Beowulf and the Anglo Saxons

It’s An Island!

• The sea is really important to British culture as well as the idea of sea power. (Navy, Trade)

• Really temperate climate• England itself is the best farm land.

Invasions

• British history is the history of a series of invasions from mainland Europe. Each successive wave brought advancement in technology and culture.

• This basically goes on until the British start invading other people.

Neolithic PeopleWe know relatively little about the Stone Age inhabitants of Britain. Stone Age people means that they used mostly stone tools, had some farming, and lived in small settlements. One of the big mysteries is Stonehenge. What is it for? (astronomical clock? Showing off prominence? They got bored? )

The Celts• 7th Century BCE• Came from mainland

Europe.• Brought iron weapons and

tools.• Celt is a language group that

covers many different tribes

The Romans

• 50BCE to 400CE• Built roads, towns,

and more.• Mostly, only the rich

adopted Roman customs.

• The Celts became Christian.

But then Rome fell…

• The Celts went back to acting like Celts.

• Everybody else in Europe went back to pillaging and warring.

• 400-ish CE

In come the Anglo-Saxons!• 450-ish CE• Came from Germany,

Denmark-ish• First they came as

pirates, then mercenaries, then colonists.

• King Vortigen hired them to protect him from other warring Celtic kingdoms, but instead they took over.

England= Angle-land

• This is the start of England as we know it.

• This is the start of English as a language. The Angles brought a version of early German with them, what we call Old English.

Anglo-Saxon England

• The Angles established various kingdoms and became Christian.

• They also had to deal with the new invaders, Vikings!

Anglo-Saxon Culture• Warriors were heavily admired.

Big on looting and pillaging. Big on bragging about brave deeds. Fighting was a way of life and peace was for losers!

• “Kings” ruled small communities and ruled over warriors (Thanes). They gave gifts to earn loyalty. The next king was the coolest warrior, not the old king’s son.

• Center of village is Meadhall, where everyone eats and hangs out.

Stages of the English Language

• Old English- Pretty Much German- 450-1066ish

• Middle English- Add In Some French- 1066-1500ish

• Early Modern- Shakespeare’s English 1500ish to 1800ish

• Modern- What We Speak- 1800ish to now

Beowulf Lit Terms• Epic: long story (narrative) poem about a hero• Verse: Poetry, in lines and stanzas• Kenning: two(ish)-word renaming of

something (boob tube, idiot box, cancer stick)• Caesura: stopping punctuation in the middle

of a line, a period or big dash!• Alliteration: two or more words in a row that

start with the same letter or sound• Theme: The main ideas of a literary work, not

just the plot