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The Anglo-Saxons: 449–1066

Introduction to the Literary Period

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Interactive Time Line


Milestone: The Celts in Britain
Milestone: The Roman Occupation
Milestone: The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
Milestone: King Alfred against the Danes
Milestone: The Spread of Christianity
Milestone: The Norman Invasion
What Have You Learned?
The Anglo-Saxons: 449–1066

Choose a link on the time line to go to a milestone.


A.D. 1066
300s B.C. A.D. 449
Norman
Celts in Britain Anglo-Saxon
Invasion
Invasion
55 B.C–A.D.409 A.D.878
Roman Occupation King Alfred
against
the Danes

300 A.D. A.D. A.D. A.D. A.D.


B.C. 1 300 600 900 1200

A.D. 400–699
Spread of Christianity
The Celts in Britain

Before and during the 4th century B.C.

• Britain home to several


Celtic tribes
• Britain named for one
Celtic tribe—the
Brythons
• Celtic religion a form of
animism
• Druids were Celtic Stonehenge
priests
Stonehenge

• Archaeologists believe it was built anywhere from


3000 BC to 2000 BC
The Roman Occupation

55 B.C. Hadrian’s Wall – North


England
Julius Caesar invades Britain
A.D. 43
Celts defeated by Claudius
• Romans build walls, villas,
baths, roads
A.D. 409
Romans evacuate their troops
• Britain left vulnerable to attack
• Central government breaks down Roman ruins
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

Jutes
Angles
Saxons
Celts

A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons push the Celts


into the far west of the country.
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

Why did the Anglo-Saxons


settle in England?

England was inviting


Jutes to
Angles
outsiders: Saxons
Celts
• Mild climate
• Rich easily-tilled soil
• Safe anchorage for
invading ships
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

Anglo-Saxon Society

• kinship groups led by


strong warrior chief
• people farmed,
established local
governments,
produced fine
craftwork
• English emerged as a
written language
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

• Tribal society –warrior kings-led their


men into battle
• Always rival warriors within the tribe
• King gathered around
Jutes him a retinue of
fighting men called thanes
Angles

• Endless
Celts feuds between individuals and
Saxons

between tribes
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
• Royal living quarters were a small
cluster of wooden buildings surrounded
by a stockade
• Main structure was the Mead hall
• Mead is a fermented drink made of
Jutes
water, honey, malt, Angles
and yeast
Saxons
Celts
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

• Here the king, thanes, wives, and


servants gathered.
• Singer called a scop entertained with
stories of heroism.
Jutes
• Warriors slept hereAngles
after king retired to
a different building.
Saxons
Celts
Anglo Saxon values

• Gold/treasure
• Comitatus – king and
thanes/warriors tied to one another
King shares spoils of war, warriors
obligated to fight for him
• Loyalty
• Bravery
• Fate = Wyrd
Mead hall
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

Page from Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Old English
Exeter book
• A tenth-century book or codex which is an
anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry.
• Survived in Exeter Cathedral library
• Among the other texts in the Exeter Book,
there are over ninety riddles.
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

The Anglo-Saxon religion

• offered no hope of an afterlife


• valued earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty,
generosity, and friendship
• similar to what we call Norse mythology

Norse god Anglo-Saxon god Day of week


Odin Woden Wednesday
Thor Thunor Thursday
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

The Anglo-Saxon bards


• called scops
• strummed harp as they sang
• sang of heroic deeds
• were often warriors
Why were the scops important?
• Anglo-Saxons did not believe in
afterlife
• warriors gained immortality
through songs Anglo-Saxon harp
King Alfred against the Danes

8th–9th centuries
Vikings called Danes
invade Britain
871 Alfred of Wessex
is king of England.

878 King Alfred unifies


Anglo-Saxons against
King Sweyn and his Danish troops
the Danes. arrive in England, from a
manuscript (c. 14th century)

England becomes a nation.


Vikings

8th century
Invaded from across the North sea from Denmark
and Norway
867-877 Vikings invaded and took over most of
Jutes
northeast and central England
Angles
Saxons
Celts
The Spread of Christianity

Around A.D. 400


• Christian monks
settle in Britain
• Christianity and
Anglo-Saxon
culture co-exist
597 St. Augustine sent
from Rome by A.D. 699
• British pagan
religions replaced by
Christianity
The Norman Invasion

1066
• William of Normandy crosses the English
Channel
• William defeats Harold and Anglo-Saxon army
• French replaces
English as the
language of the
ruling class

The Norman Invasion,


Bayeux Tapestry
What Have You Learned?

Indicate whether the following statements refer to


the time before, during, or after the Anglo-Saxon
era.

______ Viking invaders terrorized England.


during
after
______ French became the language of the
ruling class.
during
______ England became unified under Alfred the
Great.
before
______ Animism was the primary religious belief.
END

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