Anglo-Saxon Period (Literatura Inglesa) PDF

The Anglo- Saxon Period 450-1066 Anglo-Saxon clothing. Wikimedia  Overview of Periods of Early English History: Pre-History—1066 A. D....

The Anglo- Saxon Period 450-1066 Anglo-Saxon clothing. Wikimedia  Overview of Periods of Early English History: Pre-History—1066 A. D. Anglo-Saxon Celts Roman Occupation Period Norman Conquest 55 B.C. 410 A.D. 787 A.D. 450 1066 A.D. A.D. Viking Anglo-Saxon Invasions Migrations St. King Alfred Augustine “the Great” lands in (849-899) Kent (597)  Celts Roman Occupation 55 B.C. 410 A.D.  Celtic Invasions: 800 - 600 BC, two groups of Celts moved into the British Isles: the Britons and the Gaels  The Roman Conquest: 55 BC and 56 BC, incursions by Julius Caesar Conquest: 43 AD, Roman emperor Claudius 410 AD: last Roman legions left for Rome to defend the city against the Visigoths Lasting presence of Roman culture and institutions Roman baths at Bath  Roman Anglo-Saxon Occupation Period 410 450 1066 A.D. A.D. A.D. 410 - 450 AD:  Angles and Saxons move from Baltic shores of Germany  The Jutes invade from Denmark  476 AD: The end of the Western Roman Empire  collapse of Europe’s political unity  Germanic tribes form  E.g., the Anglo-Saxon their own kingdoms heptarchy  Anglo-Saxon Period 450 A.D. 1066 A.D. Anglo-Saxon Society  highly organized tribal units (kingdoms): each tribe ruled by a king chosen by a council of elders (witan) thanes: the upper class, earls, or freewarriors (in a comitatus bond with their leader) thralls: slaves who did the farming and domestic work Anglo-Saxon king with his witan. Scene in the Illustrated Old English freemen: small group who earned Hexateuch (11th century) possessions and special favors  What Is COMITATUS?? Germanic code of honor and loyalty a relationship based on reciprocity between a warlord and his warriors / thanes must be generous in swear loyalty to their leader (i.e., a return  (give thane of superior standing –even the treasure / land) king--, respected for his courage and generosity) Literary representation of comitatus: kings / thanes / leaders praised for their courage, generosity and hospitality their warriors / thanes  praised for courage and loyalty Anglo-Saxon long house Anglo-Saxon Period 450 1066  Rome’s greatest legacy: A.D. A.D. Christianity– its official religion since the 4th century.  St. Augustine lands in Kent in 597AD, converts King Aethelbert (king of Kent, the oldest Saxon settlement) to Christianity and becomes first Archbishop of Canterbury "Augustine of Canterbury preaches to Æthelberht of Kent", by James William Doyle (1864). 450 Anglo-Saxon Period 787 1066 The Viking invaders: 8th-11th centuries A.D. Viking Invasions King Alfred “the Great” (849- 899) 787 A.D. 1066 A.D.  Sea-faring Scandinavians: explorers, traders, and warriors  The Anglo-Saxon and Jute heritage was not much different from the Vikings’. However, when the Viking raids began around 787, the Anglo-Saxons were different culturally.  The Viking invaders sought lands, and occassionally also sacked and plundered monasteries, destroyed manuscripts, and stole sacred religious objects.  King Stained glass window at (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Alfred_the_Great) Alfred Bristol Cathedral “the Great” (849-899) Two reasons for the epithet:  886 truce with the Vikings  England was formally divided:  Danish rule in the east and the north  Saxon rule in the south  Alfred became a national hero.  Alfred encouraged a rebirth of learning and education.  Anglo-Saxon Period An evolving society 450 1066 787 Viking Invasions The waves of invaders and raiders during the 800s and 900s made central control very difficult. A system based on local power and loyalty emerged  Feudalism: a political and social system that tied together Kings, Lords and Peasants in a relationship based upon loyalty and land.  Anglo-Saxon Period Feudal Homage Ceremony 450 1066 787 Viking Invasions  Anglo-Saxon Period What is Feudalism? 450 1066 787 Viking Invasions "a social system that existed in Europe during the Middle Ages(*) in which people worked and fought for nobles who gave them protection and the use of land in return" (Merriam-Webster) (*) NOTE TO STUDENTS: For many scholars, from the mid 5th century to the end of the 15th century, thus covering both the Anglo-Saxon and the Middle English period (remember what was said about periodization in the introductory unit) Anglo-Saxon Period 450 1066 A.D. A.D. Anglo-Saxon Period 450 A.D. 1066 A.D. Anglo-Saxon Literature: poetry  Anglo-Saxon literature began not with books, but with spoken verse and incantations.  Two main categories: o epic poetry (recounting the achievements of warriors); eg., Beowulf, «The Battle of Maldon», some elements of «The Dream of the Rood» (a dream poem) o elegiac poetry (lamenting the dead and the loss of the past); eg., «The Wife’s Lament,» «The Seafarer» and «The Wanderer». Anglo-Saxon Literature: prose  Before Alfred the Great, all important prose was written in Latin.  The greatest of England’s Latin scholars was Venerable Bede (673-735)  Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (History of the English Church and People) an account of England from the Roman invasion to Bede’s own time.  Anglo-Saxon prose cont.  During King Alfred’s time, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was assembled  written in Old English  One copy was still being expanded in the mid-12th c. It begins… The island Britain is 800 miles long, and 200 miles broad. And there are in the island five nations; English, Welsh (or British), Scottish, Pictish, and Latin. The first inhabitants were the Britons, who came from Armenia [sic: Armorica], and first peopled Britain southward. …