Anglo-Saxons
Pravali Kothakota
Hannah Brezovec
Melissa Dureiko
Cecily Peevler
Anglo-Saxon Religion
The Celts were a group
of people who
occupied the British
Isles to Galatia. They
seemed to have a
form of animism.
Their gods and spirits
controlled every
aspect of existence
and had to be
satisfied constantly.
Druids were priests that acted as
messengers between the gods and
people.
Anglo-Saxon Religion
Ritual dances and human sacrifices were
used to honor the gods. Some believe
that
Eventually
Christianity made an
appearance
during this
timereligious
period and it provided
common
Stonehenge
was
used
for
rites
faith, common system of morality, and light conduct. Under Christianity the Anglo-Saxons fought
to protect people, culture, and church. Christian monks preserved the literature of the ancient
such as those sacrifices and dances.
worlds as well as works of popular culture.
Anglo-Saxon Religion
Monasteries were centers of learning and
preserved works from the older oral tradition.
Women joined religious communities and
were in charge of these double houses.
Double houses were monasteries and
nunneries.
Anglo-Saxon Religion
Religion with warrior gods persisted despite
Christianity. The Anglo-Saxon religion
was more concerned with ethics than
mysticism. Mysticism is the early virtues
of bravery, loyalty, generosity and
friendship. This religion offered no hope
for after life. They believed only fame and
its reverberation in poetry could provide a
defense against death.
Anglo-Saxon Gods
Thunor (Thor)- god of
thunder and lightning
Gods/ Goddess Chart
GOD
GOD OF WHAT?
Balder
God of Immortality
Eostre
Goddess of Birth
Frigg
Goddess of Love
Hel
Goddess of Death
Loki
God of Cunning
Saxnot
God of the Family
Thunor
God of Thunder
Tiw
God of War
Wade
God of the Sea
Wayland
God of Metalworking
Woden
Chief God
Historical Events
-Starting in A.D 409, the
Angles, Saxons, and
Jutes invaded Britain
after defeating the
Celt's.
-Before the AngloSaxons settled in
Britain, there were
settlers before them.
-Before the AngloSaxons it was the
Celts, and before the
Celts it was the
-In A.D 597 St.
Augustine converts
Anglo-Saxon king
Ethelbert and
establishes monastery
at Canterbury.
-In 871-899 King Alfred
of Wessex became the
Anglo-Saxons first
"king".
-King Alfred led the
Anglo-Saxons against
the invading Danes
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
This map shows that the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes originated from Germany
and Denmark.
Historical Events
-Alfred's reign began the shaky dominance of
Wessex kings in southern England.
-Alfred's descendants-Ethelfleda, a military
leader-carried on his battle against the
Danes.
-After a long battle against the Danes,
eventually the Danes took over and settled in
parts of northeast and central England.
-The reason the Anglo-Saxons fought the
Danes, was to protect their people, their
culture, and their church from the ravages of
This is the Vikings (Danes) coming ashore to
begin battle with the Anglo-Saxons.
Historical Events
-In A.D 1066 Saxons and Danes were
defeated by William, Duke of Normandy
from northwestern France.
-Normandy becomes the new settlers in
Britain.
William, Duke of Normandy,invaded Britain and defeated
both Anglo-Saxons and Danes, leaving Normandy the
new settlers in Britain.
Role and development of
language
Language played a very important role in the Anglo-Saxon
period, monks spent most of their day in the monastery
scriptorium, or known as the writing room. The monks would
spend this time copying manuscripts by hand.
The scriptorium was in a covered walkway and had makeshifts
walls of oiled paper or glass.
King Alfred played an important role during the time period, he
introduced the Anglo-Saxon chronicle. His efforts caused
english to gain respect. The earlier English stories by monks
were also noticed and became known to hold some of the
greatest works in literature, for example, beowulf.
Not only did they show the greatest works in literature, but the
monastery's also preserved some of the greatest latin and
greek classics.
The Monastery Scriptorium
This is a photo of what the people believed
the monks did in the monastery
scriptorium. You can see the monk doing
multiple and long writing works during this
time.
Anglo- Saxon alphabet
This is a picture of the anglo-saxon alphabet. This alphabet
did not go in the order we know today, instead it
translates into, f u p o r c w and so on.
Passage from Beowulf
This is a short passage from Beowulf as it
would be written in their form of writing
and language.
Role and Development of
language
The Anglo-Saxons learned their writing styles from the
script used by Irish missionaries. This type of writing was
used in books in Latin, also in Latin and old English.
Old English script was rising because of the influence of
Caroline Minuscule. Although, it retained a number of
distinctive letter forms.
Daily Life
-When the Anglo-Saxons arrived to Britain,
they stayed away from Roman towns and
preferred small villages, however some
warrior chiefs (leaders) knew a walled city
would be beneficial so they settled in
abandoned Roman towns
-Most settlements were small with just two
or three families
Daily Life
-Through the remains found at West Stow in
Suffolk, archeologists found that small
groups of houses were built around a
larger hall
The houses were made out of wood with a thatched roof
Daily Life
-Men wore tunics with tight trousers,
wrapped around with strips of cloth or
leather
-Women wore long dresses
-clothing was made from woollen cloth or
animal skin, women spun wool to make
thread for clothing
-varied from region, Anglian women used
long brooches while Saxon women used
round brooches
Strickland Brooch
Ad 800's
Daily Life
-men cut down trees for supplies and
cleared and ploughed land, while children
herded cattle and sheep and looked out
for wolves
-others had speciality jobs, such as
woodworkers and potters
Ad 500-700
Daily Life
-Women inherited and held property, even
after marriage
-instead of a dowry, potential men had to
offer the woman a substantial gift of
money and land
-some women(usually from noble families)
became powerful abbesses(charge of
large double houses that included a
monastery and nunnery) after joining
religious communities
Works Cited
-"Anglo-Saxon Life." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/anglo_saxons/anglo-saxon_life/>.
-This website is credible because it is an unbiased source,and BBC is a
reputable company, and the informations is thorough and well researched.
-Leeming, David Adam. "The Anglo-Saxons." 2000. Elements of Literature. Ed.
Kristen E. Marshall. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 2-16. Print.
- This source is credible because it is a published textbook. It is a source from school, it is
unbiased, it is current for the information we need out of it hasn't changed in years, the story is
relevant to the Anglo-Saxons, and it is accurate.
-"Anglo-Saxons: The Making of England." History Today. Patrick Wormald, n.d. Web.
03 Sept. 2012. <http://www.historytoday.com/patrick-wormald/anglo-saxonsmaking-england>.
-this source is relevant to the Anglo-Saxons, accurate, current and has been updated this year,
and unbiased.
-"Anglo-Saxons."
BBC News. BBC, 2012. Web. 03 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/anglo_saxons/anglosaxon_beliefs/>.
This source is reliable and credible because its constantly being
updated to fit new research and it is very user friendly. Also, the information
is not biased and seems to be accurate based on other research.
Work Cited
Ager, Simon. "Old English / Anglo-Saxon (Englisc)." Old English / Anglo-Saxon.
Simon Ager, 1998. Web. 03 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.omniglot.com/writing/oldenglish.htm>.
This is a credible source because it is not bias, and everything given is a fact not an
opinion. Also the information given was accurate and the website has been updated
timely.