The Anglo-Saxon Period/449-1066 AD
Note: The basic knowledge in this handout is absolutely essential for an
understanding of the literature of the period (chiefly “Beowulf”). Study it carefully, as
you will need to know the following material for the literary analysis essay and test on
the Anglo-Saxon period.
Historical Background of England through the Norman Conquest of 1066
I. England Inhabited by the Celts
a. Very little knowledge of Celts because of few direct records, but Julius Caesar
described them as follows:
1. light-skinned, flaxen-haired, blue-eyed
2. shepherds and farmers
3. sang songs
4. imaginative and loved beauty
5. skilled iron and tin-smiths
II. Julius Caesar and the Roman Occupation
a. 55 B.C.: Caesar crossed the English Channel to Britain.
b. 43 A.D.: Roman emperor Claudius conquered Celts
c. Romans occupied England for about 400 years; their contributions to England
and the Celtic civilization include
1. built roads
2. founded cities
3. erected a great wall and military fort to hold off Scottish tribes
4. introduced Roman law
5. brought Latin language
6. later introduced Christianity (597 A.D.)
III. Romans left England in 410 A.D.
a. The Celts were left weak and defenseless because they had depended on the
Romans for military protection against the invasions of the Picts and Scots from
the North.
b. Voltigern the Celtic leader bargained with the Jutes in Denmark to help drive
off the Picts and Scots. In return, the Jutes were to receive the Isle of Thanet.
However, when the Jutes had driven off the Scots and the Picts, they decided
to stay in England because it was superior to their country.
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IV. 449 AD: Invasion by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
a. These tribes came from what is today known as Denmark, Holland, Germany, and the
Friesland Islands.
b. The Celts were pushed into western parts of the island, mostly into what is now Wales.
c. The Celts put up a strong fight for a number of years under the leadership of a strong
king (who may have been the Arthur of the legends).
V. Christian Religion Brought to England in 597 A.D.
a. St. Augustine and a band of missionaries were sent to England by Pope
Gregory I to tell the people of Christ and Catholicism.
b. Christianity was readily accepted because it was brighter and more helpful
than their religion(s).
c. Monks settled and established monasteries, churches, and libraries.
d. Great progress was made in education:
1. encouraged literature because men learned to read and write.
2. oral literature was transcribed in written form.
3. wrote books (poetry, prose, and history).
VI. Danish Raiders Attacked the Island in the 800’s
a. Looted the island, destroying the monasteries, churches and libraries.
b. Completely halted the growth of learning.
c. Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, was the only leader who could stop them.
VII. Alfred the Great (849-899 A.D.)
a. Led a revival of learning by brining in teachers, educating the clergy, and
translating books from Latin into English.
b. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the best source of Anglo-Saxon history and a
chronicle of the events of each year, was directly inspired by Alfred the Great.
VIII. Norman Conquest/Battle of Hastings (1066)
a. After King Alfred, Anglo-Saxon civilization declined. Danes again invaded and
the kingdom became more disorganized.
b. Harold succeeded Edward the Confessor to the throne.
c. William of Normandy challenged Harold’s right to the throne and defeated
Harold’s army.
d. William was crowned king on December 25, 1066.
Anglo-Saxon Civilization
I. Characteristics of the People
a. hard fighters and bold seamen
b. admired physical strength and personal bravery
c. great love of personal freedom
d. ideals of loyalty, fair play, and honest dealings
e. boastful, reckless, cruel, bloodthirsty, and vengeful
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II. Organization of Society
a. country divided into small kingdoms
b. each kingdom had a king who ruled the warriors and led them into
battle
c. “thanes” were the free warriors (the upper class)
d. “thralls” were the slaves who did the farming and domestic work
III. Social Ideals of Anglo-Saxons
a. great respect for womanhood; they were given positions of
influence and power
b. monogamy-one man to one woman
c. democratic to some extent (although they had some respect for the
hereditary descent of kings, they also demanded that he prove his
right to leadership through strength and skill in leadership and battle)
d. loyalty to comrade and king in time of danger
IV. Religion
a. Polytheistic, had many pagan gods
b. a fatalistic, cheerless, gloomy religion, similar to the Norse
c. Chief gods:
1. Woden-father of all the gods; god of wisdom, poetry and magic
2. Wyrd-godess of fate
3. gods from which we derived names of four days of the week:
a. Tuesday-Tie/Tir-the god of war
b. Wednesday-Woden
c. Thursday-Thor, the god of Thunder
d. Friday, Frija, queen of the heavens (or Valhalla/Aesir)
*Note that Brittain gradually became a Christian, monotheistic society.
V. Recreation
a. chief joy in life found in conflict (with man, animal, climate, terrain)
b. swimming matches and horseracing
c. “flyting”-a contest of wits between two warriors with each man praising his own
deeds and belittling those of his opponent.
d. banqueting and drinking mead (a fermented honey beverage)
e. singing songs and recreating long sagas of the deeds of their heroes
f. The “scops” or “gleemen” were the singers who sang/recited the “lays” on a
“gleewood,” a lyre or stringed harp. They were the oral historians/entertainers
of the period.
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VI. Anglo-Saxon Writers
a. Historians included Bede, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and
Alfred the great, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
b. Poets included Caedmon, the first Christian poet, and Cynewulf, the greatest
of the Christian poets.
VII. Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
a. Distinctive rhythm, with a pause or “caesura” in the middle of each line, and
two stresses on each half-line
b. Alliteration instead of rhyme aided memorization: “The sword sang its song.”
c. Kennings were distinct compound expressions used in place of more common
words: “whale-road” for sea, or “ring-giver” for king, for example.
VIII. Language
a. Anglo-Saxon was a Germanic language, also related to Scandinavia, Holland,
and Friesland.
b. An inflected language in which words changed their form according to use in
a sentence.
IX. Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon Literature
a. showed love of personal freedom
b. showed reverence for and need for a religion
c. showed struggle for survival
d. reflected the spirit of the people
e. reflected ideals of the people
f. showed reverence for womanhood
g. expressed the Anglo-Saxon man’s love for feasting, drinking, “flyting,” conflict
and war, swimming matches, etc.
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Key Literary Terms:
alliteration
kennings
in media res
caesura
epic/epic hero
kennings (examples of)
mead, mead-hall
thane
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moor
polytheism
monotheism
good vs. evil elements/theme in Beowulf
references to the book of “Genesis”
Odin
monks/monasteries
pagan vs. Christian elements in Beowulf
reparation
mail
purge
reprisal
scabbard
hilt
hoary
unsheathe
kinship
alliteration (examples of)
wyrd
bard (or scop)
in medias res
The Romans
The Angles/Saxons
The Jutes
polytheism
monotheism
Beowulf/The Epic Hero
Literary Analysis Portfolio Pieces-Consult your notes, reading, and handouts to help
you write the following essays.
Discuss the characteristics of an epic hero. In what ways does Beowulf exemplify
these characteristics? Give specific examples from the epic to support your answer.
Which charcteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry and literature does the writer of Beowulf
employ in the epic? Give specific examples to support your answer.