THE INVASION OF

GERMANIC TRIBES
• 449 AD – Germanic tribes (Angles,
Saxons and Jutes) invaded Britain.
• They came from northern and
central parts of Europe.
• They spoke different dialects of
West Germanic language (from
which modern German developed)
• wild and fearless race
• their conquest lasted till 1066
• the Angles settled in the east
and north; the Saxons in the
south and the Jutes started living
in Kent
• The Angles, Saxons and Jutes were
pagans (believed in many gods):
• Tu / Tuesco — god of Darkness;
• Woden — god of War;
• Thor — the Thunderer;
• Freia — goddess of Prosperity
• later they gave the days the names
of their gods:
• Tuesday — the day of the god
Tuesco;
• Wednesday — Woden's day;
• Thursday — Thor's day;
• Friday — Freia's day
• Sunday was the day of the sun;
• Monday — the day of the moon;
• Saturday — Saturn's day (Saturn
was the god of Time worshipped
by the ancient Romans who had
conquered Britain by the arrival of
Germanic tribes)
• tribes of lawless fighters were
transformed into a race of farmer-
citizens
• they established and developed
trade with the continent
• they reintroduced Christianity
(597 AD)
• 597 – Pope Gregory the Great
sent St. Augustine to Britain. Kent
was the first kingdom converted to
Christianity.
• Within the next two generations
all other kingdoms were also
Christianized
• the southern half of the island was
won by the Roman missionaries; in the
north the work was done
independently by preachers from
Ireland.
• These two types of Christianity, those
of Ireland and of Rome, were largely
different in spirit.
• the Irish missionaries were simple and
loving men and won converts by the
beauty of their lives;
• the Romans brought with them
architecture, music, and learning of their
imperial city and the aggressive energy
which was to make their Church supreme
throughout the Western world.
• When the inevitable clash for
supremacy came, the king of
the then-dominant Anglican
kingdom, Northumbria, made
choice of the Roman as
against the Irish Church.
• One of the greatest gifts of
Christianity and one of the most
important influences in medieval
civilization was a network of
monasteries which became
centres of hospitality and the chief
homes of learning.
• Britain was divided into 7 kingdoms:
Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, Mercia,
East Anglia, and Northumbria which
were constantly at war with one
another.
• The first king to rule over all of them
was Egbert, king of Wessex. He was
made king at the beginning of the 9 c.
• 4 dialects were spoken in these kingdoms:
I) the Northumbrian dialect; 2) the Mercian
dialect; 3) the West-Saxon dialect, or
Wessex; 4) the Kentish dialect. The
language of Scotland, Ireland and Wales
remained Celtic.
• Most of the works and documents in Old
English that are in existence today are
written in the Wessex dialect.
• By the time the Angles and Saxons
conquered Britain, they already had
letters of their own called "runes"
which they carved on stone and
wood, but they had no written
literature yet, and the stories and
poems they made up had to be
memorized.
 Old English Literature
• OE literature (or Anglo-Saxon literature)
encompasses literature written in Old
English (also called Anglo-Saxon) in
Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from
the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of
1066. These works include genres such as
epic poetry, sermons, Bible translations,
legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others
• Old English poetry falls into two
styles or fields of reference – the
heroic Germanic and the Christian;
these two are as often combined as
separate in the poetry.
• Most OE poets are anonymous
(except Caedmon, Bede, Alfred the
Great, and Cynewulf)
• In Anglo-Saxon culture and literature to be
a hero was to be a warrior. A hero had to
be strong, intelligent and courageous.
Warriors had to be willing to face any
danger and fight to the death for their glory
and people. The Anglo-Saxon hero was
able to be all of these and still be humble
and kind.
 Typical features of OE Literature
• The typical features of Anglo-Saxon literature
were alliteration, metaphor and simile.
• Alliteration is the repetition of the same
consonant sound at the beginning or in the
middle of two or more words. Anglo-Saxon
poetry was recited and accompanied by music,
in front of an audience. Alliteration gave the
language a musical quality. It also played the
same role as rhyme in later poetry; it helped the
poet and the audience to memorize the poem.
• Metaphor is an implied comparison which
creates a total identification between the
two things being compared. Words “like”
or “as” are not used. Metaphors arouse
emotions and feelings and help us to
create mental pictures that are
memorable. They often appeal to our
senses. OE metaphors = kennings.
• Simile is a figure of speech
in which a comparison
between two distinctly
different things is indicated
by the word “like” or “as”.
• At first Anglo-Saxon literature existed in
oral form and was handed down to
children and grandchildren and finally
reached the times when certain people,
who had learned to write, decided to put
them down. Such people were called
“scribes”. The word “scribe” comes from
the Latin “scribere” – “to write”.
• “The Wanderer” and “The Dream of
the Rood” are the examples of
“wisdom poetry” or “elegy”.
• Elegies are lyrical, melancholic poems
describing the up and down fortunes of
life, meditations and lamentation.
• They both were written down in 10 c.
• “The Wanderer” conveys
meditations of a solitary exile
on his past glories as a warrior,
his present hardships and the
values of forbearance and faith in
heavenly Lord.
• A monologue in this poem
creates two personages – the
anonymous author who gives a
brief introduction and conclusion,
and the Wanderer, an aging
warrior who roams the world
seeking shelter and aid.
• The Wanderer’s monologue is divided
into two parts:
• the first being a lament for his exile and
the loss of kin, friends, home, and the
generosity of his king;
• in the monologue’s second part, the
Wanderer reflects more generally on
man’s fate
 The Wanderer (h\a)

• Winter weather as a symbol

• Themes of exile; transience;
wisdom and knowledge
• Write out a quote and
explain it
• “The Dream of the Rood” portrays Christ
as a warrior fighting for his people. Jesus
Christ is shown as a hero and a savior.
• The poem is set up with a narrator
having a dream. In this dream or vision
he is speaking to the Cross Jesus was
crucified on. The poem itself is divided up
into three separate sections.
• In section one the narrator has a vision of
the Cross. In section two the Cross shares
its explanation of Jesus’ death. The
crucifixion story is told from the
perspective of the Cross. In section three
the author gives his reflections about this
vision. The vision ends, and the man is left
with his thoughts.
 The Dream of the Rood (h/a)
• Cross as a symbol
• Themes of warfare; self-sacrifice
and salvation
• The form of the elegy +
personified tree / cross