Name: _______________________________
Date: ________________________________
Block: _______________________________
Anglo Saxon History and Culture:
An Introduction to Beowulf
Anglo Saxon People:
Who Are They?
 The term _________________________has come to mean anyone who is English or of
English descent.
 But the Anglo-Saxons were actually a people who lived long ago. They settled in Britain
around ___________ and stayed until_______________.
 These newcomers were fair-haired, tall, and very courageous.
 They were a mixture of people from northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland.
Most were ___________________, _________________, and________________.
Invasions
 First, we have the _________, who had old religions involving many _________, sacred
___________________, and ancient ____________.
 In 55 B.C. ___________ invaded the Celts, bringing ___________________and
________________________ with them.
 Early in the fifth century, Roman armies ___________________ Britain to defend their
own city.
 Having grown dependent on Roman protection, this made Britain an easy target for
invasion.
 Anglo Saxons from Germany and Jutes from Denmark ______________________ and
drove the Celts out and to the north.
Anglo Saxon Kingdoms
 After the Anglo-Saxons defeated the Celts, they divided Britain into _____ kingdoms.
(Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Wessex, and Sussex)
 Each kingdom was inhabited by a different tribe and ruled by a king (cyning).
 The Jutes (from Denmark) settled mainly in Kent.
 The Angles settled in East Anglia.
 The Saxons settled in areas of Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), and Wessex
(West Saxons).
 For hundreds of years the seven tribes fought in great wars against each other to gain
power of the entire British Isles.
 The Anglo-Saxon tribes were savage, ruthless people who lived life by a strict
___________________________.
 They were also known for their courage and nobility in war and everyday life.
Anglo Saxon Religion:
 The Anglo-Saxons were ___________________ when they came to Britain, but as time
passed they gradually converted to ________________________________.
 Early Anglo-Saxon invaders brought their belief in __________, or __________, and
their admiration for heroic warriors whose wyrd it was to prevail in battle.
 Pagans worshiped lots of ________________________________.
 Each pagan god controlled a particular part of everyday life.
 Balder: God of Immortality
 Thunor:
God of Thunder
 Eostre: Goddess of Birth
 Tiw:
God of War
 Hel:
Goddess of Death
 Wade:
God of the Sea
 Loki:
God of Cunning
 Wayland: God of Metalworki ng
 Saxnot: God of the Family
 Woden:
Chief God
 Our Days of the Week
 Tuesday: ________________ day (the god of war)
 Wednesday: _________________ day (chief god)
 Thursday: ________________day (god of thunder)
 Friday: ______________day (the goddess of home)
 _____________________________ still lingered from when Romans occupied
Britain despite newly introduced ___________________beliefs.
 In 597, the Pope sent a missionary monk called _____________________ to England.
The purpose was to __________________Anglo-Saxons into Christians.
 Christianity spread to other parts of Britain. Pagan temples were converted to Christian
churches and new Christian ________________________________________.
Christian Churches
 Christian Churches served as centers for _________________________.
 Individuals belonging to the church may have been the only ______________ people.
 They were the keepers of ___________________________________.
Anglo Saxon Culture:
Ethics and Values
 Anglo Saxons valued _________________, ________________,
____________________, and ___________________________.
 The king, or cyning, was the central part of every kingdom and tribe, and loyalty to one’s
king was a _________________________________.
 Women were _____________________________. They were able to hold high status
and be wealthy.
 ____________, or story-tellers (also known as _____________), were considered equal
to warriors. They were valued as story-tellers, history-keepers, and entertainers.
Activities
 The Anglo-Saxons loved ____________________ and would often have feasts in the
___________________. The food was cooked over the fire in the middle of the hall;
meat was roasted and eaten with bread.
 They drank ale and mead - a kind of beer made sweet with honey - from great goblets and
drinking horns.
 After the feast a scop (a bard or poet) would play a harp and sing songs of
_________________________.
Warrior Beliefs
 The Anglo-Saxon warrior's attitude toward battle was always _________________ and
_______________________.
 They believed if they fought as hard as they could in life (wars), they would die a
_________________________ on the battlefield and could
__________________________________.
 Warriors confronted life as embracing death. They did not look at obstacles or warfare as
a bad thing. They not only accepted their ______ (fate) but rejoiced in dying on the
battlefield because they would achieve glory in death.
 In the mead hall or on the battlefield, a warrior needed to ______________ about his
past and future accomplishments to create a _______________________________.
 However, the warrior would need to follow through on his bragging. If he didn't, he was
considered a ______________________. A warrior needed both words and actions.
 The Anglo-Saxons relied on _______________________ to pass on their war stories,
traditions, and literature.
Oral Traditions
 Scops (shapers of tales) traveled across the country reciting historic or fictional tales of
___________________, _________________, and ______________________.
 Their purpose was to pass stories through generations so they would not be forgotten.
 Scops were both _______________________ and ________________________.
Anglo Saxon Literature:
 In many pieces of literature (including Beowulf) there is a sudden jump from a
_______________________ to a _________________.
 For example, warriors could be feasting and rejoicing in a mead hall and then a monster
kills people. Then everyone is happy again.
 This symbolizes their outlook on life: ___________________________, but one must
________________ and ____________one's ________ to become a better person.
 Epic- long ______________ poem about _________________________, typically
passed through generations ___________________ by scops and bards
 Examples: ___________________________________________________
 Alliteration- the repetition of ____________________________ at the
___________________of words
 Examples: _________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
 Stock Epithets- __________________________________ that point out
____________________________________ of particular people or things
 Examples: ________________________________________________________
 Kennings- poetic synonyms; ___________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
 Examples: ________________________________________________________