Anglo Saxon Period

The First Settlers and Invaders

The English are a composite race:
• Celts -> first settlers (6th – 7th BC)
• Franks -> invaders from Germany and Italy
(5BC)
• Romans -> under Claudius (43 - 410 AD)
• Angles
• Saxon
• Jutes
 The Celts
 A branch of Indo Europeans that had settled in Western Europe incuding
Italy, France , and Spain, as early as the sixth or seventh century B.C.
 The Celts of Ireland, the Gaels, were perhaps the first occupants of a
large part of England, but later driven west into Ireland and north into
Scotland by the Franks, a group of origin tribes from Germany and Italy.
 Some of the Celts stayed in Western Eurpe and were absorbed by the
Franks and some other migrated and occupied the British island and
called themselves the “Celts of England” or “Britons”.
 The pre-Christian Celts were a barbarous people with a primitive pagan
religion dominated by priests, the Druids.
 In spite of their barbarity, they were romantic, mystery loving and
humorous.
 The Roman Invasion
 In 55 BC, Julius Caesar invaded Britain. Latin was spoken.
 In 43 AD, under the reign of Claudius, The Roman Empire
conquered and colonized the entire British Island except
Scotland.
 Under the Roman’s rule, Britain was converted to Christianity.
 The Roman built roads, villas, bath and made London as an
important trading center.
 In 409 AD, Roman withdrew their troops. The central
government broke down, and Britain was left vulnerable to
attack. The era is often referred as the ‘Dark Ages’
A Roman cobbled road Remains of the theatre at
St. Albans
Invasion from Northern Germany:
The Angles, The Saxons, The Jutes
 The Anglo-Saxons
 In 449 AD-People from
northern Europe begin a series
of invasions
 We call them the Anglo-
Saxons (Angles and Saxons)
 Bring Germanic languages
 Beginnings of Old English the
first language recognized as
“English” (originally
“Angleish”)
 The most powerfull among the
three invaders.
 The Third Roman Invasion
 Missionaries arrived in Kent under St. Agustinus managed to
christianize the Celts.
 King Aethelberht I of Kent embraced christianity.
 The first cathedral was built.
 Missionaries were permitted to preach freely.
 The introduction of the Roman alphabet.
 The replacement of rune by Roman alphabet.
 Oral strories were replaced by written works i.e. Beowulf, Paraphrase,
Exodus.
 The introduction of Roman alphabet enabled the establisment of centers
of learning: Canterbury in the South and York and Yarrow in the North.
 The scholars were Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Allevin of York and
Theodore of Yarrow
 Writing System
Rune Roman Alphabet
 Invasion by Norman or Scandinavian
 The invasion by the Normans/Scandinavian from Norway,
Sweden and Denmark, known as “The Danes” in the 8th
century.
 They were pirates and plunders who destroy churches,
monasteries, libraries and schools.
 Invaded almost all England, except the South which was under
Alfred “the Great”, the king of the Wessex.
 A battle caled as the battle of the Etahnadune in 878 took place
where Alfred defeated the Danish leader. Gutrin, and converted
him to Christianity.
 The Lock Dane Law was agreed where the Danes left the
South and West to Alfred and retained the North and East of
England.
 King Alfred ‘the Great’
 Alfred the Great (849-899) was the most famous of the Anglo-Saxon
kings. Despite overwhelming odds he successfully defended his
kingdom, Wessex, against the Vikings. He also introduced wide-ranging
reforms including defence measures, reform of the law and of coinage.
 Defeated Gutrin, the Danish leader.
 Built up strong army and avy to oppose the Viking raiders
 Invited scholars from Europe and Wales to Winchester to assist him to
revive the learning centers.
 The instruction on the making of ‘The Anglo Saxon Chronicle.’ To help
protect his kingdom from Viking attacks, Alfred built forts and walled
towns known as ‘burhs’. He also built warships to guard the coast from
raiders and organised his army into two parts. While half the men were
at home on their farms, the rest were ready to fight Vikings.
 Alfred died in 899 and was buried at his capital city of Winchester.
 Old English Literature
• On war, religion, personal sadness and happiness
• Most are anonymous
• Written mostly by monks, such as ‘Caedmon’s Hymn’ [Hymn:
religious song].
• The themes are security, both for individual and society, and in
religious faith
 POETRY
 Two features used:
1. caseura: gap in the middle of each line
2. alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds
 Caedmon -> Caedmon’s Hymm, Paraphrase
 Deor - > Deor’s Lament
 Cynewulf -> The Christ, Juliana, The Life of the Saint, the
Dream of the Rood
1. Caedmon
 2. Deor
• Deor’s lament is a moving elegy of forty two lines
which gives voice to the suffering of a minstrel or a
scop who has been replaced by a rival after years of
service to his Lord. he characters employed here are all
from historical or mythical figures.
• “Deor’s Lament” reaches great heights of personal
feelings which along with the expressive melancholy of
the elegy give rise to a strong lyrical appeal. Deor’s
lament is not just purely personal but also universal.
Like a true elegy of the Anglo-Saxon Era it stresses on
loss, exile and lamentation along with the belief in the
fragility of earthly pleasures.
3. Cynewulf
Cynewulf’s works
 LONG POEMS
 Several of long poems are preserved in the Exeter Book such as
The Wanderer, The Seafarer.
 The poems are anonymous.
 Classified as elegiac poems – the speaker is always alone, and
his memory bcomes very important. The memories are of old
legends, old battles and old heroes.
 Memories are a major part of the writings.
 Beowulf -> Anglo-saxon stories, heroic, 6th century, story of a
hero from Sweden
 The Battle of Maldon -> more factual, heroic
 The Wanderer
• The Wanderer is a 115 line poem that describes a warrior’s journey,
physical and spiritual, through his exile at sea. Due to it's wording and
philosophical themes, the Wanderer is very controversial. Historians are
still debating to this day over it's meaning and what the anonymous author
was trying to convey.
• The idea of being exiled from your previous tribe and lord was common
in Anglo Saxon culture whether it was voluntary or involuntary.
• Warriors found their identity in the crew they rolled with and for one to be
exiled, or separated, from his lord and fellow men in arms is a very
sorrowful event. Thus the setting and the tone of the poem is very gloomy.
• There are heavy themes of religion and faith in this poem illustrated in the
warriors self reflection and through his contemplation of life.
• The theme is essentially the question of our existence here on earth.
• The tone of the Wanderer could be described as sorrowful but at the same
time it is quite serene with his natural Imagery of a hostile winter with the
sight and sound of birds, replacing human companionship
 The Seafarer
 "The Seafarer" is a 124-line poem written in Old English that
scholars often view as a companion piece to The Wanderer.
 "The Seafarer" is one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon elegies
and is found only in The Exeter Book.
 The poem is lyrical and elegiac
 It has an alliterative rhyme scheme.
 A lyric poem expresses intense personal emotions.
 Poet’s subject is the sea—a common occurrence due to the
placement of Britain
 The Seafarer describes how he has cast off all earthly pleasures
and now mistrusts them. He prefers spiritual joy to material
wealth, and looks down upon land-dwellers as ignorant and
naive.
 The Battle of Maldon
 This battle took place during
the year 991 A.D on the
shores of a river known as
'Blackwater' in Essex, which
is the modern day United
Kingdom.
 It was a heroic stand by the
Anglo-Saxons against the
Viking Invasion, which
ended in an utter defeat of
the Anglo-Saxons.
 Beowulf
• The story had been in circulation as an oral narrative for
approximately 300 years before it was written down.
• Beowulf marks the beginning of English literature
• Beowulf was written in Old English, an early form of English
• It is the longest epic poem in Old English, the language spoken in
Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest. More than
3,000 lines long, Beowulf relates the exploits of its eponymous
hero, and his successive battles with a monster named Grendel,
with Grendel’s revengeful mother, and with a dragon which was
guarding a hoard of treasure. Beowulf was a war leader of the
Geats, a group of people in what is now southern Sweden who
tried to free the and Hrothgar was king of the Danes
Beowulf
 The Battle of Maldon and Beowulf
 In both 'Beowulf' and 'The Battle of Maldon', the main character(s) are
unsuccessful at defeating their opponents. Beowulf dies trying to defeat
the Dragon, much like the Anglo-Saxons die trying to defeat the
Vikings.
 Both pieces of literature have examples of extreme heroism. In
'Beowulf', Beowulf fights Grendel using only his hands to show how
strong and powerful he is. Similarly, in 'The Battle of Maldon',
Brihtnoth tells his soldiers to send their horses away so that they have
no means of escape.
 In 'The Battle of Maldon', the element of heroism relates more to a
commander leading his troops in such a way that they are all heroes.
However, 'Beowulf' is more about individual heroism, in that Beowulf is
the one man that is brave enough and strong enough to save the Danes.
 'The Battle of Maldon' has no mention of any sort of supernatural
things, where as 'Beowulf' is mainly centered around the defeat of these
creatures such as Grendel and the dragon.
 PROSE
 Most of the books were histories, non imaginative, more on the
informationof the period.
 Bede, known as Venerable Bede (a monk, a theologian, a
historian and a chronologist) was the major figure who lived
between 673 and 735.
 King Alfred whose reign was a time of great literary
production, known as the founder of English prose.
 Aelfric -> a monk, a translator, a writer -> Catholic Holmilies
and Lives of the Saints
Bede (The Venerable Bede)
 Wrote many books, mostly
about the Bible, but his best
known is Historia Ecclestiatica
Gentis Anglorum
(“Ecclestiatical History of the
English People”) which was
completed in 731/732. the book
recorded events in Britain form
the raids by Julius Caesar (55-
54 BC).
 The works are classified into
three categories: gammatical
and scientific, scriptural
comentary, abd historical and
biographical.
 King Alfred
 He was a keen champion of
education and translated important
texts from Latin into English.
Known as a just and fair ruler,
Alfred is the only English King to
have earned the title ‘the Great’.
 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began
to be compiled in around 890 A.D.,
at the command of King Alfred the
Great (871- 899) and consists of a
series of annals written in the Old
English language.
• Alfred ordered that copies be made and
distributed to monasteries across England,
which were to be regularly updated.
• Alfred made good laws and believed education
was important. He had books translated from
Latin into English, so people could read
them.
Aelfric
 A monk from Winchester in
the South of England.
 An important translator as
well as a writer
 His works are Catholic
Homilies (990-2) and Lives
of the Saints (993-8)
 As the greatest prose
writers, he brought the
excellence of style into the
language and wide
knowledge to all his works.