Anglo-Saxon & Old English History and Literature



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Anglo-Saxon and Old English History and Literature

Anglo-Saxon History and Old English Language and Literature

  • Pre-Historical – 1066 A.D.

Overview of Periods of Early English History Pre-History—1066 A. D.

  • Pre-Roman/Pre-Historical  up to 55 B. C.
  • Roman Occupation  55 B. C. – 410 A. D.
  • Anglo-Saxon Period  410 – 787 A. D.
  • Viking Invasions  787 – 1066 A. D.
  • Norman Conquest begins in 1066

Pre-Historical / Pre-Roman

  • Stonehenge

Pre-Historical / Pre-Roman

  • The island we know as England was occupied by a race of people called the Celts. One of the tribes was called Britons (where we get the term Britain)
  • The Celts were Pagans and their religion was known as “animism” a Latin word for “spirit.” Celts saw spirits everywhere
  • Druids were their priests; their role was to go between the gods and the people

Roman Occupation

  • Hadrian’s Wall

Important Events During Roman Occupation

  • Julius Caesar begins invasion/occupation in 55 B.C.
  • Occupation completed by Claudius in 1st cent. A.D.
  • Hadrian’s Wall built about 121 A.D.
  • Romans “leave” in 410 A.D. because Visigoths attack Rome

The Anglo-Saxon Period 410-787

Important Events in the (First) Anglo-Saxon Period

  • 410- 450 Angles and Saxons invade from Baltic shores of Germany, and the Jutes invade from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark
  • They were totally different from the Romans and all the Roman elements in Britan were distroyed (including Christianism).

Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy

  • Heptarchy = Seven Kingdoms
    • Kent
    • Essex (East Saxon)
    • Sussex (South Saxon)
    • East Anglia
    • Northumbria
    • Mercia
    • Wessex (West Saxon)

Christianity

  • The anglo-saxon kingdoms were PAGAN but
  • St. Augustine (the “other” St. Augustine!) lands in Kent in 597 and begins the conversion of the anglo-saxon reigns.

Viking Invasions 787-1066

Vikings or Danes

  • By definition, Vikings were sea-faring (explorers, traders, and warriors) Scandinavians during the 8th through 11th centuries.
  • Oddly enough, the Anglo-Saxon (and Jute) heritage was not much different from the Vikings’: they, too, were Scandinavian invaders.
  • However, when the Viking raids began around 787, the Anglo-Saxons were different culturally from the Viking invaders > still PAGAN!!!

Results of the Viking Invasions

  • They settled in north-central Britain.
  • Alfred the Great (ruled from approx. 871-899 A.D.) was one of the first Anglo-Saxon kings to push Vikings back; in fact, he was one of the first kings to begin consolidating power, unifying several of the separate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
  • Pact with with the Vikings: Danelaw. Co-existence of reigns: anglo-saxon / danish

Early England Created by Three Invasions

  • 1. Roman Occupation 55 B.C.-410 A.D.
  • 2. Anglo-Saxon and Viking Invasions 410 – 1066 A.D.
  • 3. The Norman Invasion (The Battle of Hastings) in 1066 A.D.
  • LATIN
  • GERMAN(IC)
  • FRENCH

Norman Invasion

  • In 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, the Normans (powerful Northern Frenchmen) defeated the English and started a centuries-long conquest of England
  • Two Most Important Effects:
    • French becomes official language of politics and power and exerts enormous influence on Old English
    • England begins unifying under a French political system, much of which is still with us today (even in the U.S.)

The Anglo-Saxon Period in Review

  • Pre-Anglo-Saxon (really “pre” historical)
    • Celtic Peoples (approx 1700/400 B.C. – 55 B.C.)
    • Roman Occupation (55 B.C.-410 A.D.)
  • Anglo-Saxon/Viking
    • Angles, Saxons and Jutes (410-787
    • Viking Raids/Invasions begin 8th c. and end 10th c.
  • Norman Invasion/Occupation (really in the Middle Ages)
    • Battle of Hastings in 1066, then about four centuries of French rule

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