Anglo Saxon Age!

 Introduction

• Beginning point of Old English Literature
• Anglo-Saxon denotes two of the 3 Germanic tribes:
  • Angles
  • Saxons
  • Jutes

Name

Before 410AD

• They tried to attack Britain
• Roman Army had defeated them
• After Romans withdrew their army, Britain became a free soil
• Romans never gave or taught the native people their art of fighting
• The natives didn’t know how to protect themselves
• Finding Britain unprotected, these three tribes attacked and settled themselves in Britain, roughly in 450AD.
• They were barbarous compared to the highly civilised Romans.

After 11th Century

• The expression ‘Anglo-Saxon’ was not in use
• This expression ‘Anglo-Saxon’ was revived by the Historian William Camden to refer Pre-Norman people of England in his Latin book “Britannia” (1586)

Pagan Religion

• They did not believe in Christian God
• They had their own Pagan gods and goddess

Origin of the word ‘England”

• The word ‘Anglalond’ became ‘Englelond’
• Later ‘Englelond’ became ‘England’

Two Great Schools of Christian Influence

• Under the Leadership of Augustine
  • He came from Rome
  • Pope Gregory the Great had sent him to England
  • He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, Kent in 597AD
  • He is called the founder of the English Church
  • Ethelbert was the first English king to be converted to Christianity by Augustine
  • Augustine’s aim was to establish Roman Catholic Christianity in Britain
  • Augustine’s School of Christianity didn’t produce any impactful literature
  • St. Augustine wrote the work ‘Confessions’
  • Augustine died in 604AD
• Under the Leadership of Aidan
  • Aidan was an Irish monk, came from Ireland
  • He came to Britain approximately in 635AD
  • He worked in Northumbria which is known as Northumbrian school
  • Under his influence best literature of Anglo Saxon age was produced
  • Greatest influences on Bede, Caedmon, Cynewulf.