The Last Kingdom By Bernard Cornwell

Historical Fiction – Writing Practice – Final Exam Preparation

Reading Booklet The Saxon Stories tell the tale of Alfred the Great and his descendants through the eyes of Uhtred, an English boy born into the aristocracy of ninth-century Northumbria, captured by the Danes and taught the Viking ways. You will be watching two episodes of the television adaptation of the novel, read and watch texts about the setting, and read excerpts of the novel to deepen your understanding of the story and its historical period. As you watch the episodes, read the extra texts and excerpts, note important elements of the story in The Viewing and Reading Log Finally, you will reinvest your understanding by writing a chapter of The Last Kingdom.

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The Last Kingdom

Understanding Historical and Geographical Setting

• Use this map to help you understand when and where the story takes place. • Highlight the four kingdoms of England on the map (Northumbria, Wessex, Mercia, East

Anglia). • Also on the map, locate and circle other place names mentioned in the paragraphs.

866 AD - The Great Heathen Army of the Vikings ride north to Northumbria and mount a surprise attack on the City of Eoferwic, which they quickly

capture.

867 AD - The rival monarchs of Northumbria, AElla and Osbert, join forces to expel the Vikings, but are thoroughly defeated at the Battle of Eoforwic by Princes Ivarr the Boneless and Halfdan Wide-Embrace of Sjaelland & Uppsala (Scandinavia). Osbert is killed, while AElla is supposedly captured and 'Spread-Eagled', for complicity in the murder of the invaders' father, King Ragnar. Deira passes into Viking hands and what is left of the Northumbrian Royal Court flees north into Bernicia. Egbert is established as a puppet King of Northumbria. The Viking armies make forays into Mercia. They are besieged at Snotengaham by a joint Saxon force under Kings Alfred the Great of Wessex and Burghred of Mercia. The Vikings withdraw to Eoforwic.

An interesting ink: http://www.englandsnortheast.co.uk/VikingNorthumbria.html

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More History of the English Language – Timeline

• As you read, create a timeline that illustrates how the English language is “living.” • Include all 5 cultures that were major influences on English and when that culture arrived on

the island. • Be sure to include at least two words that each language/culture left behind.

To figure out where a language comes from, you need to look at the history of the people who speak

it. Let’s take a look at English. We need to rewind time back to around the year 1000 BCE. The people in England at this time were Celts. They lived in small communities and spoke several Gaelic languages such as Scottish, Welsh, and Irish. Their languages can be seen in English place names and in words like: bard, clan, plaid, slogan, trousers

In 55 CE, Julius Caesar led the Romans into the British Isles. The well-organized Roman army quickly defeated the individual Celtic peoples and banished them from England. The Celts were forced to live in the less desirable lands of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The accents of people in these areas are quite different from English accents because the people were forced out of English history. There are even still some people there who still speak Gaelic languages.

When the Romans invaded England, they brought with them their language of Latin. The Celts were

shoved off into the corners of the British Isles, where they had little contact with the Romans and little use for their language. Some Celtic people were permitted to continue to live in England if they made no trouble for the Romans. These people needed to learn Latin to be able to communicate with their neighbors. Latin words that the Romans left these people include: colony, sign, wall, mile, pit

The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from "Englaland" [sic] and their language was called "Englisc" - from which the words "England" and "English" are derived.

In 450 CE, Germanic tribes invaded Rome and the soldiers

stationed in Britain were called back to defend the home front. The Celts were happy with their Scottish, Welsh and Irish homes, and felt no need to control England. With the Romans gone and the Celtic tribes content, a large part of the British Isles were left unclaimed and the people unruled. Germanic tribes stepped in to claim this land as their own. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came from mainland Europe gradually, and met no opposing forces.

By 452 CE the Saxons ruled England and began a new era

of history: the Anglo-Saxon period. The languages of the Angles and the Saxons combined with each other and some of the Latin and Gaelic languages that were already spoken on the island to create what we now call Old English. Some Anglo-Saxon words in English are: house, mother, grass, hammer, god Old English (450-1100 AD)

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The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar

languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100.

In 793, another group of Germanic people threatened Anglo-Saxon control of England: the Vikings. The Vikings attacked England several times and each time brought more and more of their language, Old Norse. By the year 1000, Old English had adopted several Old Norse words, such as: anger, ball, cake, die, gift

The next time the British Isles were invaded was the last time they were conquered. In 1066, the

Norman people, led by William the Conqueror, brought their Old French with them and mixed it with Old English to create Middle English. Some French words in English are: mansion, beef, joy, liberty, fruit

Middle English became Modern English in the 15th century when it became standardized. People

all over England tried to mimic the way the royalty spoke and created the Great Vowel Shift. English speakers say letters differently than people who speak other languages. This is one reason why English sounds different than other languages. Soon after this, the printing press was invented and dictionaries were published, which meant that there was a “correct” way to spell now and everyone started to spell words this way.

In the 600 years since then, English has changed, largely to add vocabulary for new discoveries

and inventions. English is a living language and continues to change every day. Finish your timeline with two new words from Modern English. Think about words that your parents or grandparents didn’t use (or didn’t use the same way) when they were growing up. A Brief Chronology of English 55 BC Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar Local

inhabitants speak Celtish (Celtic)

43 AD Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain 436 Roman withdrawal from Britain complete 449 Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins 450-480 Earliest known Old English inscriptions Old

English 1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England

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Beowulf(OldEnglishversion)Authorunknown

• Try to read the following text. • Can you recognize the language?

Hwæt.WeGardenaingeardagum,þeodcyninga,þrymgefrunon,huðaæþelingasellenfremedon. OftScyldScefingsceaþenaþreatum,monegummægþum,meodosetlaofteah,egsodeeorlas.Syððanærestwearðfeasceaftfunden,heþæsfrofregebad,weoxunderwolcnum,weorðmyndumþah,oðþæthimæghwylcþaraymbsittendraoferhronradehyranscolde,gombangyldan.þætwæsgodcyning.

Summary and analysis: https://youtu.be/qrm3PJjD7gU Opening lines - translation https://youtu.be/sDXmxLDbp7c Full poem https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43521/beowulf-old-english-version

• Watch the following videos. • Note important details in your log.

Grendel

Beowulf

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The Vikings and Their Language

Old Norse, the language of the Viking Age, is the source of many English words and the parent language of modern Scandinavian languages (Icelandic, Faroese, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian). The Vikings sailed over one-third of the globe and were the first northern Europeans to harness the technology of long-distance seafaring. Wherever they went, Vikings brought their

myths, legends, and sagas. These Old Norse tales are the basis of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and a host of contemporary fantasy writing and gaming. Norse mythology was the inspiration for The Long Winter from the Game of Thrones.

Invasion of the British Isles

Beginning around AD 793, the Vikings began to lead raids along what is now the British coast. Especially vulnerable to these raids were coastal communities and monasteries, which were targeted for their wealth. Sporadic raiding gradually turned to larger-scale assaults, the establishment of communities, and the creation of war-bands. During this time 'England' was a region of several independent kingdoms - often at war with each other - and the lack of a unified political and military structure meant that Viking war-bands could roam the countryside with much consequence.

So, what does this have to do with the English language?

Old English and Old Norse come from the same “mother” language (Proto-Germanic). As speakers of Proto-Germanic travelled to new isolated areas, the languages they spoke began to change, eventually resulting in two different languages with a common base. Note the common sounds and structures of both Old Norse and Old English words.

Old Norse Word Old English Word batr boat jarl Earl hosa hose (socks) flræll thrall (slave)

faƉir (fathir) Fæder (father) mȯƉir (mothir) Modor (mother)

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Other Interesting Links About the Vikings

• The following websites contain oodles of interesting information about the Norse people. • They are optional, unless your teacher decides otherwise. • After reading and/or watching, note any information you could use in log

A comprehensive site about Norse Gods and Realms: https://thenorsegods.com/ Another interesting site about Viking warfare and weapons: https://www.ancient.eu/Viking_Warfare/ The following is a link to the documentary, How the Vikings Conquered Europe https://youtu.be/mRC2R7wxQkw https://youtu.be/mRC2R7wxQkw

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Excerpts From:

The Last Kingdom, By Bernard Cornwell

Instructions:

• Read the excerpts the following to enrich your understanding of the episodes. • Annotate and underline relevant information on the following key elements: characters,

setting, plot, writing, cultural and historical details. • Use both this document and you Viewing Log to record these key elements.

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