Anglo- Saxon History and Old English Language and Literature
(Pre- History- 1066 AD)
1. Pre- Roman/ Pre- HistoricalÞ up to 55 BC
2. Roman Occupation Þ 55 BC- 410 AD
3. Anglo- Saxon PeriodÞ 140 AD- 787 AD
4. Viking InvasionsÞ 787 AD- 1066 AD
5. Norman ConquestÞ begins in 1066- William the Conqueror
1. Pre- Roman/ Pre- HistoricalÞ up to 55 BC
- The Island we know as England was occupied by arace of people called the Celts. One of the tribes was called Brythons or Britons (where we get the term Britain)
- The Celts were Pagans and their religion was known as animism, aLatin word for “ spirit”. Celts saw spirits everywhere.
- Druids were their Priests, their role was to go between the gods and the people.
2. Roman occupation
- it started in 55 BC by Julius Caesar
- was completed in 1st century by Claudius
- Hadrian`s wall was built about 122 AD
- Romans leave in 410 AD, because Visigots attacked Rome
- St. Augustine was a monk, lands in Kent in 597 and converts King Aethelbert to Christianity; becomes first Archbishop of Canterbury
Cultural and Historical Results of Roman Occupation
- MILITARY
- strong legions- armed forces
- pushed Celts into Wales and Ireland
- prevented Vikings from raiding for several years
- INFRASTRUCTURE
- 1st Government (fell apart when they left)
- roads, walls, public baths ( some remains still exist)
- RELIGION
- Christianity beginning to take hold, especially after St. Augustine converts King Aethelbert
- Latin heavily influenced the E language
- thanks to military- relative peace
- Christianity- begins to take hold in E (didn`t fully displaced Paganism for several hundred years.)
3. Anglo- Saxon Period Þ 410 AD- 787 AD
- tribes came from Scandinavia and Germany
- 410- 450 Angles & Saxons invade from Baltic shores & Germany, and the Jutes invade from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark.
- 7 Anglo- Saxon kingdoms eventually became the Anglo- Saxon heptarchy ( England was not unified) or “ Seven Sovereign Kingdoms”)
Anglo- Saxon Heptarchy= Seven Sovereign Kingdoms
1. Kent 5. Northumbria
2. Essex 6. Mercia
3. Sussex 7. Wessex
4. East Anglia
4. Viking InvasionsÞ 787 AD- 1066 AD
- Vikings were sea- faring ( explorers, traders, warriors) Scandinavians during the 8th- 11th century
- Vikings were Scandinavian invaders as Jutes & Anglo- Saxons were. They were called
“ Northmen” which is related to yet another culture ( French) which made conquest of E- the Normans, William the Conqueror in 1066
- However, when Vikings raids began around 787, the A- Saxons were different culturally from Vikings.
Exept for the Celts* and Romans, all of the cultures who successfully invaded E in 1st millennium were from Northern Europe at one time or another.
The angles, Saxons, Frisians, and Jutes were from the Baltic region and the Normans (1066) were primarily from Normandy and had originally been from Norway.
* the Celts were considered as natives in the times of Roman occupation and Norman conquest.
Results of Viking invasions
- POLITICALLY & CULTURALLY
- continued political instability and conflicts (tribal war), there was no central government or church
- the A- Saxon code
- LINGUISTICALLY-
- the E language is born during the 1st millennium ÞOld English
- OE is mainly Germanic in grammar and lexicon
- there were lots of dialects- Angles, Saxons, Frisians, Jutes, Danes, Swedes
Alfred the Great- one of the 1st A- Saxon kings to push Vikings back, to begin consolidating power, unifying of the separate A- Saxon kingdoms.
5. Norman InvasionÞ from 1066 AD
- in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, the Normans defeated the E and started a centuries- long conquest of England
- effects:
- French becomes an official language of politics & power, had an enormous effect on OE
- England begins unifying under French political system, much of which is still with us today
Old History of English language
- OE dates from approximately 400- 1066
- Middle English- MEÞ1066- 1485
- they are quite different to the eye and ear. OE is nearly impossible to read or understand without studying it much like and English speaker today would study French, Latin or Chinese.
English language is a combination of:
- Celtic Þ 1700/400 BC- 55 BC
- Latin Þ 55 BC- 410 AD
- GermanÞ 410 AD- 1066 AD
- FrenchÞ 1066 AD- 1485 AD
-OE & ME- very difficult language, but one perfect for limitless and beautiful expression
Earliest Times
The Island
- Britain has a milder climate, European is mainland
- there are differences in climate between N & S, E & W
- the N is about 5 °C cooler than S
- E & W are mountainous & hilly
- S & E has agricultural conditions
- Britain is island and B history has been connected with the sea
Britain`s Prehistory
- B has not always been an island, it became one only after the end of the last Ice Age
- 1st evidence of human life is a few stone tools, dating from one of the warmer periods, 250 000 BC;
2 different kinds of inhabitants = 2 different kinds of tools:
- Earlier group- tools from flakes of flint
- Other group- tools from a central core of flint
- around 5000 BC- B became an island
- about 3000 BC- 1st people crossed the sea from Europe- small boats. These people kept animals and grew corn crops.
- they probably came from Iberia- Spanish peninsula or the N African coast- settled W parts of Britain & Ireland
- Great barrows made of earth or stone- found on the chalk uplands of S Britain
- these parts became overfarmed while by 1400 BC climate became drier. After 3000 BC the chalkland people start building great circles of earth banks and ditches. Inside- wooden buildings. These “henges” were centres of political, religious and economic power.
- the most spectacular was Stonehenge- built in separate stages over a period of more than 1000 years.
STONEHENGE- was recognized over a very large area, probably over the all B islands (isles) and was sort of capital, to which the chiefs of other groups came from all over B. Earth or stone “henges” were built over all B.
- about 1300 BC- new forming of society- a settled farming class
- farming society developed in order to feed people at the hengesÞ it became more important and powerful as it grew richer
The Celts
- 700 BC- began to arrive from central Eu and Russia. They were technically advanced and good at farming.
- they are ancestors of many B people
- Celtic language is still spoken
- they traded across tribal borders; their priests- Druids- were important in their tribes- they could not read or write
-the most powerful leader- Celts to stand up to the Roman was a woman- Boadicea
- the civitas- included Celtic tribal capitals- places of administration of Romans- they controlled Celtic population on countryside through them
The Romans
- they brought the skills of reading and writing to B
- they invaded B because Celts started to fight against them
- a number of town dwellers spoke Latin and Greek*
- they established Romano- British culture across the Southern half of B
- they couldn`t conquer Caledonia, Scotland- they built Hadrian`s wall along N borders to protect themselves
- the occupation is over in 5th century
* this language disappeared when A- Saxons invaded B in 5th century
Roman Life
- the coloniae- towns peopled by roman settlers
- the municipia- large cities in which the whole population was given Roman citizenship
- the civitas- included the old Celtic tribal capitals
- Romans built roads, some buildings had a central heating
The Saxon invasion
The Invaders
- after 430 AD- Germanic tribes began to settle
- the newcomers were come from 3 powerful tribes- Saxons, Jutes, Angles- were warlike and illiterate
- Jutes Þ Kent, S coast
- AnglesÞ E, N Midlands
- SaxonsÞ between them
- some Celts were driven into mountains in the far WÞ Wales called by Saxons; some to the Cornwall; some to the lowlandsÞ Scotland
- many Celts became slaves of the Saxons
Celtic culture left the names of rivers & cities- London, Leeds
Government & Society
- King` s Council- called Witan- was a formal body, issuing laws and charters. It was not at all democratic and the king could decided to ignore the Witan` s advice but his own authority without their support was in danger.
- Saxons- divided the land into new administrative areas- shires, counties
- the land was divided into 2 or 3 very large fields. These were then divided into long thin stripes, Each family had a number of stripes. It was made to make the best use of village land.
Þ A- Saxons changed the shape of E agriculture.
Christianity- the partnership of church & state
- in 597 monk Augustine was sent to re- establish Christianity in E
- Celtic churches brought the Christianity to ordinary people
- church established the monasteries or minsters for ex. Westminister, which was places of learning and education and this gave the power to hand of those who could read & write
- A- Saxon England- known exporter of- cheese, woolen goods, hunting dogs, pottery, metal goods.
The Vikings
- they arrived at the end of the 8th century from Norwy, Sweden & Denmark
- They accepted Christianity and didn` t disturb local population
- King Alfred make a treaty with them- Wessex
- Alfred won a decisive battle & 8 years later he captured London
Who should be Vikings
- Cnut- leader of the Danish vikings, became king. When he died, after him the Edward was chosen to be a king.
- Edward, known as “the Confessor”- encouraged the church building
- after Edward death- who should be king? The Witan- a royal council- chose a Harold.
- was a problem with a Harold, because there was a Duke William of Normandy:
1. king Edward had promised a crown to him
2. Harold himself was not interested in to be king
- Danish Vikings wanted king from their tribe Þ in 1066 Harold had to march to defeat the Danes
- after this William landed in E with his army Þ Harold was defeated and killed in the battle near Hastings, Norman William the Conqueror won
- William marched to London, was crowned king of England in Westminister Abby on Christmas Day in 1066
The Early Middle Ages
Conquest and Feudual Rule
Norman Conquest
- Norman guards at Westminister Abbey attacked William the Con. and the coronation ended in mass
- by 1086 there were only 2 Saxon greater landlors and 2 saxon bishops
- his army included Normans and other French land seekers
Feudalism
- William gave parts of England as a reward to his captains
- half of the Norman nobles, a quarter to the Church, and kept a fifth himself
- England had one powerful family instead of a large number of powerful nobles
- feudalism comes from the French word feu
-basis of the feudual society was holding of land, main purpose- economic
- land was owned by a king but it was held by others- vassals
- the greater nobles gave part of their land to leader nobles, knight and other freemens
- the nobles had to give a part of the produce of the land to a king
- man had to promis loyality and service to his lord
- this was called homage
- when a noble died, his son usually took over his estate
- if he was a child, the king would take the produce of the estate until the boy was old enough
- the king could benefit from the death of a noble
- he wanted to know exactly who owned which piece of land to be able to plan his economy
Kingship: a Family Business
- William the Conqueror was king of the E with no lord above him, but duke of Normandy and had to recognize the King of France as his lord
- had 5 descendants
- he died in 1087, he left Normandy to Robert and England to William II. Robert went to fight Muslims in the Holy Land and left William II. in charge of Normandy
- William II died in 1100, had no descendants. Henry, son of William the Conqueror too, was crowned 3 days later. Robert wanted invasion- finally it was proved as a failure. Henry invaded Normandy in 1106, captured Robert- Normandy and England reunited under one crown
- another struggle for crown between Matilda- Henry; s daughter and Henry` s nephew Stephen of Blois. Stephen claims the crown- Nobles chose him.
- civil war between Matilda & Steven led to agreement that Stephen could keep the throne, but only if Matilda; s son could succeed him.
- Henry II- the first unquestioned ruler of English throne. He died in 1189 defeated by his sons and French king.
- Richard I Lionheart went to 3rd Crusade with Filip II French king
-Richard was followed by his greedy brother John, unpopular with the nobles, the merchants and the church
- 1209 King John quarrelled with the pope John gave in and accepted pope`s choice of archbishop
- in 1215 nobility and merchants marched to London, at Runnymede and John was forced to sign a new agreement, which limited his power The Great Charter (Magna Carta)
Magna Carta and the Decline of Feudalism
- symbol of political freedom. The king promised freemen protection from officiers and right to a fair and legal trial