Anglorum - A Brief History of Anglo-Saxon England The Anglo-Saxon settlement of England was no overnight affair. The late-Roman army had many Germanic elements and from the fourth century they and their families had settled in Britain. It is, therefore, not surprising that after the withdrawal of the legions at the beginning of the fifth century individual towns looked to Germanic mercenaries to maintain their security. Vortigern, the post-Roman Kentish king, is often left to take the blame, but he was no doubt only one of several leaders who took this course. The fifth and sixth centuries saw increased Germanic settlement although the balance of local power fluctuated between Britons and Saxons. Ultimately, even in areas such as Northumbria, where Germanic settlement was sparse, the English language became the predominant one and the celtic language and lifestyles became marginalised to Wales, Cornwall and northern Scotland. The end of the sixth century saw another major new influence on the Germanic invaders - Christianity.
Beowulf Resources An Introduction to Beowulf: Language and Poetics | Read Write Think This lesson provides an introduction to the language and poetics of the epic poem Beowulf. Although this lesson assumes students will read Beowulf in translation, it introduces students to the poem's original Old English and explains the relationship between Old, Middle, and Modern English. Students are introduced to the five characters in the Old English alphabet that are no longer used in Modern English. As a class, they translate a short, simple phrase from Old English, and then listen to a passage from the poem being read in Old English. Next, students are introduced to some poetic devices important to Beowulf. Gillis argues that when we teach literature we often don't do so without teaching its background, its historical, philosophical, and environmental context. Further Reading This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. 1. Students will Session One
Anglo Saxon Chronicle Welcome to Britannia's online version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, one of the most important documents that has come down to us from the middle ages. It was originally compiled on the orders of King Alfred the Great in approximately A.D. 890, and subsequently maintained and added to by generations of anonymous scribes until the middle of the 12th Century. The original language was Anglo-Saxon (Old English), but later entries were probably made in an early form of Middle English. We like to think of this document as the ultimate timeline of British history from its beginnings up to the end of the reign of King Stephen in 1154. The entire Chronicle runs to almost 100,000 words and so is a bit unwieldy, in one piece. The Translation This translation is by Rev. Preparer's Note This electronic edition was edited, proofed, and prepared by Douglas B. Warning The footnotes of Rev. Selected Bibliography Original Texts Classen, E. and Harmer, F.E. Click on Chronicle Years Below:
Anglo-Saxon life Life and Religion It is difficult to generalize about an era as lengthy as the Dark Ages, but we'll do it anyway. The Anglo-Saxons were pagans when they came to Britain. They worshipped gods of nature and held springs, wells, rocks, and trees in reverence. Religious observance consisted of invocations and charms to ensure the gods' help in securing a desired outcome in the material world, though the presence of grave goods indicates a belief in an afterlife. Saxons dining A Lord's LifeWe know little about how most people lived, for so little remains. Society was divided into several social classes, which might vary from place to place. Below the king there were two levels of freemen, the upper class thanes and the lower class ceorls (churls). Below the thanes and ceorls were the slaves. Slavery - the way in... ...and the way outSlavery was not necessarily a lifetime sentence, however. WeaponsIn war the common weapon was the spear made with a seven foot long ash shaft and an iron head.
Beowulf: History, Legend, and Mythology – Digital Collections for the Classroom Introduction Although acknowledged as a foundational work of English literature, the complicated and allusive style of the longest epic poem in Old English often intimidates teachers and students alike. This digital collection will help educators to read and teach the work in a new way by illuminating the fascinating mixture of historical, legendary, and mythological material that come together in the poem. It turns to the literary heritage of Scandinavia and continental Europe to help us understand material that the Beowulf poet assumed the audience would already know, and it examine the historical events and figures that appear in the work. Those reading Beowulf for the first time may be confused where and when the central action of the Old English poem takes place. The mixture of pagan and Christian elements in the poem can also be confusing. This collection approaches Beowulf from four angles. Please consider the following questions as you review the documents: A Manuscript in Flames
Beowulf: The enduring appeal of an Anglo-Saxon 'superhero story' As the cold sting of winter finally starts to fade, so the literary festival season edges closer. An addition to the line-up this year is a five-day celebration of the legendary saga of Beowulf. How is it that a story written by an unknown author more than 1,000 years ago still captures the imagination? The eponymous hero of this 3,182-line poem battles fierce monsters, rips off his enemy's arm, fights a fire-breathing dragon and defends a nation. It could be the plot of Hollywood's latest blockbuster movie. But this is the story of Beowulf, a poem once told in timber-framed barns in Anglo-Saxon England, to the raucous noise of the mead-swilling crowd. Described by historian and broadcaster Michael Wood as "being at the very root of English literature", the author and the exact date of composition remain a mystery. There is only one surviving manuscript, and even that was nearly destroyed in an 18th Century library fire. There have also been comic books, films, TV series and documentaries.
Life Lessons from Beowulf – ELA Brave and True by Marilyn Yung Building Book Love’s real-world writing assignment is a winner! This semester, I’m all about making Beowulf relevant for my high school seniors. I’ve done a couple of things to accomplish that: I’ve assigned readings of contemporary articles to show them how Beowulf is in the minds of professional writers and bloggers. I’ve extended the Beowulf unit to one on the Hero’s Journey. In my research to find ways to infuse Beowulf with relevance, I came upon this awesome essay activity on Ashley Bible’s Building Book Love website. It’s an assignment called “Life Lessons of Beowulf.” Check it out here on Bible’s website. These real-world articles apply events from Beowulf to create lessons — words of wisdom, if you will — regarding leadership and content marketing, among other business-related topics. Bible cites Kelly Gallagher’s ideas from his book Write Like This, where he advises that teachers actively seek out articles “in the wild” for students to emulate. This was an effective assignment!