Anglo-Saxon Period
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Transcript of Anglo-Saxon Period
Invasion of Britian on Celts AD 449
Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britian
Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and other Germanic tribes
Seafaring warriors
Vengeance and Bloodshed
Anglo-Saxon Settlement
of
Britian
• Christianity and Anglo-Saxon culture co-exist
The Spread of Christianity
• Christian monks settle in Britain
• British pagan religions replaced by Christianity
Around A.D. 400
By A.D. 699
The Danish Invasion
Due to rising population and limited farmland, many Scandinavians (the Norse and the Danes) took to the seas—the Vikings.
In 800, Danish raiders attacked Britain. The Norse settled in Northumbria, Scotland,
Wales, and Ireland. The Danes targeted eastern and southern
England.
Viking Raids
Sacked and plundered monasteries Stole sacred religious objects Burned entire communities Murdered villagers Halted the growth of learningBy the middle of the ninth century, most of
England had fallen. The Vikings called their territory Danelaw.
Restored Viking Vessels
King
Alfred
the
Great unifies Anglo-
Saxons against the Danes. A.D. 878
• William of Normandy crosses the English Channel
The Norman Invasion
The Norman Invasion, Bayeux Tapestry
• French replaces English as the language of the ruling class
1066
• William defeats Anglo-Saxon army
Living Quarters—Mead Halls
A reconstructed Anglo-Saxon home located in West Stow in Sussex, England
Mead Hall
• center of life
• sleeping quarters
• dining area
• meeting place
The Scops
The communal hall offered shelter and a place for council meetings.
The communal hall was also a place for storytellers or bards (scops) who shared (orally) the stories of the Anglo-Saxons and their gods and heroes.
The Anglo-Saxons valued storytelling as equal to fighting, hunting, and farming.
A line of Anglo-Saxon or Old English poetry is characterized by four main stresses and is divided in half by a pause (caesura [si-zhoor-uh]).
• Cemetery located in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England
• Discovered in 1939
• Burial ship of an Anglo-Saxon king
• Burial site contained 41 items of solid gold and 37 gold coins
Sutton Hoo
7th century helmet Reconstructed from
hundreds of corroded iron fragments
Characteristics of the Anglo-Saxons
Hard fighters and bold sea warriors Admired physical strength, bravery, loyalty,
fairness, and honesty Great love of personal freedom Boastful, reckless, cruel, and bloodthirsty Enjoyed conflict, swimming matches, horse
races, banqueting, drinking mead, singing songs, and storytelling
Also flyting, a conflict of wits between two warriors where each praises his own deeds and belittles the other’s
Anglo-Saxon Beliefs
Pagan, polytheistic Very pessimistic view of life (due to the
ever-present dangers of death by accident or warfare)
Human life in the hands of fate (wyrd) Did not believe in an afterlife Immortality only earned through heroic
actions Sharp contrast to the Christian belief in an
individual’s free will
Anglo-Saxon Beliefs (con’t)
The early Anglo-Saxons worshipped ancient Germanic or Norse gods:
Odin/Woden: chief of the gods, god of death, poetry, and magic
Fria: Woden’s wife and goddess of the home Tiu: the god of war and the sky Thunor/Thor: god of thunder and lightening Frijz/Frigga: queen of the heavens The names of these gods survive today in our words
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday The dragon: personification of evil and death and the
protector of treasure (the grave mound); also associated with the Vikings
Anglo-Saxon Manuscript
Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms
Map from C. Warren Hollister,The Making of England, p. 64
Video: English~A Living Language
& Anglo-Saxon Riddles
The Beowulf Legend
Beowulf is an epic, a long, heroic poem, about a great pagan warrior renowned for his courage, strength, and dignity.
Story isn’t about the English—it’s about the Danes and the Geats. So what’s it doing in England?
Beowulf is the national epic of England, because it is was the first such work composed in the English language.
The poem presents the values of a warrior society, dignity, bravery, and prowess in battle.
Characteristics of Invaders
\
Ancestral Tribes of Clans
Chieftain
Thane Thane Thane
Peasant Peasant PeasantPeasantPeasant
Serfs SerfsSerfs Serfs
Thane
Anglo-Saxon pendant probably made in the 7th century AD
found in garden soil at Sacriston, County Durham.
made of solid gold with a goldwire or filigree decoration.
Anglo-Saxon Brooch
Additional Anglo-Saxon Artifacts
King Offa’s Dyke
approximately 170 miles long running north and south
• continuous wall except for river crossings
• built in the late 8th century
Earth Embankment No fancy stonework No garrisoned posts 12 foot wide ditch on
Welsh side Height ranges from 10
to 60 feet
Construction
Monument to Power
Perhaps this dyke was a defense against raiders from Wales.
Perhaps it served as a permanent boundary between Mercia and Wales.
Perhaps it was a boundary monument to remind the Welsh of King Offa’s power and control.
Anglo-Saxon Cross Shaft Location: St. Peter Advincula
Church, Glebe Street, Stoke Re-erected on its modern
base in 1935, the fragment of 10th Century Anglo-Saxon stone cross shaft had been used as a door lintel in the church until its discovery by a gravedigger in 1876.
The square sectioned top of the cylindrical shaft has a different decorative motif on each face. However part of the side key pattern has been cut away, probably to allow its use as the church's door lintel.S
Acknowledgements Anglo-Saxon England. 27 June 2004
<http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/english/britain/anglo-saxon/anglo_home.html>. Regia-Angloplum. “Arms and Armour-Part 8-Shields.” 27 June 2004
http://regia.org/shields.html. Map of Gradual Takeover of England by Anglo-Saxons. 27 June 2004
http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba/395/HELUnit2web/OE%20images/asconquer.jpg. Durnham County Council. 27 June 2004.
http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/pws/archaeology2001+-+archaeology+Time+Line+Mediaeval+Period.
The British Museum: Education Department. 27 June 2004. http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/education/anglosaxons/weblinks.html
King Arthur and the Anglo-Saxon Wars. 27 June 2004. http://www.murphsplace.com/owen/arthur/wars.html.
The Arador Library. 28 June 2004. http://www.arador.com/gallery/et.html. The Potteries Museum: Art Gallery. 27 June 2004
http://www2002.stoke.gov.uk/museums/pmag/Nof_website1/local_history_static_exhibitions/sites_to_visit/pages/st_peters.htm.
Pfordresher, John, Gladys V. Veidemanis, and Helen McDonnell, eds. England in Literature. Glenview: Scott, Foresman, 1989.