Irish and the Anglo- Saxons Abby, Molly, and Teddy Main Idea: Focuses on what Irish life was like after the Anglo-Saxons drove most of the Celts from Britain.

The Beginning of Ireland  never became a part of Charlemagne’s empire  Influenced by the Romans  Julius Caesar and his legions invaded Britain in 55 B.C.-ruled for 400 years  Angles, Saxons, and Jutes united and made Anglo-Saxons

Where They Were  Anglo-Saxons lived in England with the Celts  Irish lived in Ireland  Farther in the Atlantic Ocean than Britain  Isolated and free of Germanic invasions

Spread of Christianity  St. Patrick spread Christianity.  The pope had no influence on the Romans so they turned to the head of the clans.  Monasteries… -became center of Irish life -not accessible-they were on rocky coasts or steep hills -took care of their own affairs because of poor transportation and communication

Daily Life  Had no cities-they were divided into clans and lived in villages  Most were farmers and raised cattle  Used coracles for trade, travel and fishing  Also seafaring people  Had peace and safety

Monks and St. Columba  Rituals were not the same as the Romans  Had a lot of freedom  Set up schools to teach Christianity  Some became missionaries  St. Columba… -best known monk -did much missionary work -set up a monastery in Iona -he did missionary work there with many other non- Christian Celts -went to preach to Anglo-Saxons -set up Churches and monasteries in northern England

Section 2:Christianity Main Idea: shows the spread of Christianity in Ireland and England and how the Anglo-Saxons united with Alfred the Great and what life was like for the towns of Anglo-Saxon England

Christianity and Culture  Ireland was Christian  Anglo-Saxons weren’t  Pope Gregory I decided to convert Anglo-Saxons into Christians  King Ethelbert became Christian and allowed Augustine to build a Church in Canterbury  By 700 A.D. all of England was Christian  Although they accepted Christianity, they still told legends to keep much of their old culture  Bede(a great scholar) wrote the first history of English people and brought England the first way of dating events from Jesus’ birth.  Tales, stories, and historical events were said orally and they were sung or recited.  Their literature reflected the lives of the people and their culture.

Alfred the Great  In 835 A.D. bands of Danes began attacking the coast of England  They chose Alfred, king of Wessex, to lead them in resisting the Danes  Alfred paid the Danes each year to leave them alone while he built a stronger army  When he thought his army was strong enough, he stopped making payments  Danes defeated Anglo-Saxons  Next year, Anglo- Saxons defeated Danes  Constructed fortresses throughout England & became king of England  Signed a treaty with the Danes, which gave them the northern part of England (became known as Danelaw)

Government  Centered on the king, elected by council of lords  King directed central government, which was too weak to govern whole country  England was divided into districts called shires, run by a sheriff  Whatever area the king’s royal household was in was under the king’s peace or royal protection  King’s peace spread throughout the kingdom which helped unite Anglo-Saxon England  Witenagemot-group of nobles and church leaders who approved king’s laws, discussed problems, and acted as a court  each member was called a witan, or wise man

2 Social Classes