The ANGLO-SAXON & MEDIEVAL PERIODS 449-1485

The ANGLO-SAXON & MEDIEVAL PERIODS449-1485

1How Briton Came To Be:

The British Isles enters recorded history in the writings of Julius Caesar in 55B.C.

He had just conquered the Celtic people known as Gauls and now he was off to take over the Gaels (Ireland), the Picts (Northern Britain) and the Britons (Southern Britain).

Julius Caesar

2Or Not To Be (that is the question)The Britons already were skilled in agriculture, metalwork and other stuff. And they had an oral tradition of literature preserved by a priestly class known as the druids, but they were no match for the Romans. The Picts became Scotland and Britain became a province of the Roman Empire, who introduced, writing, Christianity along with the ever important, nice cities and roads.

3In the 5th century, Rome started being invaded so they ditched Britain and left them undefended (Jerks!)Circa 449The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians (all Germanic people) left their homes and began settling on Britains eastern and southern shores. The people who had been there tried to fight but ended up being pushed North and West. Celtic Culture pretty much disappeared. (Bullies!)

4The Taming of the Anglo-SaxonsBasically the Germanic people settled all over Briton and the people of this culture and period are known as the Anglo-Saxons.

The early invaders were seafaring wanderers whose lives were bleak, violent, and short. With them they brought their pagan religionalong with a strong belief in wyrd, or fateand their admiration for heroic warriors. As they settled, they became an agricultural peopleless violent, more secure, more civilized. Most of this taming is credited to the rise of Christianity.

In 597, a Roman missionary named Augustine arrived in Kent, where he established a monastery at Canterbury. Christianity spread so rapidly that by 690 all of Britain was at least nominally Christian.

5The Danish Invasions In the 790s the Danes, also known as the VIKINGSBegan to devastate northern and eastern England. They had less success in the South because of King Alfred the Great. He was a tough bugger!

Oops! Not that kind!

This Kind 6William the Conquerer After a whole bunch of people fought about who would be King, on Christmas day of 1066, William was crowned the King of England.

7Literary HistoryTAKE NOTESEarly Anglo-Saxons had a writing system called the runic alphabet, they used it mainly for inscriptions on coins, monuments, and such.

The Roman alphabet became the alphabet of choice, but only scribes could write and books were written by hand. The most famous surviving poem is Beowulf written between 700 and 1000 A.D.

Their literature was composed and transmitted orally rather than in writing. In the mead halls of kings and nobles, oral poets called scops celebrated the deeds of heroic warriors in long epic poems.

They also sang shorter, lyric poems. Some of these mourned the deaths or losses. Many of the lyrics composed after the advent of Christianity express religious faith or moral instruction.

Most Old English poems are anonymous.

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