ANGLO-

SAXONS
OLD ENGLISH
PERIOD
GROUP 1
 Poetry &
01 Philosophy &
Literature 03 Historical
Background
Characteristics of
02 Old English
Literature
04 Society &
Language
 PHILOSOPHY OF
THE ANGLO
SAXONS

In Roman Britain
Over time their
many people had
beliefs changed
been Christians. But
and many
the early Anglo-
Anglo-Saxons
Saxons were not
were converted
Christians, they were
to Christianity.
pagans.
 WHAT EARLY BELIEFS DID THEY
HAVE?
SUPERSTITIO
NS
Like the Vikings and the Greeks, the Anglo-Saxons believed in many gods and had many
superstitions. The king of the Anglo-Saxon gods was Woden, other gods were Thunor,
Frige, and Tiw. These four Anglo-Saxon gods gave their names to the days of the week.
Tiw became Tuesday, Woden - Wednesday, Thunor - Thursday and Frige - Friday.

ANGLO-SAXON GRAVES
When Anglo-Saxons died, their bodies were either
cremated or buried in a grave. Belongings buried with
the dead person, for use in the next life, provide
evidence of the person’s life.
OLD The literature from the time of Anglo
Saxons era is also referred to as old
ENGLISH English literature.

LITERATURE Two works mark the significance of the Anglo

Saxons literature and is considered to be the
best works during the Anglo Saxons literature.
These two are the “Anglo Saxons Chronicle”
and the “Beowulf”.

The Anglo Saxons art and literature

was based on many genres and themes
for which they were never
monotonous in nature.
LD • Anglo Saxons made the
~ Fortomany people
use of blank verses
write their poetries.
E• Alliteration was familiar with classics Characteristics of
• D
Making
a commonly "The use oflike "Beowulf" and
caesura
CWanderer," the the OLD ENGLISH
was very common
used poetic term "Old English
amongst the Anglo B LITERATURE
device during
PROMISE
Saxons literature.
poetry" calls to mind
• The main motive of the
A
the Anglo
Anglo Saxonslong, rambling epics
literature
Saxonswas to be of highabout
moraleknights,
to the ones who battles,
used to heroes and
literature.
listen.
CHARACTE lovers.
R • It was also very common
for the use of kennings.
 Characteristics of the
old English Literature
01 02 03

Later written down and Praises God for His gifts to Has more than three
Christianized by monks men thousand lines

04 05 06
Oldest Surviving epic of Lacks Scandinavian words Picture of primitive social
teutonic people and phrases life
 ANGLO-SAXONS POETRY
Anglo-Saxons came from three powerful nations of Germans

SAXONS ANGLES JUTES

The Saxons were a The Angles were one The Jutes were one
group of of the main Germanic of the Nordic tribes
early Germanic  people who settled in who settled in Great
people. Great Britain in the Britain after the
Post-Roman period. departure of the
Romans.
 POETRY

01 02 03 04
Religio
Heroic us Riddles Love
Heroic poetry Old English riddles can be
celebrates ancient and The surviving
found in The Book of An example of a
contemporary warriors. vernacular poetry
Exeter anthology. The love poem is 'The
from the Anglo-
collection includes about Wife's Lament.' 
Saxon period is
ninety riddles with heroic,
mostly religious.
religious and philosophical
elements.
 A short history of the
Anglo-Saxons in Britain
They formed several
Anglo-Saxon When the Roman legions
mercenaries had for left Britain, the
many years fought in Germanic-speaking
the Roman army in Angles, Saxons, Jutes
Britain, so they were and Frisians began to
not total strangers to the arrive – at first in small
island. invading parties, but
soon in increasing
numbers.
kingdoms, often
changing, and
constantly at war with
one another. These
kingdoms sometimes
acknowledged one of
their rulers as a ‘High
King', the Bretwalda.
CULTURE
Anglo-Saxon society was
& hierarchical.

SOCIETY
The culture of the Anglo-Saxons
was especially solidified and
cultivated by King Alfred.

King Alfred’s digressions in his

translation of Boethius’s Consolation of
Philosophy provided these observations
about the resources that every king
needed:
 “In the case of the king, the resources and tools with
which to rule are that he have his land fully manned:
he must have praying men, fighting men and working
men. You know also that without these tools no king
may make his ability known. Another aspect of his
resources is that he must have the means of support
for his tools, the three classes of men. These, then, are
their means of support: land to live on, gifts,
weapons, food, ale, clothing and whatever else is
necessary for each of the three classes of men.”
 Anglo Saxon Society
THREE-FOLD
ANGLO SAXON
SOCIETY

WORKING
PRAYING MEN FIGHTING MEN MEN
Helena Hamerow suggested that
People who work at The subject of war and
prayer.  the prevailing model of working
the Anglo-Saxons is a
life and settlement, particularly
curiously neglected one
for the early period, was one of
shifting settlement and building
tribal kinship.
 The Anglo-Saxons lived in wooden
huts with thatched roofs. Usually,
there was only one room shared by
everybody.

Everyday life in Anglo-Saxon

England was hard and rough
even for the rich.
 LANGUAGE
Old English is the language spoken and written by the Germanic inhabitants of England.

It is likely that the large

majority of Old English
Anglian texts that have survived
Kentish from this period are in
Also called Wessex. Dialect
dialect this dialect.

Was a Southern East Anglian English

dialect of old has had a very
english spoken in
West considerable input into
WEST
the Anglo-Saxon Saxon the formation SAXON
kingdom of Kent. of Standard English.
OLD ENGLISH LANGUAGE
SPOKEN
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YOU!
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https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~
rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/a/Anglo-Saxon_literature.htm
https://
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxsbcdm/articles/zs3gcdm
https://
www.studocu.com/latam/document/universidad-tecnologica-
de-santiago/composicion-inglesa/old-english-period-summar
y/4859871
https://www.britannica.com/art/Anglo-Saxon-literature