Celts, Anglo-Saxons, and Franks

The Celts

• Celtic culture had once been the main culture throughout Central and Western Europe

▫ The tribes which the Romans fought in Northern Italy and Gaul were Celts

• Most Celtic nations were conquered by the Roman Empire

• Other groups pushed out by the Germans

• Celtic culture only survived on the western edges of Europe—Britain, Ireland, and Brittany (Northwest France)

Celtic Culture

• The Celts lived in small kingdoms, each ruled by a king

• Nobles served as warriors or philosopher-advisers (druids)

• Most of the population free commoners

• War captives as slaves

• Extended family groups

• Life was based on farming and raising animals—wars took place over cattle raids

• Women had some rights

• Traditionally, believed in many gods

The Irish, the Scots, and the Picts

• Ireland never conquered by Romans—traditional culture survived

• Created the first Celtic literature and writing system

▫ Converted to Christianity thanks to St. Patrick and others around 450 A.D.

▫ Monks preserved both Christian writings and traditional Irish stories

• Some Irish tribes raided and settled in the North of Britain (the Scots) and mixed with the groups already there (Picts)

Anglo-Saxons

• Two groups of Germanic warriors, the Angles and the Saxons, raided and settled in Britain in the 500s

• Mixed with the local population of Celts and Roman settlers—ruled over small kingdoms

• Celts remained in control of the Western regions of Britain—Wales and Cornwall

Anglo-Saxon Culture

• Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity in the 7th century—missionaries from Europe

• Spoke a Germanic language (Old English)

▫ Left behind literature, including Beowulf

• Archaeological finds have provided information about Anglo-Saxon rulers

▫ Sutton Hoo

Beginnings of England

• The Anglo-Saxons faced frequent raids from the Vikings in the 8th and 9th

centuries

• King Alfred (ruled from 871 to 899 A.D.) defeated the Vikings and became king of all Anglo-Saxons

▫ Beginnings of the nation of England

The Franks

• A group of Germanic warriors who settled in the old Roman province of Gaul

• Adopted the Latin language and converted to Christianity

• Culture became a mixture of Germanic, Celtic and Roman customs

• Ruled by kings from the Merovingianfamily

▫ Most powerful king, Clovis ruled from 481 to 511

▫ Created a new capital at Paris

Beowulf• Old English epic set in Scandinavia.

• Oldest surviving poem in Old English

• Composed by an Anglo-Saxon poet between the 8th and early 11th century.

Plot

• Beowulf is a Scandinavian hero (Geats) who helps Hroogar, King of the Danes, whose mead hall is under attack by a monster named Grendel.

• Beowulf defeats Grendel.

• Grendel’s mother then attacks – Beowulf defeats her as well.

• Beowulf returns home and, after a long reign as king, battles a dragon.

▫ Defeats the dragon and dies.

History or fiction?

• Debates have raged between historians as to whether or not to interpret Beowulf as a historical or literary work.

• JRR Tolkien claims it should be ready as literature.

• As history, Beowulf depicts the Germanic warrior society – obedience to superiors above all else.

• It is a pagan story told through Christian eyes.

• Seen as primarily an oral story.

The Franks

• First identified in the 3rd century as a group of Germanic tribes.

• The Romans begin to refer to all tribes as Franci due to similar languages and culture – the name sticks.

• Franks help Romans conquer parts of Western Europe and accept Catholicism.

• Franci -> Franks -> France

• Merovingian Dynasty is the first “barbarian kingdom” in Europe. Under Clovis I, the Frankish kingdom extends across all of modern France to the Mediterranean.

Description of the Franks: "Their eyes are faint and pale, with a glimmer of greyish blue. Their faces are shaven all round, and instead of beards they have thin moustaches which they run through with a comb. Close fitting garments confine the tall limbs of the men, they are drawn up high so as to expose the knees, and a broad belt supports their narrow middle."

Salic Frank Law Code

• Salian Franks were a subgroup of the larger Frankish group.

• During seventh century, became known simply as the Franks.

• The Salian Frank Law Code set the basis for law and governance in area under Salian control.

The Franks (Continued)

• Clovis dies in 511. Kingdom divided in to quarters.▫ Weakens the Merovingian Empire holdings.

▫ Begins a gradual process of centralization and decentralization, depending on the ruler.

• Pepin II rises to power in 687 and begins to reunite the Frankish Empire.

• Pepin’s illegitimate son, Charles, rises in 727 after Pepin’s death to the throne.

• Charles Martel ushers in the second familial empire – the Carolingians – through military conquests.

Charles Martel

The Carolingians

• Frankish noble family competes for power.

• Cements hold on Frankish Empire in 751 with the inauguration of Pepin the Short▫ Seen as a long time coming – the Carolingians began

campaign to unite the empire after fall of the Merovingians.

• Pepin the Short takes hold of Frankish kingdom after Martel’s military conquests.

• Greatest Carolingian ruler will be Charlemagne, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 CE.▫ He will unite most of Western Europe during Middle

Ages. Most important ruler in Europe during this time period.

Pepin the Short

St. John the Evangelist

• During the reign of Charlemagne in the ninth century, many Carolingian artists looked to the art and culture of the past in creating new works. This ivory plaque shows the evangelist John displaying the gospel he wrote. The book is inscribed with the gospel's first line: In principio eratverbum (In the beginning was the word). John, and the eagle that is his symbol, sit under an elaborate arch, inspired by the architecture of classical antiquity. John also wears a classical pallium and mantle. On the border of the ivory plaque appears an inscription in Latin. It is based on a line from the Carmen Paschale, a poem by the fifth-century writer Sedulius.

Bucket for Holy Water

• Ivory holy-water buckets are exceptionally rare; this is the earliest of four known examples. They are used to dispense blessed water on the faithful during processionals. Here the entire surface is decorated with scenes from the life of Christ. On the lower register is the Annuciation to the Virgin, the Visitation of Elizabeth to the Virgin, the Nativity, the Dream of Joseph, and the Baptism of Christ. On the upper register is the Betrayal of Christ, the Flagellation, the Last Supper, the Ascension, the Three Women at Christ's Tomb, and the Crucifixion.

Plaque with Emmaus Scenes

• This plaque probably once served as the side panel of a small, luxuriously crafted box made for a church. The decorative animal and floral motifs on the border were originally inlaid with gold. The animated carving in the center shows two scenes from the life of Christ. At the left, Christ appears after his resurrection to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They do not recognize him, but invite him, with bold gestures, to dine with them. At the right, the three have supper within the town walls of Emmaus, and it is there, in the breaking of the bread, where Christ's identity is revealed.

Disk Brooch

• The art of the peoples living under Merovingian rule was largely that of the metalworker. Jewelry, particularly belonging to women, survives from cemeteries and tombs. The Franks, like many other Germanic tribes, valued articles of personal adornment, wearing them as status symbols and signs of power. Finely wrought brooches such as this example from a grave along the Rhine River were worn and admired in daily life and accompanied their owners after death.

The Virgin Mary

• The spindles in Mary's right hand often appear in depictions of the Annunciation, as she receives the news that she will bear the Christ Child. The military appearance of her costume and the cross-topped scepter she holds suggest that she should also be understood here as a personification of the Church Triumphant. The curious juxtaposition of the figure of Mary as the Virgin Mother of Christ and as the Church is unique to this ivory plaque.

Container for Holy Oils

• This portable container for holy oils is decorated with incised circular patterns, some of which may have a cosmological meaning. Used for both baptisms and confirmations, the container could also be suspended from a chain worn around the neck.

Frankish Claw Beaker

• Though many of the most sophisticated techniques of Roman glassmaking had been lost by the fifth century, the Franks continued glass production and even developed a number of innovative forms. The most elaborate vessel type—and among the rarest—produced by the Franks is the claw beaker, distinctively decorated with dripping clawlike forms.