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Geography

Great Britain: the Anglo-Saxons Literature and History Created by Mrs. Casey Moore Goshen High School. Geography. Great Britain is an island including England, Scotland, and Wales. The United Kingdom, the modern nation, includes Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the British Isles.

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Geography

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  1. Great Britain: the Anglo-Saxons Literature and HistoryCreated by Mrs. Casey MooreGoshen High School

  2. Geography • Great Britain is an island including England, Scotland, and Wales. • The United Kingdom, the modern nation, includes Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the British Isles.

  3. Why should we study British history and literature? • The United States was under British rule until 1776. • The language and literature of our country is based on the English language and writing style of Great Britain. • The British Parliamentary Government and the emphasis placed by the British on individual rights and freedom is the base for our government.

  4. Great Britain has been invaded many times: Each invader changed the culture and language of Britain. • The invaders include: • The ancient Iberians • The Celts • The Romans • The Angles and Saxons • The Vikings • The Normans Have you ever heard of any of these words or civilizations before? Discussion

  5. The Celts “All the Britons dye their bodies with woad, which produces a blue color, and this gives them a more terrifying appearance in battle. They wear their hair long, and shave their whole of their bodies except their head and upper lift.” – Julius Caesar • Why would you name a basketball team after the Celts?

  6. The Celts • The Brythons (Britons) were a group of Celts whose name is the origin of Britain • The Celts believed that there were spirits everywhere. The Druids, priests, conducted dances and even human sacrifices to keep the gods happy. Built in three stages between 3100 and 1100 BC. Some of the pillars, which weigh up to four tons (the same amount as 2 F150 Ford Trucks), are made of stone which is believed to have been transported 240 miles from Wales.

  7. King Arthur- A Celtic Legend What do you know about King Arthur?

  8. King Arthur- A Celtic Legend • The legend of King Arthur was compiled by Sir Thomas Malory in the fifteenth century. • The legends originated with the Celts. • King Arthur became the embodiment of British values. • King Arthur was a chivalrous king and warrior. Chivalrous- relating to the code of knighthood; reflecting the values of courtesy, self-sacrifice, and a sense of fair play

  9. Celtic Legends v. Anglo-Saxon Legends • Celtic legends are full of strong women • Celtic legends contain fairies, good folk, wee people, magic, and love • Anglo-Saxon legends are male dominated • Anglo Saxon legends are usually darker

  10. The Romans • Julius Caesar began the Roman invasion of Great Britain in 55 B.C. Emperor Claudius finally conquered Great Britain 100 years later. • The Romans established Christianity. • After several hundred years, the Romans evacuated their troops from Britain due to troubles at home, and the Anglo-Saxons invaded. (Otherwise we might be speaking Italian)

  11. The Anglo-Saxon Invasion • In the middle of the fifth century (400 A.D. to 500 A.D.), the Angles and Saxons from Germany and the Jutes from Denmark, crossed the North Sea and invaded Great Britain. (The Anglo-Saxons were not defeated until 1066 by William, duke of Normandy) • The Anglo-Saxons drove out the Celts and their language became dominant.

  12. Alfred the Great • King Alfred of Wessex (871-899) unified the nation in order to protect their land from the Danes.

  13. Alfred the Great • King Alfred was a scholar and patron of learning. • At the time of King Alfred, Latin was the key to literature and Christianity. Latin was almost completely unknown in England. • Alfred gathered scholars from across the continent and had them teach Latin as well as translate classics into the Anglo-Saxon language. in principio creavit Deus caelumet terram In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth

  14. Christianity and the Anglo-Saxons • Christianity began to reemerge in Britian during the time of King Alfred. • Christianity helped to unite the people because it gave them common morals and faith. • Christianity also linked England to the rest of Europe.

  15. Life as an Anglo-Saxon • The Anglo-Saxons lived close to their animals in small wooden buildings surrounding a warm, fire-lit chieftain’s hall • The Warm Hall was important because it allowed the Anglo-Saxons to participate in community discussions and rule by consensus

  16. Life as an Anglo Saxon • The Anglo-Saxons were NOTbarbarians • The Anglo-Saxons did NOT lead luxurious lives • The Anglo-Saxons did NOT spend time on learning and arts • The Anglo-Saxons DID bury their dead in ships • The Anglo-Saxons DID gain fame, success, and gifts by showing loyalty to their leaders • The Anglo-Saxons DID think creating poetry was just as important as war Barbarian – lacking refinement, learning, or literary or artistic culture

  17. Life as an Anglo-Saxon: Bizarre Obligation • The Chieftain and his followers were bound until death. • If the Lord was killed, his warriors had to: • Avenge his death OR • Die beside him in battle

  18. Life as an Anglo-Saxon Woman • Although the Anglo-Saxon’s put much emphasis on warfare, their women had many rights. • Women could inherit and own property. • Men had to offer women a financial gift during a proposal. The woman, not her family, had control over this gift.

  19. Anglo-Saxon Religion • Despite the influence of Christianity, the belief in Anglo-Saxon war gods still existed.

  20. I’m a Voki Anglo-Saxon Religion - Beliefs • Odin – the god of poetry and death • The Anglo-Saxons called this god Woden • Thor – the god of thunder and lightning • The Anglo-Saxons called this god Thunor • Fatalism- they did not believe strongly in an after-life; instead, they believed fame survived death and put emphasis on heroic action • Wyrd – fate • The dragon- common figure in Anglo-Saxon mythology. Usually the dragon is the protector of some great treasure.

  21. The Bards • Skilled storytellers, or bards, sang stories of gods and heroes in the Anglo-Saxon communal halls. • The Anglo-Saxons called these bards scops. • To the Anglo-Saxons, creating poetry was just as important as fighting, hunting, or farming. • The poets sang to the strum of a harp.

  22. St. Patrick • In 432, the whole of Celtic Ireland was converted to Christianity by a Romanized Briton, Patricius. • Patrick was taken to Ireland as a teenager to be a slave. • He escaped captivity after six years and returned to Ireland to convert his former captors. • He used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity

  23. St. Patrick, King Alfred, Monks, Beowulf, and the ENGLISH LANGUAGE • Irish monks founded many monasteries that became sanctuaries for scholars from England. • Monks spent hours copying manuscripts by hand. • Monks preserved not only the classic Latin and Greek works but also popular literature like Beowulf. • King Alfred encouraged the efforts of translation into English which preserved Old English and made it be recognized around the world.

  24. picture this… Close your eyes and • A monk sits hunched over a sheepskin paper in the freezing cold winter of the British Isles. He is shivering and pressing a quill pen to the paper quickly in order to avoid the ink freezing. He is obeying a rule of silence. His job is to copy the entirety of Beowulf.

  25. Beowulf is… • the first great work of the English national literature • an oral epic • approximately 3200 lines (short compared to the 15000 line epics of Homer) • a composition in Old English • based on early folk legends from the Celtics • likely to have been first composed by a poet in a monastery who added Christian elements • an archetypal tale of monsters, god-fashioned weapons, descents to the underworld, fights with dragons, heroes and quests, and a community threatened by evil • a text from the year 1000 that survived being burned in Henry VIII’s destruction of the monasteries in the 800s

  26. Characteristics of an Epic • The hero is a great leader who is identified strongly with a particular people or society • The setting is broad and often includes supernatural realms, especially the land of the dead • The hero does great deeds in battle or undertakes an extraordinary journey or quest • Sometimes gods or other supernatural or fantastic beings take part in the action • The story is told in heightened language

  27. People, Monsters, and Places • Beowulf- a Geat, son of Edgethoand nephew of Higlac, king of the Geats • Grendel- man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake • Herot- golden guest hall built by King Hrothgar, the Danish ruler • Hrothgar- king of the Danes, builder of Herot. He had once befriended Beowulf’s father. • Wiglaf- a Geat warrior, one of Beowulf’s select band and the only one to help him in his final fight

  28. A Reading of the Old English Beowulf • http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/Beowulf.Readings/mp3/beo01p.mp3 HWÆT, WE GAR-DEna in geardagum, þeodcyningaþrymgefrunon, huðaæþelingasellenfremedon! oft ScyldScefingsceaþenaþreatum

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