Anglo-Saxons & Romans

• Romans conquer Celtic tribes in Britain• Roman Empire begins to fall = Romans leave

Britain• Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes)

invade Britain = drove Britons into mts.• England and English language forms from

these tribes.

The Epic Warrior

• Possessed qualities valued by Germanic tribes• Courage to achieved fame & immortality• Loyalty to tribal lord• Wisdom in leading • Physical strength to overcome enemies

Warrior Society

• War was way of life• Hierarchy

1. Warlord or Noble• Ring Giver

2. Warrior chief of tribe or family• Warriors became hearth companions• Warriors became hearth companions

Warrior Society

• Warlord rewards bravest warriors with treasure

• Warriors showed absolute loyalty to leaders• Goal = win fame & be remembered after

death for deeds

Warrior Society

“On the field of battle it is a disgrace to a chief to be surpassed in courage by his followers, and to the followers not to equal the courage of their chief. And to leave a battle alive after their chief has fallen means lifelong infamy and shame.”

- Tacitus, Roman historian (p. 12)

Oral Literature

• Scops – storytellers – Sang heroic songs about warriors’ great deeds – Performed in mead halls– Mead – alcoholic beverage made from fermented

honey

Germanic & Christian Influences

• Two big influences of Old English literature• Anglo-Saxon = tales of Germanic mythology• No afterlife = warrior’s goal = gain fame in life

• Christianity = promise of eternal life• Both beliefs are seen in Anglo-Saxon literature

Wyrd

• Fate• Anglo-Saxons believed wyrd controlled human

destiny• Believed ultimate fate was death• Heroes must face death with courage

Epic

• a long narrative poem about the adventures and deeds of a hero

Features of an Epic & Characteristic of an Epic Hero

See pages 20 & 21 of the text.

Write the following questions in your notebook.

1. Who is the author of Beowulf?2. Why does Beowulf rank so highly within the

literary world?3. What religion was the Beowulf poet?4. Who copied the poem?