Medieval England

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Medieval England

• Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the Sutton Hoo burial

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The Middle Ages

• Called this because its just the period stuck
  between the collapse of the Roman Empire (around
  470 AD) and the Renaissance (15th Century)
• The early centuries of this period are sometimes
  seen as having nothing of importance to offer in
  terms of advancement in society.

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The Middle Ages

• Also called The Dark Ages because of a
  perceived lack of literacy and slow advance of
  learning.
• This is an inaccurate assumption.
• While its true that the common person was
  illiterate, a great deal of knowledge was
  preserved in monasteries, particularly in the
  British isles.

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The Celts

• Prior to Roman colonization, the British isles
  were settled by Celtic tribes such as the
  Britons, Picts, and Scots
• They spoke various forms of Gaelic
• Tribes often fought amongst themselves for
  territory and power

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The Celts

• Most tribes were pagan and their religious
  leaders were called druids
• Some had been converted to Christianity under the
  Romans but the new Christian theology was often
  mixed with the older pagan tradition

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The Romans

• When the Romans annexed Britain, they brought a
  great deal of stability
• Although they were at times brutal rulers, Roman
  governors could easily repel other groups trying
  to invade the islands

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The Invasions

• After the fall of the Roman Empire, mass chaos
  ensued
• Celtic tribes were left virtually powerless to
  protect themselves against invaders
• Seafaring warriors from the area of Europe which
  is now northern Germany and Denmark began
  attacking the Britons

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Anglo-Saxon Origins
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The Invasions

• These tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) were
  successful in pushing the native Britons out of
  most of England
• Celtic tribes retreating to the areas around the
  edges Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (which
  accounts for differences in language and culture
  today)

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Anglo-Saxon Life

• After the invasion, they settle into a fairly
  peaceful agricultural lifestyle (with the
  occasional blood-feud against neighboring clans,
  of course).

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Anglo-Saxons

• The Anglo-Saxons practiced a different pagan
  faith than the Celts.
• Their primary god was named Wodin and their gods
  myths are similar to those of the Vikings
• Missionaries from Ireland converted many to
  Christianity in the 6th century
• But again, in those early years theologies blend
  together and overlap

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Anglo-Saxon Literature

• With the rise of Christianity in England,
  literacy rose again.
• People, especially monks, wrote about religious
  subjects, mostly in Latin
• Some poetry is written in Old English, the
  language of the Anglo-Saxons and was then copied
  and preserved by monks

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Manuscript Illumination
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Anglo-Saxon Poetry

• Anglo-Saxon poetry was originally an oral
  tradition
• It would be memorized by story tellers who would
  travel around and retell them in exchange for
  food, shelter, etc.
• These people were highly revered because of the
  heroic stories they shared

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Anglo-Saxon Poetry

• Alliteration the repetition of consonants within
  a line of poetry
• Caesura breaks or pauses in the middle of a line
• Kenning compound words that describe something
  and are used instead of the actual name
• These aspects create a predictable, even hypnotic
  rhythm in the original language

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Beowulf in Old English

• Stid ond styl-ecg strenge getruwode,
• mundgripe mægenes. Swa sceal man don
• Þonne he æt gud gegan Þenced
• longsumne lof
• (line 1533-1536)

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Beowulf in Translation

• hurled the steel-edge his strength must be
• in his mighty hand-grip. So must a man do
• who intends to gain long-lasting glory
• in battle

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Anglo-Saxon Society

• The basic unit of society was the clan, a group
  of people connected by kinship
• The leader of the clan was a king or lord
• He would surround himself with warriors who had
  sworn loyalty to him
• They were duty bound to fight to the death for
  him, whenever he asked.

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The Role of the Lord

• In return, he provided them with food, mead,
  shelter, and social interaction in his great hall

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The Role of the Lord

• The king was bound by duty and honor to reward
  his warriors with gold for the services they
  provided him
• Poetry of the time condemns lords who are stingy
  with gold and praises those who give freely
  dat wæs gud könig

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Beowulf in Context

• The story of Beowulf is set within this context
  of lord and retainers coexisting in the meadhall.
• Beowulf begins as a young warrior, looking to
  prove his worth by accomplishing great and heroic
  deeds.
• He eventually earns a crown for himself and must
  become a good and generous king.

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For Further Online Reading

• http//www.phancocks.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/localhis
  tory/AS20farmstead.jpg
• www.mylearning.org/image-zoom.asp?jpageid701...
• www.florin.ms/aleph4.html