marking the end of the Middle Ages in England.

23. The Plague • Between 1348 and 1375, the Black Death (plague) struck 4 times and killed nearly half of the population