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SECTION 1 Celtic Ireland

SECTION 2 Christianity

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• Saint Columba • Pope Gregory I • Ethelbert • Bede • Alfred the Great

People to Know

• shires • sheriff • king’s peace • witenagemot • witan

Terms to Learn• coracles • Saint Patrick

• British Isles • Kent • Wessex • Daneland

Places to Locate

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Celtic Ireland• When the Anglo-Saxons came, most of the

Celts who lived in Britain fled to Ireland. • Ireland became the major center of Celtic

culture where clans of people farmed and raised cattle.

• Seafaring Irish made boats large enough to hold 30 people, called coracles, by stretching cow hides over a wooden frame.

• The Irish remained free of Germanic attacks because their island was located farther out in the Atlantic Ocean than Britain.

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Celtic Ireland (cont.)

• Saint Patrick, who was born in Britain in the 400s A.D., founded the Irish Church.

• Ireland lost contact with Rome during the Germanic invasions of the Roman Empire.

• The monasteries became centers of Irish life.

• Church organization was weak, however, because of poor transportation and communication.

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• Saint Columba, one of the best-known monks, set up a monastery on Iona, an island off the west coast of Scotland.

• Monks from Iona went to northern England to preach to the Anglo-Saxons; other went to northern Europe, where they built monasteries and churches.

• They helped spread Christianity and learning throughout Charlemagne's empire.

Celtic Ireland (cont.)

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Christianity and Anglo-Saxon England• Ireland was Christian, but the Anglo-Saxon

kingdoms of Britain followed the Germanic religions.

• In 597 A.D., Pope Gregory I sent a mission of 41 monks from Rome to England under the leadership of Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity

• Ethelbert, the king of Kent, allowed Augustine to build a church in the town of Canterbury.

• One monk, Bede, was a great scholar and wrote the first history of the English people.

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Alfred the Great• About 835 A.D., bands of Danes began

attacking the coast of England to make permanent settlements.

• The English kingdoms decided to resist the invaders. They chose Alfred, King of Wessex, who later became known as Alfred the Great, to resist the invaders.

• As Alfred was never strong enough to completely drive the Danes from England, he signed a treaty with them.

• Alfred had London rebuilt after destruction by the Danes.

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• The government of Anglo-Saxon England centered on the king who was elected by a council of lords.

• Since the central government was too weak to govern the whole country, the king set up local governments divided into districts called shires.

• Each shire was run by a sheriff, who was a local noble chosen by the king.

• The king and his household moved around; the area the royal household was in was under the king's peace, or royal protection.

The Government

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• A group of nobles and church leaders, known as the witenagemot, met with the king to advise and act as a court.

• Each member of the group was known as a witan, or wiseman.

• The group approved laws drawn up by the king and his household.

The Government (cont.)

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• The people in Anglo-Saxon England were generally divided into two classes–nobles and peasants.

• An Anglo-Saxon became a noble by birth or as a reward for special service to the king.

• Nobles had to attend the witenagemot, keep peace in local areas, and serve the king in war.

• The king rewarded nobles with gifts of gold, silver, horses, weapons, and estates.

The People

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• The peasants lived in huts in small villages on the estate and did not own their own land.

• They helped each other farm the noble's land by sharing tools and oxen.

The People (cont.)