The Anglo-Saxons and the Celts

1. Who were the Anglo-Saxons and the Celts?

2. Anglo-Saxon England 3. The Role of the Irish

1. Who were the Anglo-Saxons and the Celts?

• The Angles and Saxons were Germanic peoples

• Mainly a farming culture

• Remember: at its height, the Roman Empire ruled over much of Britain

• When Roman troops left Britain in the 5th century, Angle and Saxon warriors invaded Britain, which had (and still has) excellent soil for farming

• The Celts were the native peoples of Britain. They tried to repel the Anglo-Saxon invaders, but were largely unsuccessful

• The Celts were driven out of what is today known as England and resettled in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

• The Celtic culture and language were pushed out of Britain. The Anglo-Saxons who settled in Britain became known as the English.

2. Anglo-Saxon England • After driving out the Celts, the Anglo-

Saxons got back to the real reason they came to Britain: farming

• The Anglo-Saxons brought with them a rich tradition of skilled metal work and produced beautiful jewelry.

• They were also excellent storytellers and created epic stories like Beowulf

• The Anglo-Saxons prospered in Britain until the 9th century, when they were hit hard and often by devastating raids from the Vikings

• The Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great had some success against the Vikings, but it would be a few centuries before Britain regained the strength it enjoyed before the Vikings invaded

3. The Role of the Irish • Before the 5th century, the Celts

practiced a form of nature worship called Druidism

Stonehenge

• This changed when St. Patrick brought Christianity and respect for learning to the Irish

• St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland

• Irish monasteries became centres of learning for monks and scholars from all across Europe

• Monastery = a place of residence for monks living in seclusion under religious vows

Monasteries, great and small

• The Irish monasteries helped preserve knowledge by protecting scholars fleeing from Germanic invaders

• In the time between the fall of the Roman Empire and Charlemagne’s reign, Ireland was the greatest centre for learning in Europe

• Irish monks played a critical role in spreading Christianity. They trained new monks who then travelled across Europe to help spread the religion

• Irish monks also helped preserve ancient Greek and Roman culture by painstakingly writing out copies of ancient classics

• The books were written on parchment, which was made from sheets of dried sheepskin. Each book could take one person several months of hard work to produce.

• This doesn’t mean the monks always liked or approved of what they were copying down!

“I who have copied down this story, or more accurately fantasy, do not credit the details of the story, or fantasy. Some things in it are devilish lies, and some are poetical fragments; some seem possible and others not; some are for the enjoyment of idiots.”