SONGS OF THE ANCIENT HEROES

Anglo-Saxon culture

Great Britain:

England is a part of Great Britain which also includes Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Britain has been invaded and colonized by the Iberians, Celts, Romans, Angles and Saxons, Vikings, and Normans.

The Celts

The Celts were the first British settlers.Their belief system: animism – they saw spirits in trees, stones, fire, thunder, and ponds.They believed that the soul was immortal & passed from one person to another.Druids: Celtic priests who were intermediaries

between the gods & people.Celtic stories reflect a love for magic.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge:

Located in Salisbury Plain in EnglandMeans ‘place of hanging stone’Used for rituals involving the lunar & solar

cyclesWas in use as early as 1848 B.C.Each stone weighs several tons

Romans

Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C. & the Celtic people were conquered approximately 100 years later.The Romans built roads & walls, some of which are still used today.After 400 years, the Romans left BritainChristianity gained popularity in Britain

during Roman rule.

Anglo-Saxon invasion

The Angles & Saxons invaded from Germany; the Jutes invaded from the Denmark.

King Alfred the Great defeated the Danish invaders & united the Anglo & Saxon tribes (Anglo-Saxon).

The country was named Engla land, or England, after the Angles.

William the Conqueror from Normandy (northwestern France) conquered England in 1066.

Anglo-Saxon Culture

Men engaged in warfare to protect their clans from invaders.

Fame & success were gained through loyalty to the leader.

A thane was a warrior who was bound to his leader until death.

The leader gave gifts, such as buckles, swords & drinking horns to loyal thanes.

Anglo-Saxon Religion

Dragons represented evil & guarded dead warriors’ burial mounds, which contained treasure.The gods were borrowed from the ancient Norse religion. From them we get the names of our days of the

week

For example:

Odin or Woden was the god of death, poetry & magic.

Woden’s day = Wednesday

Thor was the god of thunder & lightning. Thor’s day = Thursday

Anglo-Saxon Literature

Bards, also called scops, were skilled story tellers.They sang memorized poetry to the accompaniment of a harp.Anglo-Saxon poetry was narrative & praised

the adventures & accomplishments of heroes.Few Anglo-Saxon works of literature exist

today.

The influence of Christianity

Saint Patrick converted Ireland in 432. He used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity.• Monasteries sprang up in the British

Isles.• Literature was preserved by monks who

copied Greek classics as well as some popular literature like Beowulf.