1. The Anglo-Saxon Period 449-1066
OBJECTIVES:
Identify the characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon Period
Analyze the characteristics to include the history, language and culture

2. Anglo-Saxon Period
Called the “Dark Ages” because Christians and Vikings destroyed most written records
Britons were the original inhabitants
In 5th century, Romans returned home to defend against invaders
Began in 449 when the Jutes, Angles, Saxons settled in Kent
Tribes organized the Heptarchy which eventually became known as Angle-land or England
“Dark Ages” suggests barbarism and ignorance; term is misleading—not as bad as thought; caused by downfall of Roman Empire which rule Britain until 410

4. The Anglo-Saxons
Invaders were seafaring wanderers; lived bleak, violent, short lives
Practiced Paganism; strong belief in Wyrd (Fate)
Admired warriors whose Wyrd it was to prevail in battles
Monasteries were important centers of social, intellectual, and literary life

5. Characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon People
Loyalty to leaders
Courage
Passion for beauty; more artistic than Normans
Democratic tendencies
Boastful

6. Anglo-Saxons (cont.)
Became an agricultural people—less violent, more secure, more civilized
Brought a common language (Old English)
Admired man of outstanding courage, loyalty to tribe, personal valor

7. The Growth of Christianity
Paganism replaced by Christianity by 5th century
One of the most civilizing forces of the sixth century
Never completely died out after Roman departure
Early fifth century – Patrick converted Gaels, Picts and Angles
597, St. Augustine established a monastery at Canterbury in Kent

8. Danish (Viking) Invasions
790s - First objective was to loot monasteries, then to occupy and control northern and eastern England
Stopped in the south by Alfred the Great, king of Wessex
After Alfred’s death in 1016, Canute, a Dane became king of England

9. Danish Invasions (cont.)
Next Ruler - Edward the Confessor; less successful; no heir so he named William, Duke of Normandy his heir
Edward later named Harold, Earl of Wessex
When Edward died in 1066, William and Normans invaded Britain, killing Harold at the Battle of Hastings on Christmas Day

10. Literary History
Literature developed orally in songs and stories told aloud by scops; literature not written until Christian monks began to collect some stories and record them
Favorite literary forms
Upper classes – epic (heroic) and lyric (elegiac) poetry
Lower classes - riddles

11. Anglo-Saxon Poetry
Strong beat and alliteration (helped with memorization)
Unrhymed with four heavy syllables
Kennings
Christian belief eventually replaced pagan ones.
3. Clergy wrote poems down in Latin, language of the church. Anything they weren’t comfortable with, they replaced with their own beliefs.

12. Literary History
Venerable Bede - Father of English History; wrote Ecclesiastical History
2. Alfred the Great - Promoted use of written English promoted Anglo-Saxon Chronicle-first historical record in English
3. Exeter Book – manuscript of Anglo-Saxon lyrics

13. Origins of Old English Language
Mother language of English was Indo-European
Language spoken by original inhabitants was a dialect of Low German
Romans conquered Britain and added Latin; church officials continued to add it
Some Greek words added by Romans and monks

14. Origins of Old English Language (cont.)
Angles and Saxons added their German dialect, Anglo-Saxon
Vikings invaded in ninth and eleventh centuries and added Old Norse
English alphabet is Latin alphabet; runes were a crude Anglo-Saxon alphabet consisted of word pictures instead of sounds, but very few people understood them

15. Beowulf Most famous Anglo-Saxon poem
Epic-a long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero; reflects the values of his society
English poem, but takes place in Scandinavia among Danes
Written about the 8th Century

16. Beowulf (cont.) 3000 lines long
Poem mainly about 3 events – 3 battles about man vs. forces of evil
Contrast of Christianity and paganism – poet was Christian, but characters were not