Transcript Anglo-Saxons 449-1066

Anglo-Saxon Period 449-1066
England/Great Britain/United Kingdom
• Island
that includes
Scotland and Wales
•Known today as the United
Kingdom of Great Britain
•Invading peoples included
the Iberians, Celts, Romans,
Angles, Saxons. Jutes,
Vikings, and Normans
• from around 449-1066
The migrations of the invading peoples into
England during the Anglo-Saxon period
The Celts
• 4th century- Celtic people called Britons invaded England
• Tall, blonde warriors; women had equal rights as men
• Religion based on animism (spirits live in trees, rivers,
rocks, etc)
• Druid priests acted as intermediaries between the people and
gods
• Believed in the “Great Mother Goddess” who associated with nature
Stonehenge
• Celtic priests (druids) were said to have built
Stonehenge (a bunch of heavy stones placed in a circle)
• Ceremonies celebrating the rites of the sun, moon, and
astronomical events took place here
• A mystery on how this monument was created
• Stonehenge is one of the “Wonders of the Modern
World”
• Druid translates as “knowing the oak tree” because these priests
performed religious ceremonies in oak groves
• The oak tree and the mistletoe were sacred to the Celtic priests
• The custom of kissing under the mistletoe comes from the Celtic
tradtition
• Druid priests were also responsible for educating the young
Celtic Mythology & Legend
• Celtic mythology influenced the literature of England
• These myths and legends are full of male and female heroes unlike
the male dominated Anglo-Saxon literature schools normally teach.
• The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table come
from the Celtic myths
The Romans
• Julius Caesar defeated the Celts (Britons) in 55 BC
• The Romans occupied this area for 4 centuries
• They built:
~roads that connected cities
~a defensive wall (Hadrian’s Wall)
~public baths
• They promoted literacy and education
• Their most important contribution was Christianity
Public Baths & Hadrian’s Wall
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
• Invaders from Germany (Angles and Saxons) and Denmark
(Jutes) came in the 5th century
• The name “England” comes from the Angle words Engla Land
• The tribes and cities were not unified and they fought each other
frequently
• King Alfred the Great unified the tribes, established Christianity
as the dominant religion, and ordered the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle written to record their history