Anglo- Saxons/ Saxon
This article is about Anglo- Saxon history , important works and the
history before the origin of Anglo-
Saxon tribe.
Who was there in England before Anglo-Saxons?
- Romans
- Angles, Saxons and
jute's
These were three tribes invited by Celts.
Who were Celts?
Celts were also an old tribe of (Briton) England and also known as
Britons who invited Angles, Saxons and Jutes when Pict's was attacking them.
Celts are the 1st resident of (Britons).
Romans (43 to 410 AD) came there with Julius Caesar who did a lot of attacks
on Briton. Romans ruled in Briton for a long time and brought Christianity with
them.
At this time this place was known as Briton, after that it became
England. When the roman came there Pict's was continuously attacking Britons.
Pict's was a wild Scottish tribe.
Roman’s decided to make a
wall called “Hadrian’s Wall” to escape from the Pict's attacks.
Their language was Latin.
·
Honorius was the king of Romans and he asked the Romans to defend
themselves from the attacks after that we will leave Briton and go back to
Rome. That is how they had withdrawn from Briton.
Now picts was continuously attacking and disturbing Celt’s tribe so they
decided to seek help from three tribes named as;
·
Angles, Saxons and Jutes
These tribes came there from northern Germany and southern Scandinavia
by the way of the sea to England.
·
They had been called there for help in 5th AD. Angles and Saxons are
going to be ruled there for about 600 years. The Jutes tribe had withdrawn from
there eventually.
All this history had been written in the book named “Ecclesiastical
history of English people” by a Christian historian named “Bede”.
Bede also informed that the word England was squeezed from the word
Anglo.
This is how the word England was invented.
Now the question arises that from these three tribes came?
- Angles came from
Germany
- Saxons came from Saxony
place
- Jutes came from Denmark
These tribes came to Briton for help but Angles and Saxons occupied the whole country in 5th AD.
At this time no work was written or published but there was a kind of literature
known as oral literature.
When Anglo Saxons learned to
write, they borrowed words from Romans and did work name as:
- Riddle, Sermons, Hagiography
(knowledge about the life of Saints) and epic poetry.
Bible was translated; chronicles (historical background) were written
but 400 manuscripts were survived.
The best writing of this era:
Widsith
It is an old work or poem that tells about the Germanic world and the
autobiography of the scoop.
Beowulf
It is a masterpiece poem that is followed from this period to up till
now. This poem consists of 3142 lines. Beowulf is considered a national epic
long narrative poem.
Codex
It is an alliterative poem. This Anglo Saxon period is best known for
alliterative work. The use of alliteration was more in this period.
Doer
This poem was about 42 lines. This poem is a complaint of a minstrel who
has been supplanted by a rival from his services.
Important religious poets
- Caedmon (a monk, cattle
holder, wrote 9 lines hymns and songs)
- Cynwulf (man of
church)
- Bede (restored the English
language)
At this time “Alfred the great” was the king of “Wessex”.
Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon’s poetry
- Heroic poetry (Beowulf )
- Personal poetry
- Chronicles
- Religious poetry
- Love poetry
- Sermons
- Riddle poems
- Elegy
- Wisdom
Alfred the great also wrote a few works.
Use of some literary terms
- Alliteration
- Simile
- Metaphor
- Prose
The work of prose was done more.
Bible was translated from Latin to old English.
Conclusion
William 1st in 1066 AD brought with him 7000 soldiers and ships to the
Briton. Saxon’s king Harold Godwinson was defeated by king William the
conqueror at the battle of Hastings he died in battle and William 1st occupied
England.
After that Normans came there who brought with them the France language
“French”. The old English came to its end somehow but probably the languages
might have mixed.
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