The Anglo-Saxon Period and the Middle Ages Introduction to the Literary Period

The Anglo-Saxon Period and the Middle AgesIntroduction to the Literary Period

Fast Facts

Key Concept: The Anglo-Saxon Legacy

Key Concept: The Normans Invade Britain

Key Concept: Life in Medieval Society

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History of the Times

• Troubles at home forced Rome to evacuate its soldiers in A.D. 409, opening Britain to invasion.

• After the legions of Rome conquered the Celts, Roman armies kept Britain free from invaders.

Key Concept: The Anglo-Saxon Legacy

• Until ninth century, Britain is subject to constant invasions and battles.

• King Alfred unites Anglo-Saxons against the invading Danes.

• Angle and Saxon clans impose warrior culture on the island for six centuries.

History of the Times

• The spread of Christianity helps unify the Anglo-Saxons.

Key Concept: The Anglo-Saxon Legacy

• Poetry, like fighting, hunting, and farming, had great significance.

Literature of the Times

• Old English epic poem Beowulf combines Germanic heroism and Anglo-Saxon fatalism.

• Anglo-Saxon literature is rooted in oral tradition.

• Bards relied on sound devices and repeated phrases to remember their tales.

Key Concept: The Anglo-Saxon Legacy

• Christian monks copy ancient manuscripts, preserving classical and Anglo-Saxon texts.

Literature of the Times• English emerges as a

written language.

• Historical poems in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle detail events of early English history.

Key Concept: The Anglo-Saxon Legacy

Beowulf was composed in Old English. The versions you will read were translated by Burton Raffel and Seamus Heaney.Their translations reflect these features of Anglo-Saxon poetry:

• caesura • alliteration

• kenning

BeowulfTranslations of Beowulf