THE MIDDLE AGES
449-1485
THE MIDDLE AGES
• The Anglo-Saxon Period
– 449-1066
• The Medieval Period
– 1066-1485
THE GERMANIC INVASIONS
• Britons
– Celtic People
– Early inhabitants of Britain
– Conquered by the Romans in the
first century
– In 410, Roman army called back
to Rome
• Britons raided and looted by
neighbors on the Continent
THE GERMANIC INVASIONS
• The Jutes
– Peninsula of Jutland
in Denmark
– First of many
Germanic invaders
– Settled in what is
now the county of
Kent
THE GERMANIC INVASIONS
• The Angles and the Saxons
– Britons were no match for these
invaders
– Brought with them a common
language
THE GERMANIC INVASIONS
• The Angles & the Saxons
– Created the AngloSaxon England
– Lasted until 1066
– The Normans, led by
William, Duke of
Normandy, conquered
the country
THE GERMANIC INVASIONS
• Kingdoms of England
– Kent
– Northumbria
– Mercia
– Wessex
THE GERMANIC INVASIONS
• King Alfred of Wessex
– Known as Alfred the
Great
– 871-899
– Led the Anglo-Saxons
against the Vikings
ANGLO-SAXON CIVILIZATION
Commonalities
• Common
Language
• Heroic ideal
• Admired men of
outstanding
courage
• High ranking
people received
with courtesy
• Rulers
generous to
loyal
• Fate
ANGLO-SAXON
CIVILIZATION
Kingdom
Tribe
Clan
Family Unit
ANGLO-SAXON CIVILIZATION
• Appreciation of beauty
– More artistic than their
Norman conquerors
– Vigorous minds
• Venerable Bede
–Earliest English
historian
–Earliest important
prose writer
THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF CHRISTIANITY
• Missionaries from the
continent helped to spread
Christianity
• Saint Augustine
– Came in 597
– Established a monastery
at Canterbury
– Became the first
Archbishop of Canterbury
THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF CHRISTIANITY
• Abbess Hilda
– Leader of a synod at
Whitby Abbey in 664
• This synod united the
English church with
Roman Christianity
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
• Anglo-Saxon Literature was an oral art
– Poems were sung (harp)
– The poet was the memory and historian of the
tribe
– Strong beat and alliteration
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE
• Heroic Tradition & Elegiac Tradition
– Two most important traditions
– Beowulf is the most important single poem
– “Seafarer” is a good example of an elegiac lyric
– Riddles were also common
– Written in Latin (occasionally in English)
VENERABLE BEDE
• 673-735
• Greatest prose writer of the
time
• Most learned and industrious
writer of the entire period
• Author of A History of the
English Church and People
(731)
• Regarded as the father of
English history
ALFRED THE GREAT
• 871-899
• Most remarkable of all
English kings
• Patron of scholars and
educators
• Promoted the use of written
English instead of Latin
• Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
• Founded the first English
“public schools”