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Anglo-Saxon Period

Anglo-Saxon Period. 450-1066. Great Britain (British Literature). England Scotland Wales United Kingdom also includes North Ireland. Invaders to Britain. Iberians Celts Romans Angles Saxons Normans. What do we get from England. English Common Law Language Literature Culture.

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Anglo-Saxon Period

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  1. Anglo-Saxon Period 450-1066

  2. Great Britain (British Literature) • England • Scotland • Wales United Kingdom also includes North Ireland

  3. Invaders to Britain • Iberians • Celts • Romans • Angles • Saxons • Normans

  4. What do we get from England • English Common Law • Language • Literature • Culture

  5. Celts

  6. Celts and Their Religion • Animism • Druids • Stonehenge • Mother Goddess • Harmony is controlled by MG and Great Father

  7. Romans: Great Administrators • From Julius Caesar (55 BC) to Emperor Claudius (1st Century AD) • Organization that protected Britain several hundred years • Pushed war-like tribes to the north and west • CHRISTIANITY—European Missionaries • 410 AD: Problems in Rome and they just left (an infrastructure but no central government)

  8. When the Romans left • Angles • Saxons • Jutes

  9. King Arthur to King Alfred • Invaders after Romans abandoned Britain: • Angles and Saxons (Germany) • Jutes (peninsula of Jutland in Denmark) • Great Struggles • Celts: King Arthur (retreated to Wales)

  10. Anglo-Saxon England • Independent Principalities

  11. King Alfred • 871-899 • Led against Danes • UNIFIED ENGLAND

  12. Anglo-Saxon Religion • German origins • Norse/Scandinavian mythology • Diety: Thunor --“Thor”—Thursday • Mother was god “Earth” • Took many forms • Childbearing and homemaking

  13. Norse god—Odin: Overcame death to learn of great mysteries god of death, poetry, and magic assists humans communicate with spirits “Woden”--Wednesday

  14. Ethics • Main concern with Anglo-Saxon religion • Virtues of: • Bravery • Loyalty • Generosity • Friendship

  15. The Danes (from Denmark) • Vikings (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) • 8th and 9th century • NE & Central England • Danish Law now in place • ‘Danegeld’- payment in exchange for peace

  16. William, Duke of Normandy • Forced the Anglo-Saxons out in 1066 Battle of Hastings October 14, 1066

  17. Reemergence of Christianity • Christianity declined when the Romans left • Irish and Continental Missionaries • St. Augustine converted King Ethelbert of Kent • Not Immediately or Permanently Successful • Ex: King Readwald of East Anglia

  18. Sutton Hoo • Richest burial site ever discovered in Britain, an Anglo-Saxon ship containing the treasure of one of the earliest English Kings - Rædwald, King of East Anglia. Rich in Anglo-Saxon and Christian treasures.

  19. Life in Anglo-Saxon England

  20. VIP’s • Venerable Bede • King Alfred • The Beowulf poet • Caedmon

  21. Law and Order • Warfare was common occurrence • Leaders in any group were responsible for safety • Family • Clan • Tribe • Kingdom

  22. Fame, Success, and Survival were obtained through LOYALTY to the leaders

  23. Beowulf • Defeats monsters who attack King Hrothgar • Loyal Dependence

  24. Bards and Poets in Anglo-Saxon England • Communal Hall • Offered shelter • Public meetings • Entertainment • Bards (scops) were skilled story tellers • Considered very manly • Accompanied by a harp

  25. Narratives • Poems were many times improvisational • Traditional heroic tales • People under the threat of war, disease, old age • Stress the transience of life connected with the cold and darkness of winter • Elegiac strain—mournful • Bards gave hope that heroic deeds would be remembered in the collective memory

  26. Monasteries and Anglo-Saxon Lit. • Centers of faith and learning • Provided cultural and spiritual influence • Monks probably wrote down the bards tales • Tales: Old English • Learning: Latin

  27. Venerable Bede • 673-735 • Greatest Latin writer in Anglo-Saxon England • Ecclesiastical History of the English People • 731 • First major source of early English history

  28. Old English Poetics • Sung or recited aloud • Harp provided a regular rhythm • Old English poets are more concerned with time rather than number of syllables • Beowulf has 4 primary stresses in each line • Uses alliteration frequently “Alliterative poetry”

  29. Poetics, cont’d. • Caesura—rhythmical pause in the middle of a line • Kenning—descriptive compound words • Ex: “sea-stallions” to mean ships • Ready made formulas to describe certain events: greeting a stranger, voyaging on the seas, eating a feast, receiving riches

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