The Anglo-SaxonsA.D. 449-1066

Celts migrate to British Isles

500–400 B.C.

EarlyEnglish

SettlementAnglo-Saxon Period

(449–1066)

Viking (aka Danes) raids begin

A.D. 793

Roman invasion and settlement 55 B.C.

Anglo-Saxon invasion and settlement

A.D. 449

Norman Invasion and settlement

A.D. 1066

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The Celts

A. The Celts inhabited Britain, beginning sometime before 400 B.C. One Celtic group, the Britons (Brythons), gave their name to the island.

1. Celts probably viewed the world through animism, the belief that spirits live in all things—trees, stones, water, air.

2. Druids, Celtic priests, may have used Stonehenge for religious rites & human sacrifice. ©

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Celtic Influence

A. The Celts influenced the language and literature of the British Isles for centuries.

1. Tales of King Arthur draw on Celtic myth and history.

2. Welsh, Scots Gaelic, and Irish are descendants of the Celtic language that are still spoken today.

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The Romans

A. In 55 B.C., Julius Caesar’s Roman armies first invaded Britain.

1. Some of the tribes already living in Britain opposed the invaders but were overcome by the Romans in A.D. 43. (*Queen Boudicca – famous warrior queen)

2. Roman rule brought security from other invaders for several hundred years.

3. Roman rule also brought Christianity to Britain, gradually replacing Celtic animism. Christianity linked Britain culturally to Europe.

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Rome Leaves

1. The Good News:a. England was left with

many Roman-built roads, walls, and buildings. (*Hadrian’s Wall)

b. England was no longer ruled by a foreign power that had sometimes been oppressive.

A. By 409, the Roman armies had left England and returned to Rome, where civil strife and the threat of invasion were growing. The Britons were on their own.

2. The Bad News:

a. England now had no central government, only uncooperative clans.

b. England no longer had Roman protection from invaders.

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Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

A. In the mid-fifth century, Britain was invaded by Angles and Saxons from Germany and Jutes from Denmark.

1. The Celts fought hard but were driven into the far west region of Britain, now known as Wales.

2. The invaders settled most of Britain, which came to be called England, after the Angles (*Angle-Land)

3. The language of the Anglo-Saxons, Old English, became England’s dominant language.

4. Anglo-Saxon England was divided up into principalities and would remain divided for the next half millennium.

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A Warrior Culture

A. The Anglo-Saxons brought with them from Germany a strict code of behavior and a harsh view of life.

1. Constant fear of enemy invaders kept Anglo-Saxons on the alert.

2. From household to town to kingdom, all groups depended on absolute loyalty to their leaders.

3. Leaders rewarded brave and loyal followers with treasures and land.

4. Harsh living conditions bred both hardiness and a stoic acceptance of the brevity of life.

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Anglo-Saxon Religion

A. The Anglo-Saxons’ religion was based on the bleak Norse mythology. However, Anglo-Saxon religion was more concerned with ethics than mysticism.

1. Woden (god of poetry and death) and Thunor (god of thunder and lightning) were versions of the Norse Odin and Thor.

a. Woden = Woden’s Day or Wednesday

b. Thor = Thor’s Day or Thursday

2. Anglo-Saxon religion valued bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship.

3. Eventually, the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity.

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Anglo-Saxon Literature

A. As important to Anglo-Saxons as warfare was poetry. Their poets, called scops, were much honored. These scops:

1. told heroic tales and kept the people’s history

2. sang while strumming stringed instruments

3. used set rhythms and stock phrases to remember the stories

4. told of great battles and mourned the brevity of life in elegies—poems about the fleeting joys of life

5. used a Runic alphabet (made of runes).

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Runic Alphabets

Anglo-SaxonFuthorcElder/Germanic

Futhark

The name "futhark", like the word "alphabet", is derived from the first few letters in the runic sequence, which differs considerably from the order of the Latin alphabet .

Younger/Danish Futhark

The Viking Raids

A. In the late eighth century, the Danes (Vikings) began to make mostly random “hit-and-run” style raids on England. They

1. plundered and destroyed everything in their paths

2. killed mercilessly, including children and monks

3. eventually took over and settled in parts of northeast and central England

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Alfred the Great

A. In the late ninth century, Alfred of Wessex united the Anglo-Saxon principalities to repel the invading Danes.

1. Alfred encouraged Anglo-Saxons to defend their culture and church against the Danes.

2. He promoted the English language and literacy through The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

3. His descendants continued the fight against the Danes until 1066. ©

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The Norman Conquest

A. In 1066, William the Conqueror led the Norman invasion of England, ending the Anglo-Saxon era. He declared himself king and divided the land among loyal Norman lords.

1. The Normans were former Vikings who had settled in France.

2. William and his lords maintained ties to France, which

a. linked England firmly with European culture

b. meant the ruling class spoke a different language—Norman French—than the English-speaking common people

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Meanwhile in Ireland. . .

A. While England (and Europe) suffered centuries of invasion and warfare, Ireland—protected by difficult seas—experienced a peaceful Golden Age.

B. In 432 Bishop Patricius (St. Patrick) converted the Irish Celts to Christianity.

1. Irish monasteries became refuges of learning.

2. Monks copied and preserved ancient literature, scripture, and works of Anglo-Saxon and Irish culture that would otherwise have been lost.

These books are called IlluminatedManuscripts.

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Indicate whether the following statements refer to the time before, during, or after the Anglo-Saxon era.

_________— Viking invaders terrorized England.

_________— French replaced English as the language of the ruling class.

_________— England became unified under Alfred of Wessex.

_________— Animism was probably the primary religious belief.

What Have You Learned?

During

After

During

Before

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The End

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