1. Introduction to British Literature
Anglo Saxon and Medieval Period

2. Conquest of Britain Beginning as far back as 800 B.c.
Britons and Gaels invaded British Isles first
Romans, led by Julius Caesar, came next and their rule lasted more than 300 years
Anglo-Saxon invaders came from what is presently Germany
All of these invasions led to making Great Britain was it was (and its literature reflective of these diverse groups)

3. Coming of Christianity
Romans introduced Christianity to Britain
Continued with the establishment of monasteries from the 4th through the 6th centuries
The Church promoted peace and helped unify the English people during these times of war and invasions

4. Danish Invasion
Viking invaders plundered monasteries and destroyed religious objects as a result of their own rising populations in Norway and Denmark
King Alfred the Great tried to fight off the encroachment
The outcome left England divided but named Alfred a great hero in his attempts to preserve England as it was before the Danish invasion

5. Norman Conquest
Descendents of the Vikings who invaded France and southern England
William of Normandy suppressed Anglo-Saxon nobility and controlled government and business by conducting it in French
Led to remaking England into a feudal system

6. Feudalism By definition, the exchange of property for personal service
Land all belonged to the king
Barons—land-owners with special privileges
Knights—professional soldiers
Manors—small parcels of land
Serfs—peasant s who worked at the manors

7. Henry II and Thomas Becket
Henry became one of England’s ables kings after Norman rule fell
Appointed his friend, Thomas Becket, as archbishop of Canterbury
Becket went against Henry and sided with the pope in a legal matter
Henry’s supporters misunderstood his wrath and murdered Becket
Becket’s tomb became a shrine at Canterbury

8. Anglo-Saxon Period
T he Old English Period or the Anglo-Saxon Period refers to the literature produced from the invasion of Celtic England by Germanic tribes in the first half of the fifth century to the conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror.

9. Medieval
The Middle English Period consists of the literature produced in the four and a half centuries between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and about 1500, when the standard literary language, derived from the dialect of the London area, became recognizable as "modern English."

10. Anglo Saxon Period ( )
Most of the storytelling in this time period was of the oral tradition.  There are few written manuscripts that still survive.  The major themes of this time were
praise of heroes who triumph in battle
religious/moral instruction. 
The predominant genre in this time period was epic poetry.

11. Anglo-Saxon Poetry Heroic Poetry—recounts achievements of warriors
Elegiac Poetry—laments the loss of loved ones or the past
Representative Works
Beowulf (epic, or long heroic poem)
The Wanderer (famous elegiac poem)

12. Anglo-Saxon Prose
All important prose writing was composed in Latin prior to the reign of Alfred the Great
Prose: The Venerable Bede’s History of the English Church and Its People

13. Medieval Period ( )
This was the time of knights and their ladies
The chivalric code of honor was very important to literature of this time, and romances became popular. 
Religion was still a major reason for literature, as well, and plays that instructed the illiterate masses in moral codes, called morality plays, were produced. 
One of the major genres of this period was the folk ballad.
Poem: Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

14. Romances, Lyrics, and Ballads
Medieval Romances described adventures of knights such as Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
Poets strummed harp-like instruments called lyres as they recited their work; lyric poetry evolved from this
Secular Lyrics—about nature and love
Religious lyrics—about God
Ballads—folk songs that tell a story such as Robin Hood