The Anglo-Saxon
People, Their Language, and Their Literature
Do you know who the Anglo-Saxons were?
Three tribes from Denmark and northern Germany, called the Angles, the
Saxons, and the Jutes began arriving in Great Britain in the mid-5th
century a.d., very early in the medieval period. From their own similar languages grew a new one we call
Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. The
English we speak is a descendant of Anglo-Saxon. As you may know, Britain had been part of the Roman Empire, which
during this time was fading in the West, and the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes did
their part to chase the Romans out. This map will show you which part of
Great Britain became Anglo-Saxon England.
What were these people like? To
begin, take a look at this website. I apologize that it’s aimed towards young
kids, but I think you’ll enjoy looking through the links that are on the banner
the girl is holding. After that, take a
look at this site,
which will give you more information.
Now that you have an idea what their lives were like, let’s go read
about an archaeological excavation of a burial site called Sutton
Hoo. This was a very exciting discovery.
It was one thing to read about Anglo-Saxons from manuscripts that were
written hundreds of years ago, but it was another thing to find them laying in
the ground, buried with their treasures, just the way we read they were!
Let’s go take a look at some of those things. They are on display in the British Museum and we will now take an
online
tour. What do you think of these items?
Their style is similar to Scandinavian art and craftsmanship, but
remember that they were originally from the same general area.
This week we’ll be learning about their language and features of their
poetry. Next week, we’ll begin reading
their most famous poem, a heroic tale called Beowulf. Click here to look at the
Beowulf manuscript, and then go here
and click on the wave links to hear what we believe they sounded like when they
spoke.
That’s our quick introduction to the Anglo-Saxons. I hope you enjoy this unit. Don’t worry, I won’t expect you to learn Old
English, but by the end of this week, I’d like you to be familiar with the
characteristics of their poetry (alliteration, kenning, and the caesura), be
able to analyze their riddles, and understand how their language is related to
our own.
I hope you’ll find this unit wundorlic (wonderful), or at least wynsumlic
(pleasant)!