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The Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxons. A Brief History. Why’d they come?.

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The Anglo-Saxons

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  1. The Anglo-Saxons A Brief History

  2. Why’d they come? • Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus records the Saxons among the barbarians (along with Picts and Scots) who were harassing the Britons in about AD 365, and the mid-fifth-century Gallic Chronicle mentions another severe raid in 410, and the fall of Britain to the Saxons "after many troubles" in 441.

  3. King Arthur • King Arthur, a legendary king from this period who fought against invasions after the Romans left. His name now tends to be used as a symbol of British resistance against invasion.

  4. Where’d they come from? • They came from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony when the Roman legions left in the 5th century AD. • They didn’t preserve the Roman’s legacy. They replaced their stone buildings with wooden ones.

  5. Religion • From the few surviving records (literacy died when the Romans left), we know that the invaders worshipped warfare and their ancestors. • They brought their own religion, but converted to Christianity when St. Augustine arrived in 597 AD.

  6. Religion • We get our names for the week from their original gods & the Roman’s gods. * = romance languages use a Latin root. • Sun’s day (Latin: dies solis) • Moon’s day (Anglo-Saxon: monandaeg)* • Tyr’s day (Norse god)* • Woden’s day (Norse god) * • Thor’s day (Norse god) * • Frigg’s day (Norse god) * • Saturn’s day (Anglo-Saxon: saterdaeg)

  7. Language • We call the language the Anglo-Saxons spoke “Old English.” It was a Germanic language. Modern English is closely related to modern German. • English/German • house/haus; drink/trinken, here/hier, good/gut, dog/hund, chair/stuhl • swim/schwimmen, swam/schwamm, swum/geschwommen

  8. Language • Modern English: Subject-Verb-Object. Word order is crucial! • Modern German: order doesn’t matter (inflected) • “I threw a horse over the fence some hay.” In German people understand the hay was thrown, not the horse. • Both languages use the Latin alphabet.

  9. Language • Old English: 5th – 11th centuries (what?) • Old/Modern: • abutan/about, ofer/over, rædan/to read, witan/to know, bysig/busy, leoht/light • Middle English: 12th – 15th centuries (what?) • Middle/Modern: • axe/ask, coy/quiet, fay/faith, nas/was not, quod/said, verray/true • Modern English: 15th century – today (understandable)

  10. Old, Middle, & Modern English

  11. History • They ruled England from 410 to 1066. • Period 1: Small tribal groups formed mini-kingdoms. There were four kingdoms by the 9th century, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia & Wessex. • Over time, small kingdoms would fall to larger ones. Pre-Norman England is considered the most organized of western European kingdoms. • Former Celtic tribes that had lived under Roman rule relocated to what is now Wales, Cornwall and Scotland.

  12. History • The shire reeves (sheriffs), with individual reeves looking after each hundred others were in charge of collecting taxes for the King. • Land was the most valuable currency. The king would divide land to his lords, who would divide their land to their warriors and nobles, who would have serfs (normal people) work the land for food and shelter in return for sharing with the owner.

  13. History • Period 2: The Vikings began to invade England. The only English kingdom to survive was Wessex. King Alfred united the Anglo-Saxons against Viking raids. He was England’s first true king.

  14. History • Period 3: Anglo-Saxon rule ended in 1066 when the Normans invaded (Battle of Hastings), although they continued to live in England. • The Normans were Vikings who had settled in the Normandy region of northern France two – three generations earlier. This added many French words to the English language.

  15. How do we know? • The Anglo-Saxons wrote epic poems, hagiographies (bios about saints), sermons, Bible translations, legal words, chronicles, riddles & others. • We have about 400 surviving manuscripts (copies) from this period.

  16. Literature • The most famous poem is Beowulf. • It was written around 700 AD. • The poem is about a knight who sails to Denmark to defeat Grendal, a demon who terrorizes the kingdom.

  17. The Anglo-Saxons A Brief History

  18. Why’d they come? • historian Ammianus Marcellinus records the Saxons among the barbarians (along with Picts and ) who were harassing the Britons in about AD , and the mid-fifth-century Gallic Chronicle mentions another severe raid in 410, and the fall of Britain to the Saxons "after many troubles" in 441.

  19. King Arthur • King Arthur, a legendary king from this period who fought against invasions after the left. His name now tends to be used as a symbol of British resistance against .

  20. Where’d they come from? • They came from the regions of Angeln and Saxony when the Roman legions left in the th century AD. • They didn’t preserve the Roman’s . They replaced their stone buildings with ones.

  21. Religion • From the few surviving records ( died when the Romans left), we know that the invaders worshipped and their . • They brought their own religion, but converted to when St. Augustine arrived in AD.

  22. Religion • We get our names for the week from their original gods & the Roman’s gods. * = romance languages use a Latin root. • Sun’s day (Latin: ) • Moon’s day (Anglo-Saxon: )* • Tyr’s day ( god)* • day (Norse god) * • day (Norse god) * • day (Norse god) * • Saturn’s day (Anglo-Saxon: )

  23. Language • We call the language the Anglo-Saxons spoke “ English.” It was a language. English is closely related to modern . • English/German • /; /, / , good/gut, /, / • / ,/swum/geschwommen

  24. Language • Modern English: --. Word is ! • Modern German: order matter (inflected) • “I threw a over the some .” In German people understand the hay was thrown, not the horse. • Both use the alphabet.

  25. Language • English: th – th centuries (what?) • Old/Modern: • /, /, /to , /to , / , / • English: th – th centuries (what?) • Middle/Modern: • /, /, / , /not, /, / • English: th century – today (understandable)

  26. Old, Middle, & Modern English

  27. History • They ruled England from to . • Period 1: Small groups formed mini-kingdoms. There werekingdoms by the .th century, Northumbria, , East Anglia & Wessex. • Over time, small kingdoms would fall to larger ones. Pre-Norman England is considered the most of western European kingdoms. • Former tribes that had lived under Roman rule relocated to what is now , and .

  28. History • The shire reeves (), with individual reeves looking after each hundred others were in charge of collecting for the . • was the most valuable currency. The king would divide land to his , who would divide their land to their warriors and nobles, who would have (normal people) work the land for food and in return for with the owner.

  29. History • Period 2: The began to invade England. The only English kingdom to survive was . King united the Anglo-Saxons against Viking raids. He was England’s true .

  30. History • Period 3: Anglo-Saxon rule ended in when the Normans invaded (Battle of ), although they continued to live in England. • The Normans were who had settled in the Normandy region of northern two – three earlier. This added many words to the language.

  31. How do we know? • The Anglo-Saxons epic poems, hagiographies (bios about saints), sermons, translations, legal words, chronicles, riddles & others. • We have about surviving manuscripts (copies) from this period.

  32. Literature • The most famous poem is . • It was written around AD. • The poem is about a who sails to to defeat , a demon who terrorizes the kingdom.

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