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The Anglo-Saxon Period

The Anglo-Saxon Period. A.D. 449 - 1066. Background Information. For almost 30 years the Romans ruled Britain (55 BC – 409 AD) In A.D. 410, Rome fell . All Roman authorities returned to Rome to try to save it.

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The Anglo-Saxon Period

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  1. The Anglo-Saxon Period A.D. 449 - 1066

  2. Background Information • For almost 30 years the Romans ruled Britain (55 BC – 409 AD) • In A.D. 410, Rome fell. All Roman authorities returned to Rome to try to save it. • For 600 yrs. Britain was left open to continual invasions from neighboring tribes. Each left its mark on Britain’s political system, culture, language and literature.

  3. The Anglo-Saxon Period: A.D. 449 - 1066 • 3 Germanic tribes: the Jutes, the Angles, & the Saxons moved in & overpowered the island of Britain. It became known as the “angle-land”. • By A.D. 600, the Anglo-Saxons controlled most of Britain. • Their harsh guttural language - Old English – became the language of the people.

  4. Immediate concern = daily living Strength, courage, & weapons to stay alive were the most important assets to possess. Ideal man in the Germanic tribe = warrior (Beowulf – “Death is better for every earl Than life besmirched with the brand of shame!”) King in peace = shepherd of his people – gave them shelter, food & drink in his hall – their “ring-giver”.

  5. Had a king, but ruled by witan (wise men) or witanagement (council of wise men) -- early approach to Anglo-Saxon parliament. Men divided their time between farming & fighting Women were only for domestic purposes & marriageable commodities

  6. Woden ~ war god (Wednesday) Thor ~ god of thunder (Thursday) Frea ~ god of peace (Friday) Wyrd ~ goddess of fate Valhalla ~ home of slain warriors Asgard ~ home of the gods Hel ~ where dead women & children went Main Gods ~ Germanic Pagan ones before A.D. 597

  7. 3 Basic Principles of Language • It’s arbitrary, symbolic, & changing. • Old English 500 – 1100 (heavily inflected) • Middle English 1100 – 1500 (weakening inflection) • Modern English 1500 – present (loss of inflection) • Inflectional endings showed gender, tense, & also parts of speech

  8. Literature • Reflects humorless attitude of the Germanic tribes & the harshness of their lives. • The church affected the AS literature because priests were the learned men & they wrote these tales down. Literature thus came through a Christian filter. May have altered them to make them more “Christian”.

  9. Their literature was passed on orally A scop or singer would tell stories about the adventures of tribal heroes BEOWULF is an example of one of these

  10. The stories illustrated the following: 1. The values of the people 2. Fierce loyalty to kings 3. Obedience to tribal laws 4. Admiration for strength and cleverness in battle

  11. Most of the literature reflected the pagan beliefs, but some of the early poems showed a strong Christian influence. 2 types of epics: Folk: author unknown Art: known author

  12. Influence of Christianity • Monks copied down much of the oral literature from earlier & they added the Christian themes that appear today. • 597 St. Augustine (1st Archbishop of Canterbury) established a monastery at Canterbury in the kingdom of Kent. • Christianity spread rapidly – by 690 all of Britain was at least nominally Christian.

  13. 664 Council of Whitley united church in England w/church in Rome. Theodore of Tarsus was named Archbishop of Canterbury & became supreme seat of church in England.

  14. Britain exchanges controlling hands many times: • A.D. 787 Viking warriors from Denmark destroyed the monasteries & the literature. • A.D. 886 King Alfred the Great defeated the Vikings: unifying the AS against the Danes; he also encouraged the rebirth of writing. • A.D. 1016 the Danes (from Denmark) re-conquered Britain. • A.D. 1066 William the Conqueror defeated the Danes.

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