Anglo-Saxons Timeline

Background

• England entered what is now referred to as a period of time known as the Dark Ages.(1)
• It was during these Dark Ages that the Anglo-Saxons became established in eastern Britain.(1)
• The Romans used the Saxon's mercenary services for hundreds of years. (1)

Background Pt. 2

• First Saxon warriors raided England’s south and east coasts. Men, women, and children were slaughtered.(1) This mainly was to spread religion.
• Following these Saxon raids, Germanic migrants arrived in east and southeast England. Main groups being Jutes from the Jutland peninsula, (today's Denmark); Angles from Angeln in southwest Jutland and the Saxons from northwest Germany.(1)

Territories

• Kent, settled by the Jutes. Ethelbert was the first Anglo-Saxon king to be converted to Christianity, by St Augustine around 595 AD.(2)
• Offa, built Offa's Dyke along the border between Wales and England. This large kingdom in the Midlands.(2)
• Northumbria, where the monk Bede lived and wrote his Ecclesiastical History of Britain.(2)

Territories Pt.2

• East Anglia, made up of Angles: the North Folk (modern Norfolk) and the South Folk (Suffolk). The Sutton Hoo ship burial was found in East Anglia.(2)
• Essex (East Saxons). Here the famous Battle of Maldon was fought against the Vikings in 991.(2)
• Sussex: the South Saxons settled here.(2)

Territories Pt.3

• Northumbria, where the monk Bede (c. 670-735) lived and wrote his Ecclesiastical History of Britain.(2)
• Wessex (West Saxons), later the kingdom of King Alfred, the only English king ever to have been called ‘the Great', and his equally impressive grandson, Athelstan, the first who could truly call himself ‘King of the English. (2)

By 850 the seven kingdoms had been consolidated into three large Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. The Anglo-Saxons had become a Christian people.

Wars

• 937 AD Norse, Scotland Strathclyde Welsh armies battle Athelstan and his brother Edmund for Northumbria at the Battle of Brunanburh. The armies of Mercia and Wessex win. The battle is celebrated in the poem “The Battle of Brunanburh” of which only a fragment remains. One of the most bloodiest battles on British soil.(2)
• 991 AD Serious Danish attacks begin. Defeat of Byrhtnoth at the Battle of Maldon in Essex. See the famous poem, “The Battle of Maldon,” in Anglo-Saxon Poetry.(2)
• 14 October, 1066 English are defeated at the Battle of Hastings(2)

Wars Pt.2

• 991 AD Serious Danish attacks begin. Defeat of Byrhtnoth at the Battle of Maldon in Essex. See the famous poem, “The Battle of Maldon,” in Anglo-Saxon Poetry.(2)
• 14 October, 1066 English are defeated at the Battle of Hastings(2)

Definitions

• Heptarchy: seven kingdoms into which Anglo-Saxon England was divided from about the 7th to the 9th centuries ad: Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria.
• Fatalism: the philosophical doctrine that all events are predetermined so that man is powerless to alter his destiny

Seven characteristics of an epic poem

• 1.The hero is outstanding. They might be important, and historically or legendarily significant. 2.The setting is large. It covers many nations, or the known world. 3.The action is made of deeds of great valour or requiring superhuman courage. 4. Supernatural forces—gods, angels, demons—insert themselves in the action.

Seven Characteristics

• 5.It is written in a very special style (verse as opposed to prose). 6. The poet tries to remain objective. 7.Epic poems are believed to be supernatural and real by the hero and the villain

Quiz!!