The Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Periods 449-1485By: Mr. Nathan J. Harmon

The Anglo-Saxon Period = The DARK AGES Violence! Conflict! Barbarians!

Serious: Hero epics Struggle Only the strong

survive

Centuries of INVASION

Early Britian 55b.c Ceasar claimed the British Isle

He left! Took off and left Britons, Picts, Gaels in peace

100 years later the Romans returned Britian became a Roman province Build: roads, cities, scholarship

Early Britain (continued…) “Romanized”

Christianity Urban lifestyle Public baths Military

Dependence Britians came to

depend on Roman Government 5th Century Turns

Roman left to deal with their own invaders

Anglo-Saxons Germanic tribes Celtic Leader:

Arthur King Arthur?

Fought the invading hordes

Driven out to the west (Cornwall & Wales) and north (Scotland)

New settlers Angle-Land

England Anglo-Saxon

culture became the base for English culture

Old English: the gutteral sound of the people

790’s: New Invaders from Denmark & Norway

Crazy Men! Looting Killing Burning villages

Summer homes?

Vikings!

Vikings !! (continued…) Preferred the winter in England than

their homes, they set up camp The Danes!

Met defeat by Alfred the Great (Anglo-Saxon) Alfie unified England

Brought education, learning, and culture The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: a record of England

The Norman Conquest Edward the Confessor

Descendant of Alfie, had no kids

Promised the Crown French cousin William

(so he claimed) Nobles and the Church

Endorsed Earl Harold

Williams Response: Norman Invasion! Harold died Battle

of Hastings 1066 Christmas day

1066 William was crowned

William the Conqueror

Result The Norman

Invasion ended the Anglo-Saxon dominance of Britain New Nobles

Out with the old

The former Noble class of Anglo-Saxons sank into the peasant class

Cultural Influences The Spread of Christianity

Invaders: Pagan, belief in “Wyrd” (fate) Strong hero worship: Strength against

“evil” Christianity Takes Hold

300 A.D several missionaries were establiched

Spread to Ireland/Scotland

Christianity taking hold 597A.D Roman missionary Augustine

enters Kent. Est. Canterbury

Monastaries became centers of education, literacy, art, and social activity

Spread rapidly By 690 A.D all of Britain was nominally

Christian Though many held pagan traditions

Venerable Bede Wrote: A history of the English Church

and People Vikings plundered monasteries, tried to

destroy the culture Christianity endured

Epic Tradition Early lit. style

Heroic deeds Mead Halls

Poems performed by Scops

History Sermon Pep talk

Cultural pride Demonstrates behavior

Oral art form As religion spread

Education spread Writing spread Oral tradition died

out Beowulf

survives…

The Monarchy: William the Conqueror

New kind of King: Powerful, organized, intelligent

Law and Order “any honest man

could travel over the kingdom without injury with his bosom full of gold”

Doomsday Book: a tax that recorded and taxed all property: lakes, livestock, etc.

William’s death Power struggles Near anarchy

Until…

The Medieval Period

Williams great grandson Henry Plantagenet= Henry II

Reformed the judicial system Est. juries Formed common law His son: Richard I = Richard the Lion-hearted

Ten-year reign fighting abroad Brother plotted against him “King John”: fought with nobles about rising

taxes Forced to sign the magna carta which limited royal

power

War & Plague

War was near constantThe Hundred Years’ War 1337: England vs. FranceBlack Death

killed 1/3 of the pop.1453: England lost almost all French holdings. Two Families fought for power

York (white rose)Lancaster (red rose)

War of the Roses

The Tudors Wars of the Roses ended in 1485 Henry Tudor (Lancaster) killed Richard III

(York) at Bosworth field Henry took the throne = Henry VII

End of the Middle Ages

Three Social Forces The Feudal System

Feudalism: political and Economic system (implemented by William the conqueror)

King owns all ¼ for himself ¼ for the church The rest to the nobles

Nobles gave land to knights Serfs= bound to land they didn’t own (Anglo-Saxons)

Everyone paid upwards toward the king

Three Social Forces (continued…) The church

Led by the Pope (in Rome) Huge powerhouse

Levy taxes Laws Courts Keeping kings in line

Three Social Forces Chivalry and Courtly Love

Medieval literature: created an idea of social conduct Chivalry: code of honor intended to guide knightly

behavior Courtly Love: Relationship ideas between lords and

ladies “the Art of Courtly Love”

Marriage is no real excuse for not loving He who is jealous cannot love When made public, love rarely endures A new love puts an old one to flight Every lover regularly turns pale in the prescience of his

beloved

The Age of ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer: Father of English Literature

showed English as a literary language

Wrote in the language of the time: middle English

The Canterbury Tales Chaucer’s best known work Collection of tales The Pilgrims characters tell stories They reflected English development

such as: the serfs realizing their value (workforce), War with France re-est. English as a ruling class language

Medieval RomanceAdventure!

King Arthur and Excalibur

Legendary Hero: King Arthur Artorius

Britain of roman influence

King Arthur to Wales as Beowulf to Anglo-Saxon

Geoffrey of Monmouth: produced welsh tales that caught the interest of the French , German, English alike

King Arthur: Artorius Inspired German, English, French to create

their own versions of King Arthur and the Round Table

Made chivalry something to aspire to in English courts

Feats, Battles, Ideals Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Death of Arthur

Retold the legendary King’s end in, printed weeks before the final battle of the War of Roses: the last battle fought with knights in armor