The Anglo-SaxonsA Brief History

Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus records the Saxons among the barbarians (along with Picts and Scots) who were harassing the Britons in about AD 365, and the mid-fifth-century Gallic Chronicle mentions another severe raid in 410, and the fall of Britain to the Saxons "after many troubles" in 441.

Why’d they come?

King Arthur, a legendary king from this period who fought against invasions after the Romans left. His name now tends to be used as a symbol of British resistance against invasion.

King Arthur

They came from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony when the Roman legions left in the 5th century AD.

They didn’t preserve the Roman’s legacy. They replaced their stone buildings with wooden ones.

Where’d they come from?

From the few surviving records (literacy died when the Romans left), we know that the invaders worshipped warfare and their ancestors.

They brought their own religion, but converted to Christianity when St. Augustine arrived in 597 AD.

Religion

We get our names for the week from their original gods & the Roman’s gods. * = romance languages use a Latin root.◦ Sun’s day (Latin: dies solis)◦ Moon’s day (Anglo-Saxon: monandaeg)*◦ Tyr’s day (Norse god)*◦ Woden’s day (Norse god) *◦ Thor’s day (Norse god) *◦ Frigg’s day (Norse god) *◦ Saturn’s day (Anglo-Saxon: sater daeg)

Religion

We call the language the Anglo-Saxons spoke “Old English.” It was a Germanic language. Modern English is closely related to modern German.

English/German◦ house/haus; drink/trinken, here/hier, good/gut, dog/hund,

chair/stuhl◦ swim/schwimmen, swam/schwamm, swum/geschwommen

Language

Modern English: Subject-Verb-Object. Word order is crucial!

Modern German: order doesn’t matter (inflected)◦ “I threw a horse over the fence some hay.” In German people

understand the hay was thrown, not the horse. Both languages use the Latin alphabet.

Language

Old English: 5th – 11th centuries (what?)◦ Old/Modern:

abutan/about, ofer/over, rædan/to read, witan/to know, bysig/busy, leoht/light

Middle English: 12th – 15th centuries (what?)◦ Middle/Modern:

axe/ask, coy/quiet, fay/faith, nas/was not, quod/said, verray/true Modern English: 15th century – today (understandable)

Language

Old, Middle, & Modern English

Word Translation When to use

Thou YouWhen “you” is the subject of the sentence.

Thee You When “you” is the object of the sentence.

Thy Your

Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with a consonant/consonant sound (like the article, “a”).

Thine Your

Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with vowel/vowel sound (like the article, “an”). Also used when indicating that something is “absolute and understood”.

Ye You (plural)Plural form of “you” when addressing a group of people.

They ruled England from 410 to 1066. Period 1: Small tribal groups formed

mini-kingdoms. There were four kingdoms by the 9th century, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia & Wessex.

Over time, small kingdoms would fall to larger ones. Pre-Norman England is considered the most organized of western European kingdoms.

Former Celtic tribes that had lived under Roman rule relocated to what is now Wales, Cornwall and Scotland.

History

The shire reeves (sheriffs), with individual reeves looking after each hundred others were in charge of collecting taxes for the King.

Land was the most valuable currency. The king would divide land to his lords, who would divide their land to their warriors and nobles, who would have serfs (normal people) work the land for food and shelter in return for sharing with the owner.

History

Period 2: The Vikings began to invade England. The only English kingdom to survive was Wessex. King Alfred united the Anglo-Saxons against Viking raids. He was England’s first true king.

History

Period 3: Anglo-Saxon rule ended in 1066 when the Normans invaded (Battle of Hastings), although they continued to live in England.

The Normans were Vikings who had settled in the Normandy region of northern France two – three generations earlier. This added many French words to the English language.

History

The Anglo-Saxons wrote epic poems, hagiographies (bios about saints), sermons, Bible translations, legal words, chronicles, riddles & others.

We have about 400 surviving manuscripts (copies) from this period.

How do we know?

The most famous poem is Beowulf. It was written around 700 AD. The poem is about a knight who sails to Denmark

to defeat Grendal, a demon who terrorizes the kingdom.

Literature

The Anglo-SaxonsA Brief History

historian Ammianus Marcellinus records the Saxons among the barbarians (along with Picts and

) who were harassing the Britons in about AD , and the mid-fifth-century Gallic Chronicle mentions another severe raid in 410, and the fall of Britain to the Saxons "after many troubles" in 441.

Why’d they come?

King Arthur, a legendary king from this period who fought against invasions after the

left. His name now tends to be used as a symbol of British resistance against .

King Arthur

They came from the regions of Angeln and Saxony when the Roman legions left in the th century AD.

They didn’t preserve the Roman’s . They replaced their stone buildings with ones.

Where’d they come from?

From the few surviving records ( died when the Romans left), we know that the invaders worshipped and their .

They brought their own religion, but converted to when St. Augustine arrived in

AD.

Religion

We get our names for the week from their original gods & the Roman’s gods. * = romance languages use a Latin root.◦ Sun’s day (Latin: )◦ Moon’s day (Anglo-Saxon: )*◦ Tyr’s day ( god)*◦ day (Norse god) *◦ day (Norse god) *◦ day (Norse god) *◦ Saturn’s day (Anglo-Saxon: )

Religion

We call the language the Anglo-Saxons spoke “ English.” It was a language. English is closely related to modern .

English/German◦ / ; / , /

, good/gut, / , /◦ / , /

swum/geschwommen

Language

Modern English: - - . Word is !

Modern German: order matter (inflected)◦ “I threw a over the some .” In

German people understand the hay was thrown, not the horse. Both use the alphabet.

Language

English: th – th centuries (what?)◦ Old/Modern:

/ , /,

/to , /to , /

, / English: th – th centuries (what?)

◦ Middle/Modern: / , / ,

/, / not, /

, / English: th century – today

(understandable)

Language

Old, Middle, & Modern English

Word Translation When to useWhen “you” is the subject of the sentence.When “you” is the object of the sentence.Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with a consonant/consonant sound (like the article, “a”).Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with vowel/vowel sound (like the article, “an”). Also used when indicating that something is “absolute and understood”.Plural form of “you” when addressing a group of people.

They ruled England from to .

Period 1: Small groups formed mini-kingdoms. There werekingdoms by the . th century, Northumbria, , East Anglia & Wessex.

Over time, small kingdoms would fall to larger ones. Pre-Norman England is considered the most of western European kingdoms.

Former tribes that had lived under Roman rule relocated to what is now ,

and .

History

The shire reeves ( ), with individual reeves looking after each hundred others were in charge of collecting

for the . was the most valuable currency. The king

would divide land to his , who would divide their land to their warriors and nobles, who would have

(normal people) work the land for food and in return for with the owner.

History

Period 2: The began to invade England. The only English kingdom to survive was . King united the Anglo-Saxons against Viking raids. He was England’s

true .

History

Period 3: Anglo-Saxon rule ended in when the Normans invaded (Battle of ), although they continued to live in England.

The Normans were who had settled in the Normandy region of northern two – three

earlier. This added many words to the language.

History

The Anglo-Saxons epic poems,

hagiographies (bios about saints), sermons, translations, legal words, chronicles, riddles & others.

We have about surviving manuscripts (copies) from this period.

How do we know?

The most famous poem is . It was written around AD. The poem is about a who sails to to

defeat , a demon who terrorizes the kingdom.

Literature