The Anglo –Saxon Period

449-1066

Historical Background Pre-Anglo Period- up to 55 BC-Britons, or Celtic people, relied on the oral tradition to maintain history, etc.

-Animism – Celtic religion; belief that spirit is in ALL thingsDruid- Priest that linked Celts to gods

• Stonehenge is believed to have been built during this pre-Anglo period.

The Saxon “henge” means hang… Stonehenge= Hanging stone

55 BC

• Julius Caesar invades Britain• Bringing “stone roads, written scholarship, and

eventually Christianity.”• Celts were taught Latin

• Rome was overrun by invading tribes• Roman Empire Falls• Britain open to Anglo invasion

449

• Northern European Tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) invade Britain

• Organized into 7 kingdoms – Heptarchy (Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex and Kent)

• Britain became known as Angle land-England• Welsh leader Arthur led Celtic resistance

400Anglo-Saxon Invasion

•Society was centered around clans, ruled by chieftains

•Primarily pagan with focus on wyrd (fate); warrior gods

•Mostly violent seafaring wanderers

•Anglo-Saxon warriors gathered in Mead Halls to hear tales of battle by Scops (shopes)

•Over time they became semi-civilized, agricultural

•Christianity was still being practiced in Ireland; slowly moved through Britain by 690

ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD449-1066

•Language was influenced by heavy dialect of varying tribes

ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD449-1066

The History of English in Ten Minutes

GENRE- EPICCHARACTERISTICS•Long, narrative poem celebrating a hero’s deeds including the following elements• hero of noble birth or importance• hero’s traits reflect his society• hero who performs superhuman deeds• hero’s actions determine fate of the nation• vast setting• formal diction and serious tone• includes long speeches by major characters • elements of the supernatural• reflects timeless values: courage, loyalty• reflects timeless themes: good over evil

THE EPIC-CHARACTERISTICS •Repetition• Stock epithets - compound adjectives that are

used to point out traits “swift-footed”

• Kennings – similar to epithets; descriptive PHRASES or COMPOUND WORDS that are used in place of a noun

• Alliteration – repetition of initial consonant sounds

• Parallelism – repetition of grammatical structures

WHY DO YOU THINK REPETITION PLAYED SUCH A MAJOR ROLE IN THE EPIC?

THE OLDEST BRITISH EPIC - BEOWULF •Anonymous author: the Beowulf Poet

•Composed probably four centuries prior to Norman conquest

•Not written down until A.D. 1000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR464WBmA2s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUv-cF_Oscw&feature=related

http://www.beowulftranslations.net/benslade.shtml

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/beowulf-oe.html

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio.htm 

OTHER INVADERS•The Danes – Vikings (Norwegians and Swedes) attacked but were defeated by Alfred the Great who forced Christianity on them

•Norman Invasion – William (the Conqueror) led Normandy to successfully invade Britain

--The Norman Invasion marked serious changes in the English language due to the heavy influence of French dialect

•http://www.youtube.com/course?list=ECA03075BAD88B909E

HISTORICAL INFORMATIONTHE MIDDLE AGES – 1066 - 1485

•Begins with Battle of Hastings• Duke of Normandy (William) defeated and killed

King Harold (last Anglo Saxon King); battle begins the Norman Conquest

•Norman Conquest Outcomes• William controls England• Anglo Saxon language is influenced by French

and becomes Anglo Norman (Middle English)• French law and order impacts Anglos democratic

ways• Domesday Book – William inventories all personal

property• Feudalism – Lord (protector); Serf/Vassal

(worker/slave)

THE MIDDLE AGES•Magna Carta ended the church’s domination of England

•Hundred Years War – England fought France from 1337-1453; Yeomen replaced knights

•Black Death (1348) – Plague that eventually claimed about 75% of the population

HISTORICAL INFORMATIONTHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)•Written by Chaucer; about a religious pilgrimage to Thomas a Becket’s shrine in Canterbury; Thomas a Becket – archbishop of Canterbury was murdered in his cathedral; King Henry II thought responsible

GEOFFREY CHAUCER•England’s first great writer

•Born into middle class between 1340-1343

•Career in government; fought in the 100 Years War

•Writing helped him advance politically; writing popular due to his use of vernacular

•Influenced by Boccaccio’s Decameron

•Died in 1400; buried in Westminster Abbey

•Canterbury Tales unfinished; not organized until 1387

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GENRETHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)

•Considered a quest narrative ( narrative poem involving a quest)

•Written in IAMBIC PENTAMETER (unstressed syllable followed by stressed); five feet

PLOT INFORMATIONTHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)

•Frame of snapshots of life in Middle Ages

•Begins with Prologue and is told by a poet-pilgrim (Chaucer)

•Poet-pilgrim meets 29 other pilgrims along way to Canterbury and decide to share stories

•Setting: April in Tabard Inn (London)

AUTHOR’S STYLETHE CANTERBURY TALES (1387)

•Strong Characterization; Chaucer’s characters fall into 3 categories: Feudal, Church, and Merchant/Professional

•Interesting use of Tone

•Humorous use of Irony

http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/gp/

http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/index.htmlhttp://www.luminarium.org/medlit/gp.htm

The Pardoner’s Tale Rap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnVLLQna1-c