Extended Lesson Plan (ELP)

Course code: HEN-303 Course Title: History of English Literature Week # 01

Anglo Saxon Period (449-1066 A.D)

Angles (people) (Latin Angli), Germanic tribe that occupied the region still called

Angeln in what is now the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Together with

the Saxons and Jutes, they invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. With their

kindred ethnic groups, they formed the people who came to be known as the

English. The name England is derived from them.

Saxons, Germanic people who first appear in history after the beginning of the

Christian era. The earliest mention of the Saxons is by the Alexandrian

mathematician and geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD, at which time they

appear to have dwelt in the south Jutland Peninsula in the north of what is now

Germany. They conducted piratical raids in the North Sea area, and in the 3rd and

4th centuries they pressed southward into the region of the Weser River, where

they encountered the Chauci and the Angrivarii, Germanic tribes that they subdued

and absorbed. In the second half of the 4th century, the Saxons invaded Roman

domains, and by the close of the 6th century all northwest Germany as far east as

the Elbe River had become Saxon territory. In the 5th and 6th centuries, some

groups of Saxons invaded Britain, where they were joined by other Germanic

peoples, the Angles and the Jutes. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Anglo-
Saxon conquest of Britain was practically completed. In the 8th century, the

Frankish king Pepin the Short attacked the Saxons who remained in Germany. His

son, Charlemagne, subdued them after a series of fierce wars lasting from 772 to

804 and forced them to accept Christianity. In the course of the 9th century, a great

Saxon duchy came into existence under Frankish sovereignty, and its rulers

established a dynasty of German kings in the 10th century. This old duchy of

Saxony was dissolved toward the end of the 12th century, and the name of Saxony

later passed over to an entirely different region.

Celts: The earliest archaeological evidence associated with the Celts places them

in what is now France and western Germany in the late Bronze Age, around 1200

BC. In the early Iron Age, they are associated with the Hallstatt Culture (8th

century BC to 5th century BC), named for an archaeological site in what is now

Oberösterreich (Upper Austria). They probably began to settle in the British Isles

during this period. Between the 5th and 1st centuries BC, their influence extended

from what is now Spain to the shores of the Black Sea. This later Iron Age phase is

called La Tène, after a site in Switzerland.

The word Celt is derived from Keltoi, the name given to these people by Herodotus

and other Greek writers. To the Romans, the Continental Celts were known as

Galli, or Gauls; those in the British Isles were called Britanni.

“The barbarians drive us to the sea. The sea drives us back towards the

barbarians. Between them we are exposed to two sorts of death: we are either

slain or drowned.” This description was part of a desperate plea for help sent in

the early 400s by the Celtic people of Britain to the consul of Rome. The Celts

were under attack by Scottish and Irish tribes, but Rome was too busy trying to

save its own crumbling empire to spare any soldiers.

Next, the Celts sought help from the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—tribes that

occupied regions of what is now

Germany. Unfortunately, these tribes viewed the Celts’ plea as an opportunity to

take over Britain. The Anglo-Saxon warriors, clothed in animal skins and

wielding spears, drove the Celts into the mountains and took the land for their

own. It was a bloody beginning for the nation that would come to be known as

England.

History of the Time

Many consider that English history began with the invasion of the Angles, Saxons,

and Jutes in 449. These Germanic invaders took over the southeastern part of the

island and called it “Angle-land.” They formed small tribal kingdoms whose

members lacked written language, supported themselves through farming and

hunting, and believed in many different gods.

The Coming of Christianity
In 596, missionaries attempted to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.

By the year 650, most of England was Christian— at least in name. Although the

people appeared to be intense believers in God and the church, many held on to

their pagan beliefs and traditions.

The Danish Invasions

During the eighth and ninth centuries, other Germanic tribes attacked Britain.

Danes and Norsemen took to the seas in an attempt to win Britain by force. By the

middle of the ninth century, most of England had fallen to the invaders. However,

the tide was turned in 878 when Alfred, the Saxon king of Wessex, led his warriors

to victory over the Danes in the Battle of Edington. Alfred went on to capture

London and, eventually, much of England. For these and other feats, Alfred was

called “the Great.” Later, Alfred’s son and grandson won back all of England from

the Danes, and the country was at peace.

In the fifth century, Germanic warriors began storming onto Britain’s shores.

These invaders—mostly Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—came across the North Sea,

initiating an era of conquest. Yet as these invaders (known collectively as the

Anglo-Saxons) settled the land, they also built the foundations of English culture.

Even the modern name England comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for “land of

the Angles.”
The language of the Anglo-Saxons, now termed Old English, began as a blend of

Germanic dialects. Although modern English contains many words with Old

English origins, Old English itself has largely disappeared. What remains,

however, is poetry and prose emblazoned with heroic themes of the courage,

generosity, strength, and loyalty of warriors and kings.

Before the Anglo-Saxons

Long before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxon invaders, Britain was settled by its

earliest known peoples, the Celts (keltz).

The Celts
The Celts had migrated from continental Europe between 800 and 600 B.C. One

tribe of the Celts was the Brythons, or “Britons,” and another was the Gaels

(g¯alz). Because the Britons settled mainly on the largest of the British Isles (now

England, Scotland, and Wales), that island became known as Great Britain. The

Gaels settled primarily on the smaller island now called Ireland.

The Romans
In A.D. 43, Roman legions began an invasion that would lead to the conquest of

lowland Britain. Many Britons were forced northward to what is now Scotland and

westward to what is now Wales. Others were forced into slavery. The conquering

Romans built walls to protect their strongholds and roads to help unify the

province. In time, the Romans also brought Christianity to the Celts. Roman

strength foiled attacks by such tribes as the Picts, the Scots, and the Saxons.
However, Rome itself was eventually beset by Germanic invasions, and by the

early fifth century,

Roman forces had withdrawn from Britain.

Anglo-Saxon England
Left on its own, Britain became vulnerable to raids by Picts, Scots, and Germanic

pirates. Vortigern, the ruler of southeastern Britain, is thought to have hired bands

of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes to help protect his lands. Eventually, however, these

mercenaries turned against the Britons, seizing towns and the areas that surrounded

them. The invaders were soon joined by more bands of their fellow warriors.

Despite the Britons’ resistance, the Anglo-Saxons had taken over most of lowland

Britain by 650, enslaving the Britons or driving them to the rugged western reaches

of the island. The Anglo-Saxons soon carved up the land into many small tribal

kingdoms. By the end of the seventh century, however, the Anglo-Saxons had

come to think of themselves as one people—the English. From this civilization

grew the history, language, and literature of England.

Early Anglo-Saxon Life

For early Anglo-Saxons, warfare was a way of life; their tribal organization,

values, and beliefs—as well as their poetry—reflected that fact. Tribes consisted of

warrior families and tenant farmers. They were led by noblemen who, in turn,

served a chief or king. An Anglo-Saxon ruler was primarily a warlord who

protected his people from attacks and led his noblemen on expeditions of plunder,

conquest, or revenge. Thus, the qualities the Anglo-Saxons valued most were those

of a warrior: courage, strength, generosity, and loyalty. Equally befitting such a

society were the principal gods they worshipped: Woden, protector of heroes and

rouser to battle; Tir, god of glory and honor; and Thunor, aid to warriors in battle.

Conversion to Christianity
Following the Anglo-Saxon invasions, Christianity in Britain survived only in the

far western regions, where many Britons had fled. In 596, however, the pope sent

missionaries to re-establish Christianity in England. By the end of the seventh

century, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southeastern England had become

Christian. Meanwhile, monks from Ireland had brought Christianity to other parts

of England. In addition, missionaries and monks eventually brought literacy to

England, using Latin as the literary and scholarly language.

Unification
For centuries, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms fought among themselves. Finally, in

829 King Egbert of Wessex won control of all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

Although he lost the kingdom of Mercia the following year, his leadership paved

the way for the unification of Anglo-Saxon England. By the end of Egbert’s reign,

however, Vikings from across the North Sea had captured much of Anglo-Saxon

England. These Scandinavian seafarers were called Norse, probably in reference to

the North Sea. Those who attacked the coasts of England were predominantly

Danes. After many defeats by the Danes, Egbert’s grandson, King Alfred, soundly

defeated the Danes at Edington in 879. He went on to recapture London, driving

the Danes back to the northeastern third of England and uniting non-Danish

England under his rule. During the next century, the kings of Wessex won back the

rest of England.

New Rulers
Toward the end of the tenth century, the Vikings renewed their attacks. By 1016

the war-weary English offered the crown to the man they thought most capable of

restoring order, the Danish prince Canute. Unlike his predecessors, Canute worked

to reconcile the country’s English and Danish inhabitants. Continental Europe had

also suffered from years of Viking attacks and conquests. Across the English

Channel, the Vikings had taken much of northern France. In tribute to the Norse,

this region became known as Normandy. Within a decade of King Canute’s death,

the last of his descendants died; the English turned to Edward, a nobleman with

both Anglo-Saxon and Norman roots, as their next king.

The End of Anglo-Saxon Rule

What followed drastically changed the course of English history. Some accounts

relate that King Edward promised that upon his death the English throne would go

to William, the duke of Normandy. However, when Edward died in 1066, Harold
of Wessex claimed the throne. Within the year, William sailed across the English

Channel with his Norman Army. William’s forces defeated and killed King Harold

at the Battle of Hastings, and William became the first Norman king of England.

Thus the Anglo-Saxon era came to an end.