The Anglo-SaxonsA Brief History
Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus records the Saxons among the barbarians (along with Picts and Scots) who were harassing the Britons in about AD 365, and the mid-fifth-century Gallic Chronicle mentions another severe raid in 410, and the fall of Britain to the Saxons "after many troubles" in 441.
Why’d they come?
King Arthur, a legendary king from this period who fought against invasions after the Romans left. His name now tends to be used as a symbol of British resistance against invasion.
King Arthur
They came from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony when the Roman legions left in the 5th century AD.
They didn’t preserve the Roman’s legacy. They replaced their stone buildings with wooden ones.
Where’d they come from?
From the few surviving records (literacy died when the Romans left), we know that the invaders worshipped warfare and their ancestors.
They brought their own religion, but converted to Christianity when St. Augustine arrived in 597 AD.
Religion
We get our names for the week from their original gods & the Roman’s gods. * = romance languages use a Latin root.◦ Sun’s day (Latin: dies solis)◦ Moon’s day (Anglo-Saxon: monandaeg)*◦ Tyr’s day (Norse god)*◦ Woden’s day (Norse god) *◦ Thor’s day (Norse god) *◦ Frigg’s day (Norse god) *◦ Saturn’s day (Anglo-Saxon: sater daeg)
Religion
We call the language the Anglo-Saxons spoke “Old English.” It was a Germanic language. Modern English is closely related to modern German.
English/German◦ house/haus; drink/trinken, here/hier, good/gut, dog/hund,
chair/stuhl◦ swim/schwimmen, swam/schwamm, swum/geschwommen
Language
Modern English: Subject-Verb-Object. Word order is crucial!
Modern German: order doesn’t matter (inflected)◦ “I threw a horse over the fence some hay.” In German people
understand the hay was thrown, not the horse. Both languages use the Latin alphabet.
Language
Old English: 5th – 11th centuries (what?)◦ Old/Modern:
abutan/about, ofer/over, rædan/to read, witan/to know, bysig/busy, leoht/light
Middle English: 12th – 15th centuries (what?)◦ Middle/Modern:
axe/ask, coy/quiet, fay/faith, nas/was not, quod/said, verray/true Modern English: 15th century – today (understandable)
Language
Old, Middle, & Modern English
Word Translation When to use
Thou YouWhen “you” is the subject of the sentence.
Thee You When “you” is the object of the sentence.
Thy Your
Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with a consonant/consonant sound (like the article, “a”).
Thine Your
Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with vowel/vowel sound (like the article, “an”). Also used when indicating that something is “absolute and understood”.
Ye You (plural)Plural form of “you” when addressing a group of people.
They ruled England from 410 to 1066. Period 1: Small tribal groups formed
mini-kingdoms. There were four kingdoms by the 9th century, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia & Wessex.
Over time, small kingdoms would fall to larger ones. Pre-Norman England is considered the most organized of western European kingdoms.
Former Celtic tribes that had lived under Roman rule relocated to what is now Wales, Cornwall and Scotland.
History
The shire reeves (sheriffs), with individual reeves looking after each hundred others were in charge of collecting taxes for the King.
Land was the most valuable currency. The king would divide land to his lords, who would divide their land to their warriors and nobles, who would have serfs (normal people) work the land for food and shelter in return for sharing with the owner.
History
Period 2: The Vikings began to invade England. The only English kingdom to survive was Wessex. King Alfred united the Anglo-Saxons against Viking raids. He was England’s first true king.
History
Period 3: Anglo-Saxon rule ended in 1066 when the Normans invaded (Battle of Hastings), although they continued to live in England.
The Normans were Vikings who had settled in the Normandy region of northern France two – three generations earlier. This added many French words to the English language.
History
The Anglo-Saxons wrote epic poems, hagiographies (bios about saints), sermons, Bible translations, legal words, chronicles, riddles & others.
We have about 400 surviving manuscripts (copies) from this period.
How do we know?
The most famous poem is Beowulf. It was written around 700 AD. The poem is about a knight who sails to Denmark
to defeat Grendal, a demon who terrorizes the kingdom.
Literature
The Anglo-SaxonsA Brief History
historian Ammianus Marcellinus records the Saxons among the barbarians (along with Picts and
) who were harassing the Britons in about AD , and the mid-fifth-century Gallic Chronicle mentions another severe raid in 410, and the fall of Britain to the Saxons "after many troubles" in 441.
Why’d they come?
King Arthur, a legendary king from this period who fought against invasions after the
left. His name now tends to be used as a symbol of British resistance against .
King Arthur
They came from the regions of Angeln and Saxony when the Roman legions left in the th century AD.
They didn’t preserve the Roman’s . They replaced their stone buildings with ones.
Where’d they come from?
From the few surviving records ( died when the Romans left), we know that the invaders worshipped and their .
They brought their own religion, but converted to when St. Augustine arrived in
AD.
Religion
We get our names for the week from their original gods & the Roman’s gods. * = romance languages use a Latin root.◦ Sun’s day (Latin: )◦ Moon’s day (Anglo-Saxon: )*◦ Tyr’s day ( god)*◦ day (Norse god) *◦ day (Norse god) *◦ day (Norse god) *◦ Saturn’s day (Anglo-Saxon: )
Religion
We call the language the Anglo-Saxons spoke “ English.” It was a language. English is closely related to modern .
English/German◦ / ; / , /
, good/gut, / , /◦ / , /
swum/geschwommen
Language
Modern English: - - . Word is !
Modern German: order matter (inflected)◦ “I threw a over the some .” In
German people understand the hay was thrown, not the horse. Both use the alphabet.
Language
English: th – th centuries (what?)◦ Old/Modern:
/ , /,
/to , /to , /
, / English: th – th centuries (what?)
◦ Middle/Modern: / , / ,
/, / not, /
, / English: th century – today
(understandable)
Language
Old, Middle, & Modern English
Word Translation When to useWhen “you” is the subject of the sentence.When “you” is the object of the sentence.Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with a consonant/consonant sound (like the article, “a”).Possessive form of you. Commonly used before a noun that begins with vowel/vowel sound (like the article, “an”). Also used when indicating that something is “absolute and understood”.Plural form of “you” when addressing a group of people.
They ruled England from to .
Period 1: Small groups formed mini-kingdoms. There werekingdoms by the . th century, Northumbria, , East Anglia & Wessex.
Over time, small kingdoms would fall to larger ones. Pre-Norman England is considered the most of western European kingdoms.
Former tribes that had lived under Roman rule relocated to what is now ,
and .
History
The shire reeves ( ), with individual reeves looking after each hundred others were in charge of collecting
for the . was the most valuable currency. The king
would divide land to his , who would divide their land to their warriors and nobles, who would have
(normal people) work the land for food and in return for with the owner.
History
Period 2: The began to invade England. The only English kingdom to survive was . King united the Anglo-Saxons against Viking raids. He was England’s
true .
History
Period 3: Anglo-Saxon rule ended in when the Normans invaded (Battle of ), although they continued to live in England.
The Normans were who had settled in the Normandy region of northern two – three
earlier. This added many words to the language.
History
The Anglo-Saxons epic poems,
hagiographies (bios about saints), sermons, translations, legal words, chronicles, riddles & others.
We have about surviving manuscripts (copies) from this period.
How do we know?
The most famous poem is . It was written around AD. The poem is about a who sails to to
defeat , a demon who terrorizes the kingdom.
Literature