Transcript The Anglo-Saxon Period and the Middle Ages

The Anglo-Saxon Period
and the Middle Ages
449-1485
Dates to Remember
449 - Germanic tribes invade Britain
597 – St. Augustine, establishes monastery
in Canterbury
664 – British Christian Church and Roman
Catholic Church unite
787 – Danish invasions begin
871 – Alfred the Great takes throne
1066 – William the Conqueror invades
England
Dates Continued
1086 – Domesday Book is created
1170 – Thomas A Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is
murdered
1215 – Magna Carta is signed by King John
1295 – First Parliament is created
1337 – Hundred Years’ War begins between England
and France
1349 – The Black Death sweeps through England
1381 – The Peasants’ Revolt is suppressed
1455 – “The Wars of the Roses” begins(series of wars
between Houses of York and Lancaster)
Peasants Wheel of LIfe
See chart on Document
Camera
Wergild
A sum of money that a slain man’s family would
receive to avoid retaliation toward another family
due to the slaying of their family member.
A nobleman or warrior was worth 1200 shillings
A free peasant was worth 200 shillings
Domesday Book
• Commissioned by William the
Conqueror
• Contained census type records
for 13,418 English estates
• Used for tax purposes
The Black Death
• During first wave –
approximately 300 people died
each day
• By the end of the plague –
almost 50% of the population of
Europe had been killed
Historical, Social, and Cutlural Forces
of the Anglo-Saxon Period and Middle
Ages
The Anglo Saxons
A.D. 43 - Romans
conquered the Celtic
tribes of Britain
Introduced a much more
modern way of living
449 – Angles, Saxons, and
Jutes began invading
Britain’s eastern
shores
King Arthur was king and
led a few of the
victories against the
Germanic tribes
Germanic tribes took
over the southeastern
section of the island
and called it AngleLand
The Germanic invaders formed
small tribal kingdoms, supported
themselves through farming and
hunting, and believed in many
different gods. Only when
Christianity was firmly
established, did a unified
civilization emerge.
Vikings and Normans
• 878 – Lord Alfred, the Saxon king of
Wessex, led his warriors to victory
over the Danes in the Battle of
Edington. Later captured, London
and eventually most of England.
• Became known as ‘the Great’.
• During next century, his son and
grandson recaptured all of England
and country was finally at peace.
Vikings and Normans
cont’d
• Peaceful times were shortlived.
1066, William of Normandy, laid
claim to English throne. English
council chose Harold II, and
William attacked and defeated
the Anglo-Saxons at Battle of
Hastings. William became first
Norman King of England.
Feudal England
• Feudalism – Land was divided among noble
overlords, or barons. Lesser lords, called
knights, pledged their wealth and services
to the overlords, who, in return, provided
use of the land. At the lowest end of the
social scale were the serfs(peasants
pledged to the lord of the manor and bound
to the land).
Feudal England
• Early 1200s brought about the Peasants’
Revolt and forced King John to agree to a
Great Charter, or the Magna Carta. By
signing, he agreed NOT to raise taxes
without the consent of the barons. This
act began the current system of
constitutional government in England –
including the right to trial by jury .
Discussion…
• “To no one will we sell, to no
one deny or delay right or
justice.”
− King John, from Magna Carta
War and Plague
• 100 years war began in 1337.
• Drained England financially
• Break with France helped
England develop a national
identity independent of the
French influence.
War and Plague
• Black Death swept through Europe
during the 100 Years War.
• First struck England in 1348
• Killed almost 1/3 of England’s people
• Totally eroded the feudal system
• The shift of power from aristocracy
to urban middle class set the stage
for The Renaissance
The EPIC WARRIOR
A Warrior Society
The Epic Warrior
• Embodied the qualities valued
by the tribes who settled on
Britains shores
• Demonstrated courage
• Achieved fame and immortality
• Possessed physical strength to
overcome his enemies
Warrior Society
• Warfare was a way of life
• Their tribal organization, values, and
beliefs – as well as their poetry –
reflected in that reality
• Comitatus…the warlord and his
followers
• Warlords often rewarded their
fiercest warriors with gifts and
therefore, the warriors pledged
loyalty and allegiance
Question for thought….
• What do you think is meant by
the following quote..
• “He who earns praise/Has under
heaven the greatest glory.”
– Widsith, the Minstrel
Oral Literature
• Anglo Saxons brought their Germanic language,
religion, culture, and oral literary traditions to
Britain.
• Storytellers created heroic songs to depict the
warriors battles and great deeds
• The culture celebrated strength, courage, and
loyalty – which they believed could save people
from the evils that threatened them
• Scops… minstrels who performed songs during the
banquests held at the mead-halls of Anglo Saxon
rulers
• In a mostly illiterate society, songs served as
literary entertainment.
Germanic and Christian
Traditions
• Two most important influences on AngloSaxon literature were Germanic tradition
and the Christian religion
• Anglo Saxon Lit focused on the dark, heroic tales
of Germanic mythology which depict a tragic world
in which even the gods ultimately perish
• Christian religion focused on an omnipotent God
and promise of eternal life
In works such as Beowulf, both Germanic and
Christian elements were combined. Grendel is
described as a troll-like creature and also a
descendent of Cain.
WYRD
• The Anglo Saxon word for fate –
and fate was believed to control
human destiny and that one’s
ultimate and inescapable fate
was death.
• The epic hero’s only appropriate
response was to face death
with courage
The Power of Faith
Question for thought….
Do you think that a
community’s tallest buildings
reveal its dominant values?
Why or Why not?
Christianizing England
• 596 – Pope Gregory I sent missioniaries to convert
the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.
• By 650 – most of England was Christian in name
though many retained some of the pagan beliefs
and traditions
• Christianity brought glimmerings of education and
culture
• By 8th century, Anglo-Saxon culture reached its
peak in many of the Northumbrian monasteries that
produced decorated books(illuminated
manuscripts).
• Book of Durrow and Lindisfarne Gospels rank
among the most beautiful works of art in the Middle
Ages
The Monasteries
• Some men and women chose to dedicate
their lives to work and prayer. These
men(monks) and women(nuns) would join
religious orders which varied in their
communal orders. Some were very strict
demanding poverty, fasting, absolute
obedience, and manual labor.
• English monks established libraries and
schools and emphasized the importance of
the written word—especially of the Bible.
Pilgrimages
• One way people expressed religious
devotion was to undertake a
pilgrimage, or journey, to a sacred
site.
• One of the most important journeys
was to Canterbury Cathedral where
in 1170 Sir Thomas a Beckett was
slain
• Canterbury Tales will be your
glimpse into this type of journey.
Religious Drama
• Alternative to reading
• Most were illiterate
• Dramas developed from
enactments of biblical stories
during church services
• Two types: Mystery Plays
Morality Plays
Mystery Plays
Plays which were complete cycles
developed with the beginning of creation of
the world and concluded with the last
judgment and performed by local guilds.
Mystery meant “trade” or “craft”.
Morality Plays
• Less realistic
• Featured allegorical figures
representing good, evil, and
other abstract qualities
• These plays presented moral
lessons
The World of Romance
Question for Thought…
What do you believe are the
basic elements of a good
romance?
The Knight
• Enjoyed great social prestige
• Formed necleus of the feudal aristocracy
• Pledged allegiance (and military prowess) to
specific lords and vassals in exchange for land
• Main responsibility was to train and fight
• When not in battle, they provided sport and
entertainment in showy tournaments
• Jousting was one of the tournament games but
around 1500 was changed to encourage a safer
form of entertainment
• The church tried to regulate knightly violence by
outlawing fighting on Sundays and holidays.
Chivalry and Courtly
Love
• Chivalry – derived from chevalier,
meaning horseman
• Refers to a code of ethics the knight
was obliged to uphold.
• Knights were to be honorable, generous,
brave, skillful in battle, respectful to
women, and protective of widows and
orphans
• Code of chivalry helped to civilize the
conduct of k nights and elevate the
status of women
Courtly Love
• The relationship between a
knight and a courtly
lady(usually married to
someone else)
• Marriages were commercial
arrangements involving
exchange of property or goods
or an alliance of families
The Rise of Romance
• Originating in France – romance became
the most popular literary genre in medieval
England
• Most romances describe adventures of
knights and celebrate chivalry and courtly
love
• Most highly regarded verse romance in
English is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• In 1470, Sir Thomas Malory retold the
entire cycle of Arthurian legend in Le
Morte d’ Arthur
The Epic and its form…
*Poetic lines that have regular meter and
rhythm and formal, elevated, or even lofty
language
*Main characters who have heroic or
superhuman qualities
*gods or godlike beings who intervene in the
events
*Action on a huge scale, often involving the
fates of entire people
*Stories that begin in the middle of things or
at a critical point in the action
The Epic Form cont’d…
• Uses a variety of literary devices:
• Epithet – a word of brief phrase often used to
characterize a particular person, place, or
thing. Ex.-Athena is “gray-eyed” and the sea
is “wine-dark”
• Kenning – a standardized comparison
between two things. Ex.-the king is a “ringgiver” and the sea is the “whale-road”
• Both epithets and kennings helped
epic poets mold their ideas to their
poetic forms