The Anglo-Saxon Period
449-1066
The Very Beginning
• 1st-5th c. England= “Britannia”
• Province of Roman Empire
• Inhabited by Celts; “Britons” & “Gaels”
How the “Anglo-Saxon” Period
began…
• 5th c. (400s) Celts under attack
• Romans withdraw
• Celts asked for help from the Angles, Saxons,
and Jutes (tribes that occupied now-Germany;
“Germanic” tribes)
• Germanic tribes take over!
Beginnings of the Anglo-Saxon
Period
• Start of English history = invasion of the Angles,
Saxons, and Jutes.
• “Angle-land.”
• The Anglo-Saxons: Lacked written language,
supported themselves through farming and
hunting, and believed in many different gods.
Paganism v. Christianity
• Celts initially pagans;
converted to Christianity in 4th
c.– but after A/S invasion, not
really maintained
• Anglo-Saxons were also pagans
• Late 6th c. (596-597?),
missionaries converted the
majority of inhabitants to
Christianity (but many still held
on to pagan beliefs and
traditions.)
• Christianity=increased literacy
The Danish Invasions
• 8th and 9th c.-- Other
Germanic tribes were
invading Britain
• By the ninth century, most of
England had fallen to the
invaders.
Alfred the Great
• Then, Alfred (king of West Saxons 871-899)
saves the day and returns peace to Britain
• Enthusiastic patron of literature
• Key figure in development of English
language
The End of the Anglo-Saxon Period
• King Edward
• King Edward promised the throne to William, Duke of
Normandy. However, when he died in 1066, Harold of
Wessex claimed the throne.
• Harold of Wessex & Duke William of Normandy…
The Showdown at the Battle of Hastings
• Within a year, William defeats Harold (The Norman
Conquest)
– William became the first Norman King of England.
– Thus the Anglo-Saxon era came to an end.
Sutton Hoo
• Near Woodbridge, Suffolk
• The site of two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries of the
sixth and seventh centuries, one of which contains
an undisturbed burial including a wealth of artifacts
• It sheds light on a period of English history which
is on the margin between myth, legend, and
historical documentation.
The Heroic Code of Excellence
• Physical strength
• Determination, bravery, courage (reputation
important)
• Commitment to warfare and acceptance of
violence/possible death
• Loyalty to fellow warriors, lord, and king–
KINSHIP!
• Comitatus– the Germanic code of loyalty
• Wergild– “man-payment;” paying a slain man’s family
to atone for the deed and prevent revenge (failure to
get compensation or get revenge was shameful)
The Heroic Code of Excellence
(continued)
• IN RETURN… the king was expected to be
generous with gifts of treasure and land, as
well as protect his people
Themes in Anglo-Saxon Literature
• Seafaring warriors, military and tribal loyalties, bravery
of warriors, generosity of rulers
• Monster-slaying stories from pagan Germanic folklore
AND struggles between good and evil from Christian
beliefs.
Anglo-Saxon Literature
• All English spoken, not written, before the
conversion to Christianity– oral tradition
• Early on, literacy was mainly restricted to the
clergy (Latin)
• Earliest examples of written English– manuscripts
from monasteries
• Few examples of texts written in Old English–
Beowulf is one of them
The Epic and the Epic Hero
• Epic- a long, narrative poem that recounts, in formal
language, the exploits of a larger-than-life hero.
• Epic Hero- the hero of an epic; a character of great
importance to his people
6 Characteristics of Epics
• 1- Supernatural events and details.
• 2- Long time periods. Distant journeys.
• 3- Life and death struggles between good and evil.
Hero represents good. The forces that threaten the
people represent evil.
• 4- The defeat of these forces often determines the fate
of the nation or group.
• 5- To overcome the people’s enemies, the hero
requires great physical strength.
• 6- He may boast of his strength to his enemies, thus
committing himself to courageous action.
Language of the Time
• Old English --------------
• Two primary sources:
• The language of the
Celtic people
• The language of the
invading Germanic
tribes
• Roughly half of Modern
English words are of
Germanic origin.
Poetic Style of the Anglo-Saxon Period
“Oft Scyld Seefing sceapena preatum”
• Meter
• Four principal stresses in each line
• Alliteration
• Organizing device of each line; at least one of the two stressed
words in the first half-line begin with the first stressed word of
the second half-line
• Caesura
• A natural pause that divides lines of Anglo-Saxon verse into
two parts, each with a major stressed syllable; two parts linked
to one another through alliteration
• Rhyme? Never!!
Other Literary Devices Used by the
Anglo-Saxons
• Kenning: Two-word metaphor to replace a noun
(whale-road for ocean; shadow of evil for a
monster); it can be hyphenated or use “of”
• Synecdoche: part of something used to represent the
whole (keel=ship, pages=book)
• Metonymy: one thing (usually the material) is used
to designate something with which it is commonly
associated (iron=sword, copper=penny)
• Litotes: ironic understatements (“it wasn’t the first
time Grendel came”; “English class at the end of the
day had her a little annoyed.”)
The Text of Beowulf
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Oldest of the great long poems written in English
Title has been assigned by modern editors
Author unknown– probably a single Christian author
Date unknown– probably between the 8th and 11th c.
Written or oral first? Unknown.
1731– before a modern translation, manuscript
damaged in fire– some lost!
Welcome to the Anglo-Saxon
Unit in British Literature!