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Anglo-Saxon Period

Anglo-Saxon Period. “Anglo-Saxon England was born of warfare, remained forever a military society, and came to its end in battle.” - J. R. Lander.

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Anglo-Saxon Period

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  1. Anglo-Saxon Period “Anglo-Saxon England was born of warfare, remained forever a military society, and came to its end in battle.” - J. R. Lander In a society dominated by aggression, what would you expect to be the Anglo-Saxon attitude toward family life, the role of women, art, literature, ethics and work?

  2. Middle Ages 449-1485 • The Anglo-Saxon Period 449-1066 • The Medieval Period 1066-1485

  3. The Anglo-Saxons: 449–1066 Choose a link on the time line to go to a milestone. A.D. 1066 Norman Invasion 300s B.C. Celts in Britain A.D. 449 Anglo-Saxon Invasion 55 B.C–A.D.409 Roman Occupation A.D.878 King Alfred against the Danes A.D. 1 A.D. 300 A.D. 900 A.D. 1200 300 B.C. A.D. 600 A.D. 400–699 Spread of Christianity

  4. The Middle Ages 449-1485 Characteristics of the period • Enormous upheaval and change in England • Reigns of some of the most famous and infamous kings • Time of disastrous wars, both internal and external • Time of foreign invasion • Time of painful reconsolidation and emergence of England as nation

  5. The Anglo-Saxon Invasion Anglo-Saxon Society • kinship groups led by strong warrior chief • people farmed, established local governments, produced fine craftwork • English emerged as a written language

  6. Norse god Anglo-Saxon god Day of week Odin Woden Thor Thunor The Anglo-Saxon Invasion The Anglo-Saxon religion • offered no hope of an afterlife • valued earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship • similar to what we call Norse mythology Wednesday Thursday

  7. The Anglo-Saxon Invasion The Anglo-Saxon poets • called scops • strummed harp as they sang • sang of heroic deeds • were often warriors Why were the scops important? • Anglo-Saxons did not believe in afterlife • warriors gained immortality through songs Anglo-Saxon harp

  8. The Spread of Christianity Around A.D. 400 • Christian monks settle in Britain • Christianity and Anglo-Saxon culture co-exist By A.D. 699 • British pagan religions replaced by Christianity

  9. The Norman Invasion 1066 • William of Normandy crosses the English Channel • William defeats Harold and Anglo-Saxon army • French replaces English as the language of the ruling class The Norman Invasion, Bayeux Tapestry

  10. Anglo-Saxon Literature • Oral tradition – poems and song committed to memory and performed by scops, bards, gleemen, or minstrels • With coming of Christian Church, written literature began to evolve • Two important traditions in literature heroic tradition – celebrates heroes elegiac tradition – passing of earlier, better times

  11. Anglo-Saxon Literature • Beowulf – one of few pieces that survived. Priests and monks were the only ones who could write; stories survival depended upon them. The church was not too eager to preserve literature that was pagan in nature, so historians believe they either ignored it or changed it. This may account for the mixture of Christian and pagan elements in Beowulf.

  12. Characteristics of Epic Hero • Is significant and glorified • Is on a quest • Has superior or superhuman strength, intelligence, and/or courage • Is ethical • Risks death for glory or for the greater good of society • Performs brave deeds • Is a strong and responsible leader • Reflects the ideals of a particular society

  13. Old English Poetics • Alliteration – repetition of consonant and vowel sounds at the beginning of words • Caesura – a natural pause or break in the middle of the line of poetry and joined by the use of a repeated vowel or consonant sound Out of the marsh // from the foot of misty Hills and bogs // bearing God’s hatred Grendel came // hoping to kill Anyone he could trap // on this trip to high Herot

  14. Old English Poetics • Kennings – a metaphorical phrase used to replace a concrete noun. Ready made descriptive compound words that evoke vivid images. • Kennings are formed by prepositional phrases, possessive phrases, and compound words. Preposition phrase – Giver of knowledge Possessive phrase – mankind’s enemy Compound word – sea path

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