Anglo-Saxons Literary Period Flashcards

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1
Q

What time period was the Anglo-Saxons

A

449-1066 A.D.

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2
Q

How many years did the Anglo-Saxons rule England?

A

600 years

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3
Q

Why is England hard to rule?

A

England is an island, therefore it is hard to defend from enemies.

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4
Q

Who were the 3 major inhabitants of England?

A
  1. Celts
  2. Romans
  3. Anglo-Saxons
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5
Q

What was the order of Invasion of England?

A
  1. Pre-Roman/Celts
  2. Roman Occupation
  3. Anglo-Saxons
  4. Viking Invasions
  5. Norman Conquest.
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6
Q

Who were the Celts

A
  • A.K.A -Brythons or Britons (term britain)
  • Mostly farmers / lived in clans
  • Polytheistic (animism)
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7
Q

What is Animism?

A

Animism is a belief that gods live in all things like trees, stones, water, air.

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8
Q

What is Stonehenge?

A

A possible spiritual place built form limited tools and tech. Each stone weighed 4 tons. Wiltshire, England.

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9
Q

Who were the Romans?

A
  • Caesar starts invasion, Claudius completes invasion
  • Built wall, villas, baths, and roads (5,000 mi. worth)
  • Hadrian’s wall / keeps out enemies for 250 years
  • Evacuate in 409 A.D. because Rome is being attacked
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10
Q

What were the results of the Roman Occupation?

A
  1. Military was strong
    - pushed celts into wales and ireland
    - prevented vikings from raiding
    “Rome’s greatest gift to Britain was peace”
  2. Infrastructure
    - Government
    - walls, villas, public baths
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11
Q

What continued after the Romans left?

A
  1. Language / Writing
    • Latin official language
    • Practice of recording history begins
  2. Religion
    • Christianity begins to take hold
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12
Q

Who were the Anglo-Saxons?

A

499-1066

Pushed the celts to the far west of the country

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13
Q

What were the important events of the Anglo-Saxon invasion?

A
  1. Two groups the Angles and the Saxons cross the north sea from Northern Germany
  2. Jutes invade from the Jutland peninsula in Denmark
  3. Anglo-Saxon kingdoms become the Anglo-Saxons that made up the non-unified England, aka the Heptarchy (7 Kingdoms)
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14
Q

What is does Heptarchy stand for? What are the names of the kingdoms?

A

Seven KIngdoms

  1. Kent
  2. Essex
  3. Sussex
  4. East Anglia
  5. Northumbria
  6. Mercia
  7. Wessex
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15
Q

Who made up the Anglo-Saxons? Where were they from?

A

Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

Northern Germany (Angels, Saxons), Denmark (Jutes)

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16
Q

What was Anglo-Saxon society like?

A
  1. Warrior based, led by a strong warrior chief/warriors were admired
  2. Warefare was both commonplace and important to societal structure
  3. Needed to protect the clan/home from enemies
  4. Fame and success = achieved through loyalty to a leader. success measured by gifts reviewed from said leader.
  5. Women had rights. Held property even after marriage, offered gifts of land/money from prospective husbands.
17
Q

what does Wyrd mean?

A

fate/destiny

18
Q

what was a mead hall?

A

Great hall of the king where most Scops told their stories.

19
Q

What is the Comitatus Relationship?

A

A mutually beneficial relationship between a lord and his nobles. Thane swears to defend a lord until death and in return receives, weapons, protection, and a share of the wealth.

20
Q

Who were Scops?

A

Scops = skilled storytellers

a. told heroic deeds
b. regarded as equals to warriors in society
c. remembered their stories via meter and kennings.

Importance

a. Anglo-Saxons believed their fame/deeds lived on in an afterlife
b. Immortality was gained via song and preserved collective memories

21
Q

what does “lof” mean?

A

fame that survives death

22
Q

What was Anglo-Saxon religion like?

A
  1. no hope for an afterlife
  2. valued - bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship
  3. worshiped gods similar or Norse myth
23
Q

What was the language like during the Anglo-Saxons?

A

Old English, during this time they spoke Old English but studied Latin until King Alfred changed it.

24
Q

Who was King Alfred the Great?

A

From Wessex
Instituted the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Made English a respected Language

25
Q

what were the leading literary genres?

A

Poetry and Riddles

26
Q

what is Epics?

A

Narrative/Story-like

27
Q

what is Elegiac mood?

A

somber, sorrowful

28
Q

strong rhythm

A

but no rhyme

29
Q

what is Lyrical?

A

focuses on emotion

30
Q

When was the spread of Christianity?

A

Around 400 A.D.
Monks settles in Britian
By 699 A.D. Chrisitianity replaced pagan religions

31
Q

What role did monks play?

A
  1. Monasaries served as a place for learning

2. They preserved Greek classics (Beowulf)

32
Q

Who were the vikings and what did they do?

A
  • similar heratge to aglo-saxons (and jutes) = all were scandanavian invaders
  • called “Northmen” / Danes
  • different culture from the AS
  • multiple invasion from 787-1066
33
Q

What happened in 878 A.D. in England? Who was Alfred the Great?

A
  1. Unification/ King Alfred the Great unifies the Anglo-Saxons against the Danes
    - saved wessex and other kindgons along with helping create a coeersive English society
  2. Alfred restored attacked cities, and revied the interest in learning and language
  3. Alfred makes England a nation
    - Only monarch who was termed “the Great”
34
Q

When was the Norman Invasion?

A

1066

35
Q

What happened during the Norman Invasion?

A

William of Normandy crosses the english channel

- Defeats king harold (last aglo-saxon king) and defeats the army at the battle of Hastings

36
Q

What are the two important effects of the Norman Invasion?

A
  1. French become the predominant language, replacing english as the English of ruling class
  2. England unified under a french political system (feudalism) = changes the structure of england.
37
Q

What is the Bayeux Tapestry?

A

A tapestry that depicts the Battle of Hastings

- embroded with linen 231 ft. long and 19.5 in wide