Background Notes

Early “English” History (>100BCE-400)

Prior to 100 BCE this island was inhabited by the Briton (native tribes), Celtic, and Pict tribes.

55 BCE – Roman invasion (JC) – fully conquered by 43 BCE – area called the Britannia Province. Britons, Celts, and Picts pushed west and north

407 – Roman empire starts to weaken – Britons, Celts, Picts fill the void; however, other invaders sense an opportunity

Anglo-Saxon Invasion456 – The Jutes (northern Denmark)

invade Kent (southeast Britain)476 – Fall of the Roman Empire477 – Saxons and Angles (Germanic

tribes) invade BritainBy 600 there are 7 kingdoms Britain

is divided into:Jutes: KentSaxons: Wessex, Sussex, EssexAngles: East Anglia, Mercia,

Northumbria

The Angles start calling Britain “Angle-land” – this eventually becomes “England”

Anglo-Saxon Period (400-1066)The invasion is immense – roughly 200,000

people flood into a country of about 2 million. The Anglo-Saxons bring their own language and rename much of the country.

In terms of religion, pre-600 the Anglo-Saxons were classified as Germanic Paganism (Woden, Odin, Tiw, Thor).

600 – Pope Gregory sends St. Augustine to England to convert them to Roman Catholicism.

The town of Canterbury in Kent becomes the religious center – St. Augustine is the first

Archbishop of Canterbury.

Anglo-Saxon PeriodThe language of the Anglo-Saxons

is Old English

Here are the first few lines of Beowulf in Old English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13cES7MMd8

Anglo-Saxon TraitsLoyalty to king/Loyalty to clan (Comitatus)Hospitality CodeWarrior culture / BRAVERY/CourageDiffering worth of individuals in society

(young men the best)Wanted the scops to sing your songFame is good / Boasting is goodOver-the-top compliments show respectNo afterlifeFate

Anglo-Saxons Vs. Vikings789-1002 – Anglo-Saxons subjected

to Viking attacks – many were hit-and-run raids, but some resulted in a more permanent settlements.

This served to bring some unity to the Angles and Saxons – Alfred known as a unifying King (886)Alfred the Great

Unites England English is the main language (not Latin)

Anglo-Saxons Vs. VikingsAnglo-Saxon and Viking Kings

until…1066 – Battle of Hastings – end of the

Anglo-Saxon periodInvasion by William, Duke of

NormandyHolla! King Arthur’s coming back{more on this later…)

Horrible Histories Review:https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=m-YIqBtvr_4

Beowulf: An overviewEarliest major work of English poetryBased on events in 6th century

Scandinavia (southern Sweden and Denmark)

Shared orally by scops in Anglo-Saxon Old English

Written down between the 8th and 11th centuries by English monks.

Beowulf: Religious InfluenceGermanic tribes (Anglo-Saxon) –

pagan (500’s)Odin/WodenTale told orally by scops

Scop offered the closest thing to an afterlife

Probably written and preserved by a monk (700’s-1000’s)Christian influenceThanks?

Beowulf = Epic Poem EPIC: long poem

Invocation (address the muse) “Listen”

Repetitions and CataloguesStock phrases/EpithetsSupernatural InterventionAffects the whole nationEpic BoastingLegendary hero

Beowulf: PoeticsAlliteration: Repetition of stressed sounds – particularly

consonants from the beginning of words or syllables.

Hwæt! We Gardena         in geardagum, þeodcyninga,         þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas         ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing         sceaþena þreatum, monegum mægþum,         meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas.         Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden,         he þæs frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum,         weorðmyndum þah, oðþæt him æghwylc         þara ymbsittendra

Beowulf: PoeticsCompounding: The combining of two words to make a

new word. (baseball, folktale, spacesuit)

Hwæt! We Gardena         in geardagum, þeodcyninga,         þrym gefrunon,

Gardena (gar = spear, dena = Danes) = Spear-Danes

Other examples from Beowulf include mead-benches, boy-child, and hall-troops

Beowulf: PoeticsKenning: Special form of compounding that is metaphoric

in meaning. The name Beowulf itself is a compound of beo (bee) and wulf (hunter), creating the kenning Bee-wolf, a metaphorical description of a bear.

ofer hronrad         hyran scolde, gomban gyldan.         þæt wæs god cyning!

hronrad is a compound of hron (whale) and rad (road). The “whale’s road” is a metaphor for the sea, therefore it is a kenning.

Short Timeline of Early English History: Normans1066: William, Duke of Normandy

(descendants of Vikings invading France in 9th Century) claims Edward’s throne due to reputed promise and family ties– wins throne at Battle of Hastings

Over next 5 years: William suppresses Anglo- Saxon nobility, spreading feudalism

1154: Norman rule ends when Henry, Count of Anjou, establishes House of Plantagenet

Short Timeline of Early English History: Plantagenets, Lancasters, Yorks, Oh My1170: Four of Henry II’s knights kill Thomas Becket,

Archbishop of Canterbury, because of a disagreement between Henry and Thomas. Henry atones by making pilgrimage to Henry’s tomb at Canterbury

1215: King John signs Magna Carta to ease strife with barons over raised taxes- first English constitutional gov’t

1399: House of Lancaster replaces House of Plantagenet (Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI)

1455-1485: War of the Roses- Lancaster v. YorkWar ends when Yorkist Henry VII defeats Richard the

III and marries Richard’s niece, uniting the two families

14th Century- Feudalism on the decline

Sources

http://www8.georgetown.edu/departments/medieval/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a4.1.html http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/beowulf/ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/licemasta/Blog/SparksBeowulf1.jpg http://gapyx.com/cmt/2009/02/beowulf_firstpage.jpg http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/150Tetrapoda/Images/Beowulf.jpg http://woden-boat.com/images/woden-boat.jpg http://img.freebase.com/api/trans/image_thumb/wikipedia/images/commons_id/1059706?errorid=%2Ffreebase

%2Fno_image_png&maxheight=200&mode=fit&maxwidth=150 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ravager.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canterbury_Cathedral_-_Portal_Nave_Cross-spire.jpeg http://www.nndb.com/people/595/000097304/augustine-canterbury-1-sized.jpg http://www.historyonthenet.com/shop/images/Display/angsaxa3.gif http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/schools/primaryhistory/images/anglo_saxons/who_were_the_anglo-saxons/anglo-saxon_map.jpg http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/images/osehncimages/osehnc00101.JPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Satellite_image_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_Ireland_in_April_2002.jpg http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/11/06/beowulf-final-poster.jpg http://www.obviouslyawebsite.com/images/portfolio/homeEntertainment/normal/beowulf_and_grendel_1.jpg http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/beowulf.large.jpg http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/x2/x14827.jpg http://www.weeklyreader.com/readandwriting/content/binary/grendel.jpg

Schama, Simon. A History of Britain. Hyperion, New York: 2000.