Anglo-Saxon Introduction

August 28, 2013

Anglo-Saxon Timeline 449-1066

•  300 B.C.-Celts in Britain

•  55 B.C.-A.D. 409-Roman Invasion

•  A.D. 449-Anglo-Saxon Invasion

•  A.D. 400-699-Spread of Christianity

•  A.D. 878-King Alfred against the Danes

•  A.D. 1066-Norman Invasion

The Celts Before and During the 4th Century B.C.

•  Britain was the home to many Celt Tribes

•  King Arthur-was a famous Celtic King

•  Celtic Religion-a form of animism, which is a belief that gods/spirits controlled all aspects of life and could take the form of trees, rivers fire, thunder, etc.

Roman Invasion

•  55 B.C.-Julius Ceasar invades Britain

•  A.D. 43-Celts defeated by Claudius-Romans build walls, villas, baths, roads, etc.

•  A.D. 409-Romans evacuate their troops

•  Britain is vulnerable to attack

•  The central government breaks down

Hadrian’s Wall

•  It was built by the Roman emperor, Hadrian, to protect the Romans from the Celts.

•  The wall was built all the way across northern England to protect the Romans from the celtic tribes in the north.

•  The Romans ruled ended because Italy was invaded and they were called home.

The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

The Anglo-Saxons •  They were the new settlers.

•  They are were a mixture of people from Germany, Denmark, and northern Holland.

•  The countries they came from were the Saxons, Franks, and Frisians were the German-Dutch, the Angles were southern Danish, and the Jutes were northern Danish.

A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons pushed the Celts into the far west country

The Anglo-Saxon Tribes Three Tribes

•  The Anglo-Saxons were made up of three tribes:

•  Angles-Southern Danish

•  Saxons-German-Dutch

•  Jutes-Northern Danish

Anglo-Saxon Society

•  Warrior-based society, led by a strong warrior chief.

•  “Warfare was the order of the day” (between clans, tribes, and outside invaders)

•  Anglo-Saxon life was dominated by the need to protect the clan and home from enemies.

•  Fame and success were achieved through loyalty to a leader and success was measured by gifts received from leaders

•  English emerged as a language.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Women in the Anglo-Saxon Society

•  The women in the Anglo-Saxon society had rights.

•  They inherited and held property (even when married) and were offered substantial gifts of money and land from prospective husbands.

Anglo-Saxon Women

Anglo-Saxon Life

•  After their arrival many stayed away from Roman towns

•  They preferred to live in small villages

•  Some Saxons built wooden houses inside the walls of Roman towns

•  English emerged as a written language

The Anglo-Saxon Religion

•  They were pagan, they believed in many gods.

•  It offered no hope of afterlife…..only fame offered immortality and provided a defense against death

•  It valued the concept of the “Heroic Ideal”…..earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship.

•  They were superstitious. They believed in lucky charms. They thought magic rhymes, potions, stones or jewels would protect them from evil spirits or sickness.

Anglo-Saxon’s Scops Why were they important?

•  The Anglo-Saxons had “scops”, they were skilled storytellers.

•  They sang of heroic deeds and were regarded as equal to warriors.

•  The Anglo-Saxons valued storytelling as equal to fighting, hunting, and farming.

•  Anglo-Saxons did not believe in the afterlife

•  They believed that warriors gain immortality through songs preserved in collective memory

King Alfred the Great against the Danes

•  Between the 9th and 12th centuries the Vikings, called the Danes, invade Britain

•  They came from the European mainland: Denmark, Southern Norway, and Southern Sweden

•  871 Alfred of Wessex becomes king of England

•  878 King Alfred unifies the Anglo-Saxons against the Danes.

•  England becomes a nation.

•  Alfred was also known for reviving an interest in learning the English language.

The Spread of Christianity

•  Around A.D. 400 Christian monks settled in Britain

•  Christianity and Anglo-Saxon culture co-exist

•  By A.D. 699 British pagan religion is replaced by Christianity

Christianity and Literature

•  The church brought education and written literature to England.

•  Monks established churches, monasteries, and libraries.

•  Monks recorded and duplicated illuminated manuscripts, at first only written in Latin.

•  Oral literature was transcribed into written form.

•  Monks preserved not only Latin and Greek classics but also popular literature (Beowulf).

The Norman Invasion 1066

•  William of Normandy (first Norman King of England) crosses the English Channel

•  William defeats Harold and the Anglo-Saxon army

•  French replaces English as the language of the ruling class

The End