55 BC Julius Caesar invades Britain Bringing “stone roads, written scholarship, and eventually...
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Transcript of 55 BC Julius Caesar invades Britain Bringing “stone roads, written scholarship, and eventually...
The Anglo –Saxon Period
449-1066
Historical Background Pre-Anglo Period- up to 55 BC-Britons, or Celtic people, relied on the oral tradition to maintain history, etc.
-Animism – Celtic religion; belief that spirit is in ALL thingsDruid- Priest that linked Celts to gods
• Stonehenge is believed to have been built during this pre-Anglo period.
The Saxon “henge” means hang… Stonehenge= Hanging stone
55 BC
• Julius Caesar invades Britain• Bringing “stone roads, written scholarship, and
eventually Christianity.”• Celts were taught Latin
• Rome was overrun by invading tribes• Roman Empire Falls• Britain open to Anglo invasion
449
• Northern European Tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) invade Britain
• Organized into 7 kingdoms – Heptarchy (Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex and Kent)
• Britain became known as Angle land-England• Welsh leader Arthur led Celtic resistance
400Anglo-Saxon Invasion
•Society was centered around clans, ruled by chieftains
•Primarily pagan with focus on wyrd (fate); warrior gods
•Mostly violent seafaring wanderers
•Anglo-Saxon warriors gathered in Mead Halls to hear tales of battle by Scops (shopes)
•Over time they became semi-civilized, agricultural
•Christianity was still being practiced in Ireland; slowly moved through Britain by 690
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD449-1066
•Language was influenced by heavy dialect of varying tribes
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD449-1066
The History of English in Ten Minutes
GENRE- EPICCHARACTERISTICS•Long, narrative poem celebrating a hero’s deeds including the following elements• hero of noble birth or importance• hero’s traits reflect his society• hero who performs superhuman deeds• hero’s actions determine fate of the nation• vast setting• formal diction and serious tone• includes long speeches by major characters • elements of the supernatural• reflects timeless values: courage, loyalty• reflects timeless themes: good over evil
THE EPIC-CHARACTERISTICS •Repetition• Stock epithets - compound adjectives that are
used to point out traits “swift-footed”
• Kennings – similar to epithets; descriptive PHRASES or COMPOUND WORDS that are used in place of a noun
• Alliteration – repetition of initial consonant sounds
• Parallelism – repetition of grammatical structures
WHY DO YOU THINK REPETITION PLAYED SUCH A MAJOR ROLE IN THE EPIC?
THE OLDEST BRITISH EPIC - BEOWULF •Anonymous author: the Beowulf Poet
•Composed probably four centuries prior to Norman conquest
•Not written down until A.D. 1000
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR464WBmA2s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUv-cF_Oscw&feature=related
http://www.beowulftranslations.net/benslade.shtml
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/beowulf-oe.html
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio.htm
OTHER INVADERS•The Danes – Vikings (Norwegians and Swedes) attacked but were defeated by Alfred the Great who forced Christianity on them
•Norman Invasion – William (the Conqueror) led Normandy to successfully invade Britain
--The Norman Invasion marked serious changes in the English language due to the heavy influence of French dialect
•http://www.youtube.com/course?list=ECA03075BAD88B909E
HISTORICAL INFORMATIONTHE MIDDLE AGES – 1066 - 1485
•Begins with Battle of Hastings• Duke of Normandy (William) defeated and killed
King Harold (last Anglo Saxon King); battle begins the Norman Conquest
•Norman Conquest Outcomes• William controls England• Anglo Saxon language is influenced by French
and becomes Anglo Norman (Middle English)• French law and order impacts Anglos democratic
ways• Domesday Book – William inventories all personal
property• Feudalism – Lord (protector); Serf/Vassal
(worker/slave)
THE MIDDLE AGES•Magna Carta ended the church’s domination of England
•Hundred Years War – England fought France from 1337-1453; Yeomen replaced knights
•Black Death (1348) – Plague that eventually claimed about 75% of the population
HISTORICAL INFORMATIONTHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)•Written by Chaucer; about a religious pilgrimage to Thomas a Becket’s shrine in Canterbury; Thomas a Becket – archbishop of Canterbury was murdered in his cathedral; King Henry II thought responsible
GEOFFREY CHAUCER•England’s first great writer
•Born into middle class between 1340-1343
•Career in government; fought in the 100 Years War
•Writing helped him advance politically; writing popular due to his use of vernacular
•Influenced by Boccaccio’s Decameron
•Died in 1400; buried in Westminster Abbey
•Canterbury Tales unfinished; not organized until 1387
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GENRETHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)
•Considered a quest narrative ( narrative poem involving a quest)
•Written in IAMBIC PENTAMETER (unstressed syllable followed by stressed); five feet
PLOT INFORMATIONTHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)
•Frame of snapshots of life in Middle Ages
•Begins with Prologue and is told by a poet-pilgrim (Chaucer)
•Poet-pilgrim meets 29 other pilgrims along way to Canterbury and decide to share stories
•Setting: April in Tabard Inn (London)
AUTHOR’S STYLETHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)
•Strong Characterization; Chaucer’s characters fall into 3 categories: Feudal, Church, and Merchant/Professional
•Interesting use of Tone
•Humorous use of Irony
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/gp/
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/index.htmlhttp://www.luminarium.org/medlit/gp.htm
The Pardoner’s Tale Rap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnVLLQna1-c