A.D. 449-1066
449-1066
 Once thought to be original settlers of Britain (got there
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circa 700 B.C.)
Once believed to predate 3000 B.C. and possibly built
Stonehenge—it was old when they got there
Pagan religion-Druids
Mentioned by Greeks in 4th century B.C.
2 tribes mentioned Brythons and Gaelic
Were warring tribes—not a centralized group of people
 Brythons-Britons-settled in present day England or Britain
 Gaels-term Gaelic-settled in Ireland
 Island off coast they called Eire becomes Ireland
 By 250 B.C. had conquered most of the world
 Julius Caesar, as a General, leads invasion of England in 55
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B.C.
Not until A.D. 43 is there an actual conquest by Claudius
There to rule, not destroy
Their rule lasted over 300 years/height of power 117 A.D.
under Trajan
Last legions left in 407 A.D. to defend a falling Rome.
Brought Christianity to England in 4th century
Brought structure to England
Built roads and walls as a defense against invaders-see
Hadrian’s wall
 Patrick (c. 5th century)
 Historically a Romanized Britain-a Christian
 Once captured by Irish, enslaved, escapes, and later
returned to convert them.
 Becomes a Saint-patron saint of Ireland
 Ran off all of the snakes in Ireland-really there are no
snakes in Ireland except in Zoos-symbolic myth
 Symbolism of the Shamrock
 King Arthur (c. late 5th early 6th century)
 Not really a King at all
 His existence is still debated
 Likely to have been a Romanized Celt or Welsh warrior
 Most associated with Middle Ages and its literatureanic
tribes
 Said to have led warriors against invading Norse and
Germ
 See films—King Arthur with Clive Owen or Last Legion
 Answer the following:
 Define an “epic poem”
 Define “alliteration”
 Define “kenning”
 What is a hero? Explain your definition and give examples
 What is courage? How would most people today define courage?
 What qualities do you believe a good leader should possess? Discuss
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leadership in our society. Name some modern leaders.
What are the characteristics of contemporary leaders? What do we
admire about them?
What does it mean to be loyal? Tell about a time you were loyal or
someone was loyal to you.
Why is a reputation important? What factors influence a person’s
reputation?
Why is generosity important? What does it mean to be generous?
Write about or discuss the most generous person you know.
 Romans left England open to invasion—no real army
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or defense
Various Germanic, Norse, Danish tribes invade
Celts can’t hold them back
Some are actual Vikings from Norway, others are
Viking-like tribes
Tribes with names like Jutes, Saxons, Picts, and Angles
Step ashore in 449-burning churches and destroying
everything
 Danes and Norsh were too harsh for Germanic tribes
 Saxons and Angles ban together and forces Danes
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north
Southern half is called Angle-land or England
Anglo-Saxon refers to combination of tribes and
culture formed from it
Anglo-Saxon united under King Alfred or Alfred the
Great
Danes and Vikings never stop trying to get in until
everyone is defeated including the Anglo-Saxons in
1066
Alfred the Great
 Becomes King c. 871 A.D.
 Unites England against Vikings
 Commissions The Anglo Saxon Chronicle—a history of
the Anglo-Saxons in England—written in Old English
 Helped give Old English respectability
 Most stuff written in Latin, he insists on a language of
the people
Edward the Confessor
 Named because he was deeply religious
 Death in 1066 opened England to invasion
 No real heir for his throne
Harold II
 Considered last Anglo-Saxon king
 Chosen by council elders to be king
 Killed in same year takes throne (1066)
William the Conqueror
 Duke of Normandy
 Claims Edward left throne to him
 Decides to invade England and take his throne
 Leads Norman invasion of England
 Kills Harold and takes throne
 Introduces the Norman or French line of kings
 Old English becomes the language of the people
 Old English is a combination of various languages of
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invading tribes
Latin comes from the Romans—later considered
language of the educated and elite
Norse language comes from the Vikings
German from the Germanic tribes i.e. Angles, Saxons
Gaelic from the Celts
Remnants of these languages can still be seen in our
language
 Historically begins with Pagan religion of Celts
 Christianity brought in by the Romans and slowly spreads
 Anglo-Saxon belief system similar to Norse and Norse
mythology
 Norse main god was Oden—Anglo-Saxon was Woden—his
day is referred to as Woden’s day or Wednesday
 Son was Thor in both religions—his day Thor’s day
 Two major beliefs were “Wyrd” and “Lof”
 “Wyrd” means fate—believed they would die young
 “Lof” means fame after death—no real heaven so live eternally
through fame
 With no real period of peace, warriors were necessary
 One of the most respected members of society
 Wanted to die in battle—felt it was their “wyrd”
 Fight hard and gain “lof”
 Short life span and no medical care- “hair of the dog”
 Earliest form is of the storytelling or oral tradition
 “Scop” was a storyteller
 “Scops” were respected as warriors
 “Scops” could provide “lof”
 Written literature is from monks
 Monks wrote down stories of commoners
 Two main forms
 Lyric poetry—most like a song in form
 Example: “The Seafarer”
 The epic—just like The Odyssey—traces journey of a
hero
 Example: Beowulf
 Preserved and written down by monks
 Bede (672-735 A.D.)
 Monk and author a.k.a Venerable Bede
 Wrote Ecclesiastical History of England
 “Father of English History”
 Work with Latin and Greek writings of the early Church
Fathers contributed significantly to English Christianity,
making the writings more accessible to fellow AngloSaxons.
 Monasteries were sanctuaries for learning
 Monks were the few that could read and write
 Helped educate others and spread Christianity while
doing it
 Monks could write in Old English and Latin
 Helped bridge gap from King to commoner
 Was spread because monks wrote it down
 Exeter Book
 10th century compilation of Anglo-Saxon poetry
 Kept in Exeter Cathedral, thus the name
 Largest collection of Old English literature
 No printing press
 Hand copied text constantly
 Winters so cold ink froze
Anglo-Saxon (Old English)
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nom
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acc
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ic
wé þú
gé
hé
héo
mé
ús þé
éow
hine híe
dat
mé
ús þé
éow
im
gen
mín úre þín
hit híe
hit híe
hire him heom
éower his
hire his hira/heoras
Late Middle English
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nom
I
we
thou ye
he
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obl
me us

gen
my oure thy
she hit
they
thee you
him
hir hit
hem/them
your his
hir his
hir/their
Modern English
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nom
I
we
-
you
he
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obl
me
us
-
you
him

gen
my
our -
your his
she it
they
her it
them
her its
their
 Most dramatic changes occurred between late part of
Middle English and early part of Modern English
 Originally, the long vowels were literally long versions
of the short vowels: held for a longer time
 Long vowels shifted “up”: pronounced with the tongue
higher in the mouth
 Vowels that couldn’t go any higher became dipthongs
 Long vowels shifted up
 e (originally pronounced “eh”) becomes “ee” (beet)
 o (originally pronounced “oh”) becomes “oo” (boot)
 Long vowels with nowhere to go became diphthongs
 i (originally pronounced “ee”) becomes “eye” (bite)
 ou (originally pronounced “oo”) becomes “ow” (spout)
 Diphthongs became long sounds
 ai (originally pronounced “eye”) becomes “ai” (mate)
 au (originally pronounced “ow”) becomes “aw” (spot)
 Other random changes
 oo is sometimes “you” as in “cute”
 e is sometimes silent now—never was silent before