The Anglo – Saxons 449-1066 A.D

1
The Anglo Saxons449-1066 A.D

• Anglo-Saxon England was born of warfare,
  remained forever a military society and came to
  its end in battle.
• -J.R. Lander

2
What kind of government did the British create?
How did this government influence the cultural
heritage of the United States?

• Political system for the people and by the
  people, emphasis on personal rights and freedoms
• The British not only influenced the development
  and ideals of the United Stated government, but
  it also had influence over our language and
  literature as well.

3
Who was Great Britain invaded by?

• Iberians, Celts, Romans, Angles and Saxons,
  Vikings and Normans.

4
Celtic religion Animism

• From the Latin word spirit. Celts saw spirits
  everywhere in rivers, trees, stones, ponds,
  fire, and thunder. These spirits/gods controlled
  all aspects of existence, and they had to be
  constantly satisfied.

5
Who/What were the Druids? What was their function?

• Druids were priests that acted as intermediaries
  between the gods and the people.

6
What is Stonehenge? Where is it? For what do some
think it was used?

• An array of huge stones located on Salisbury
  Plain in Wiltshire. Might have been used by
  Druids for religious rites having to do with the
  lunar and solar cycles.

7
Who wrote La Morte DArthur? Where did he get his
material for the book?

• Sir Thomas Malory Story based on Celtic legends
  about a warrior named Arthur mixed with chivalric
  legends know throughout Europe.

8
Why did William Butler Yeats use Celtic myths in
his poetry and plays?

• Wanted to make the Irish aware of their lost
  heroic past

9
In what ways are Celtic legends different from
Anglo-Saxon stories?

• Full of strong women
• Full of fantastic animals
• Passionate love affairs
• Adventure in enchanted lands
• Magic and imagination

10
How long did it take the Romans to conquer the
Britons? What did the Romans build?

• It took aprox. 100 years to conquer the
• Britons
• They built a network of roads, a defensive
• wall, villas, and great public baths.

11
How long did the Romans stay in Britain? When the
Romans left, what did Britain have to worry
about? Why?

• For more than four hundred years
• The Romans left no centralized
• government, thus leaving Britain
• susceptible to invaders

12
Which heroic leader led an army against invading
Danes?

• King Alfred the Great

13
Who brought Christianity to England? How did
Christianity benefit the country?

• Irish and Continential missionaries began to
  convert Anglo-Saxon kings to Christianity
• Christianity provided a common faith and common
  system of morality it also linked England to
  Europe

14
What group conquered England in 1066? Who was
their leader?

• The Normans (from France)
• William the Conqueror (Duke of
• Normandy)

15
What was the order of the day for Anglo-Saxons?

• Warfare

16
What could Anglo-Saxons gain only through loyalty
to their leader? Why was loyalty extremely
important?

• Fame, success, and even survival depended on
  loyalty to leader.
• Loyalty grew out of the need to protect the clan
  and home against enemies, encouraged a sense of
  community and rule by consensus

17
With what was the religion of the Anglo-Saxons
most concerned with? With what virtues?

• gt More concerned with ethics than mysticism and
  valued the earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty,
  generosity, and friendship

18
Three purposes of the Anglo-Saxon communal halls

• 1.) Shelter
• 2.) Place to hold council meetings
• 3.) Space for storytellers and their audience

19
What was a bard? Another name for a bard?

• Bards are skilled storytellers that sing about
  gods and heros. Anglo-Saxons called bards scops.

20
How important were the bards to Anglo-Saxons?
What instrument did they play?

• The bards ability to write and recite
  poetry/stories was considered just as important
  of a skill as fighting. They often played the
  harp as they sang.

21
Why were fame and its reverberation in poetry so
important to the Anglo-Saxons?

• Anglo-Saxons religion was fatalistic in nature
  they did not believe in the afterlife. Poetry
  preserved glory/fame in the collective memory
  after a hero died.