Anglo-Saxons Flashcards
What was British literature characterized by?
foreign invasions and social turbulence
What tribes left northern Europe and invaded the island of Britain?
Germanic tribes
What language was spoken by Germanic tribes?
English
Did you have to have a lot of possessions to be considered wealthy as a butcher!
No
What type of work did peasants do year round?
yard work
To avoid revenge from a slain man’s family, what could you pay?
wergild
How can you tell that a nobleman is more important than a peasant?
Noblemen are worth more shillings than peasants
What was commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1085? It contained census-type records of over 13,000 English estates for tax purposes.
The Domesday Book
What ran it’s course and decimated about 25 million people in Europe?
the Black Death
According to the Domesday Book, who owned 54% of the land in England?
Barons, Lords, and Church tenants
Who is A.D. 43 conquered the Celtic tribes of southern Britain?
the Romans
In the early 5th century, when the Roman Empire began to fall, how did it leave the Britons?
easy prey to invaders
What 3 Germanic tribes began invading Britain’s shores?
Angles, Saxons. and Jutes
What were the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes collectively known as?
Anglo-Saxons
What type of beginning did England have? dd
bloody beginning
What did the invaders who took over the southeastern part of the island call it?
Angle-land
What did Angle-land form?
tribal kingdoms
How did Angle-land support themselves?
by farming and hunting
What did Angle-land believe in?
multiple gods
During the 8th and 9th century, who took the seas in an attempt to take Britain by force?
Danes and Norsemen
Who in 878 led his warriors to victory by capturing the city of London, and much of England?
Alfred, the Saxon king of Wessex
For Alfred’s achievements, what was he known as?
Alfred the Great
When Alfred’s son and grandson won back all of England, how was the country?
at peace
How did the Anglo-Saxon era end?
William, duke of Normandy laid claim to the English throne
What battle did William, duke of Normandy defeat the Anglo-Saxons?
Battle of Hastings
What did the Anglo-Saxons become of the Norman French aristocracy?
the subjects
What did William the Conqueror introduce to England?
feudalism
What is feudalism?
a continental social, economic, and political system
Under feudalism, who was the land divided among?
noble overlords
Who pledged their wealth and services to noble overlords?
knights
Who was at the lower end of the social scale?
serfs
What did feudal relationships erupt into?
heated conflicts
Who in 1215 was forced by his angry barons to sign the Magna Carta?
King John
What was the Magna Carta?
An agreement to not raises taxes without the consent of the barons
What did people think the Magna Carta was the beginning of?
a constitutional government
What did the constitutional government include?
the right to trial by jury
What century was a dark time in British history?
14th century
What year did the Hundred Years’ War start?
1337
Who was the Hundred Years’ War between?
English and French
What was the purpose of the Hundred Years’ War?
control of lands in France
After the break with France, what did England develop?
national identity independent of French influence
What epidemic happened during the Hundred Years’ War?
the Black Death
What heroic type did the Anglo-Saxons recognize?
the warrior
What important virtue was believe to achieve fame and immortality?
courage
What virtue is really important to tribal lords?
loyalty and wisdom
What virtue was crucial to overcoming one’s enemies?
physical strength
For the early Anglo-Saxons, what was their way of life?
warfare
What reflected the reality of the Anglo-Saxons?
organization, values, beliefs, and poetry
What did tribes consist of?
warrior families
What were tribes led by?
noblemen
What did noblemen who led tribes also called?
chief or overlord
What primarily was an Anglo-Saxon ruler?
a warlord
What did the Anglo-Saxon leader do?
protected his people from attacks and led his followers on expeditions
What was a close-knit group formed of a warlord and his followers called?
comitatus
What did warlords reward their bravest followers with?
treasure
To get treasure, what did warriors do for it?
show absolute loyalty to their leader
What did the Anglo-Saxons bring to Britain?
Germanic language, religion, culture, and oral literary traditions
What did the storytellers describe about warriors in their songs?
their great deeds and celebrating qualities
What is an example of celebrating qualities?
strength, courage, and loyalty
If you had the celebrating qualities, what did they believe would happen?
that they could save people from the evils that threatened them
What were minstrels (musicians) also known as?
scops
Where did scops preform songs?
In the mead hall
What type of academic society was the Anglo-Saxons?
illiterate society
For warriors, what was the song to them?
it provided models to emulate and a goal to pursue
What was the goal of a warrior?
to win fame and be remembered after death for one’s deeds
What were the two most important influences on the Anglo-Saxon literature?
Germanic tradition and the christian religion
What literary tradition was deeply rooted into the Anglo-Saxons?
dark, heroic tales of Germanic mythology
What did the Anglo-Saxons believe about the afterlife?
that there was no afterlife
What coexisted with Germanic mythology?
Christianity
How was life in the early Anglo-Saxon times?
strife-ridden and brief
What is another word for fate?
wyrd
What is wyrd?
controlled destiny and that one’s ultimate and inescapable fate was death
How does a hero’s face the destiny of death?
with courage
