Early English History

Invasions A. Three Early parts 1. Britons 2. Picts (to the north) 3. Gaels (to the west) B. Romans 1. Contributions – 2. Ruling and leaving – History is shaped through a series of invasions. Originally the country is divided into three sections. The Britons, Picts and Gaels. These groups are later taken over by the Romans. The country was conquered during the expansion of the Roman Empire. They brought many items to improve the country. The Romans will build cities and roads, they will introduce Christianity and this will lead to education. They also provide protection for the people. This was an ideal situation. The Romans brought advances to the country and protected the people, but they ruled very lightly. When the Roman Empire began to fall, Rome will call their troops home and leave the people unprotected.

Invasions cont. C. Germanic Tribes 1. Two Groups - Angles and the Saxons (This is where we get the name England, the country was named Angle-Land) 2. Language – Old English originates from German tribes. D. Vikings 1. Origin – Come from Denmark and Norway 2. Why they settled. – England has a nicer climate, and it is easier to farm. 3. Defeated by…Alfred the Great When the Romans leave the country unprotected they are invaded by German tribes. The two main groups were the Angles and the Saxons. The country was called Angle-Land. This is actually where the name England comes from. We also get our language from the tribes. Old English originates with them. The Germans will later be overthrown by the Vikings. They are primarily from Denmark and Norway. The Vikings would come and pillage the land and leave. Then they began to realize that this new country was much nicer than their own, so they would decide to stay. The climate was better and it was much easier to farm the land. The Vikings will later be defeated by Alfred the Great.

Chieftains 1. Alfred the Great – 2. Edward the Confessor – 3. William the Conqueror a. why he wanted thrown – b. Norman Conquest – c. Battle of Hastings – Alfred the Great was an Anglo-Saxon chieftain. He is able to gather all of the small tribes together into one group. He convinces them that they are stronger together, and as one they are able to defeat the Vikings. Many people believe that he is the inspiration for King Arthur. He is going to encourage cultural development and will commission the writing of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This is going to be the first recorded history of the English people. When Alfred dies, his thrown will be passed on to Edward the Confessor. Edward is very religious and will encourage the spread of Christianity through the country. When he dies, he will have no children which means no one to inherit the thrown. The people in the country decide the thrown should stay at home and will give the kingdom to a local duke. This event causes a war. William the Conqueror feels he has been wronged. He claims he was promised the thrown by Edward, and it is rightfully his. When the thrown goes to someone else, he brings an army from from France to regain what he believes is his. This is known as the Norman Conquest. This will be the last successful invasion of England through modern times. William will win the war at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. This victory marks the end of the Anglo-Saxon time period.

Culture A. Pagan 1. wyrd – 2. weekdays – ex: Thor is Thursday C. Christianity 1. Arrival – brings hope to people 2. Augustine – creates first monastery at Canterbury 3. Monasteries a. Venerable Bede – great monk – write A History of the English Church and People b. education – The Anglo-Saxon culture is going to see a shift with the changing of religion. The majority of people were pagan. They believed in a polytheistic society. The most influential god was Wyrd. Wyrd was the all controlling god of fate. Fate decided everything is their society. Whether or not you were successful in battle was in fate’s hand. This made it easier to send people into battle. Nothing you did was in your own hands. The pagan beliefs is also where we get the names for our days of the week. Thor from Avengers is actually where we get the name for Thursday. They lived a very difficult and violent life that is reflected in their literature. Christianity brings hope to the people. For the first time they have a chance at something better. There is the chance for an after life and something better. Augustine is going to create the first monastery in the country. These will become the centers of learning. People are now able to learn about other places in the world and can learn about other countries. When William the Conqueror invades many of the monasteries will be destroyed.

Literature A. Epic Poems – Beowulf is an epic poem. 1. Qualities – 2. Mead halls and scops – 3. Value – B. Stories 1. oral – 2. manuscripts – Beowulf, the story we are going to read is an epic poem. The Odyssey is another epic poem. The poems speak about ancient warriors and heroic deeds usually done in battle. Many of these poems will be performed in mead halls by scops. The scops were professional story tellers that travelled telling the stories of the time. These stories spread the ideals of the time. They provided instruction on bravery and lessons on morality. The stories were passed down orally. They were memorized by the scops. This means the story was always changing and evolving. Later the stories were told to monks and written down as manuscripts.

Literature cont. C. Christian vs. pagan style 1. Christian – 2. pagan – D. Christian vs. pagan elements in Beowulf 1. Fate vs God 2. 2 reasons – There is a big difference between the Christian and pagan style of writing. Christina stories provide moral instruction. They offer hope in the form of a better afterlife. The pagan stories tend to be darker and more violent. There is also a lack of fear. When everything is out of your control and decided by fate, there is no reason to have any fear because you have no control. We see many of those elements in Beowulf. These elements are often battling for control in Beowulf. Fate is often mentioned as the one who will decide if Beowulf is successful in battle, but then God is often called in to protect them. So why are both religious elements apparent in the story. There are two hypothesis about this. One group believes that as the people evolved and became Christian, that Christian elements were naturally included into the story by the scops. Another theory is that as the monks were writing the story down, they included Christian elements as part of the manuscript.

Medieval Period & the Monarchy A. William the Conqueror—from France/Normandy 1. Brings 2. Ideas 3. Anglo Saxons 4. “divine right” 2. Doomsday Book: 1. Contents 2. Problems 3. Magna Carta: 1. “Great Charter”—signed in 1215 2. What it did - When William the Conqueror wins the Battle of Hastings, we enter into the Medieval period. He brings law and order into the country. He is very organized and brings many of the ideas of Normandy to his new country. He sets up a feudal system similar to the one he left behind. He also brings many of his loyal followers with him and instills them in places of power. This leaves the Anglo-Saxon as serfs, or esentially servants to the outsiders. Once William becomes king, he introduces the idea of divine right. This idea says that kings are chosen by God. It allows them to reign without contest. To go against the monarchy is to go against God. During his rule, William also comissins the writing of the Doomsday Book. This is basically a book of everything in England. It allows William to see everything that belongs to him. It is also a cause of resentment because everything listed had previously belonged to the Anglo-Saxons. The powerful families in England began to be upset with the king’s unlimited power. While King John is in power, a very weak ruler, the nobles take advantage and force him to sign the Magna Carta. This is signed in 1215. This document greatly limited the kings power. This gave many of the king’s powers to the noble families.

Life and Death A. Hundred Year’s War (1337-1453) Black Death Started by Edward III because they were fighting over a region in France called Guienne. England lost all French possessions. Black Death Killed 1/3 of England’s population Allowed for upward mobility Serfs started filling in as workers Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) Fighting for the throne House of York (white rose) House of Lancaster (red rose) Settled with Lancastrian family (Henry Tudor) took the throne in 1485 This also marks the end of the Middle Ages/Medieval Era

Culture Feudal System: 1. Def. 2. Lasted about 300 to 400 years 3. Division of land – King Church Nobles 4. King→Barons→Knights→Serfs B. The Power of the Church: 1. Catholic church didn’t fit in the feudal system 2. Powers 3. Ex-communication The Feudal System was a form of government introduced by William the Conqueror. The king owns everything. He gives lands to the lords that align themselves with him. The lords have power over the land and the people. The king essentailly has ¼ of the land, the church has ¼ of the land and the nobles divide up the rest. The church is able to exist outside of the feudal system. It is able to levy taxes, make its own laws and hold its own court. The church is able to exert the most amount of power. They have the threat of ex-communication if anyone steps out of line. This essentially means you are being sent to Hell.

Literature Geoffrey Chaucer 1. Upbringing – 2. Careers – 3. Writing - B. Anti-Catholic Church 1. Why? 2. The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer is known as the Father of English Literature. He was came from an upper-middle class family. He was very well educated and at different points in his life served as a diplomat and a writer. He wrote in the common tongue. During this period most people were writing in French, and he chose to write in English. He is actually known for making English a respectable language. Chaucer was deeply against the immorality in the Catholic Church. Many of the men in the church were there because they were a later born son. This was an acceptable career option for them, but these young men had no real belief in the church. He found it repulsive that the church and many of its members took money as way to absolve wealthy patrons of their sins. Canterbury Tales was actually written as a satire against the church.

The Canterbury Tales A. Why it made Chaucer famous. B. Format C. About 1. Plot 2. Pilgrimage—a journey that an individual takes 3. Becket—Murdered by Henry II and the Church *Made him a saint, so he became a martyr *Built a shrine for him at Canterbury 4. Martyr—someone who dies for their religious beliefs D. Incomplete The Canterbury Tales are Chaucer’s most well known piece of literature. It was made famous due to his storytelling abilities and his sharp eye for detail. It gives you a strong insight into his sense of humor. The story is set up as a frame tale. This means a story within a story. The story is about a group of travelers that meet up on their way to a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. This is the reason for the title. Chaucer dies before he is able to complete all of the tales. He meant to write 30, but he had only completed 24 upon his death.