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Flashcards by franziska.melzig, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by franziska.melzig
almost 9 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, 400-1066 | Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, 400-1066 |
| -period called "The Dark Ages" for two reasons: 1. derogatory, downfall of post-Roman civilization -towns died as social&cultural cluster | Context: Goodbye, Romans! |
| 2. because so few traces left: e.g. what happened after Romans left? - most Germanic peoples illiterate => small written evidence | Context: Goodbye, Romans! |
| British situation in 400: -Britain was a complex country -many people descended from "Old folk" (from Ice Ages) -interaction of four distinct cultures: Irish, Anglo-Saxons, Pictish, British | Context: Goodbye, Romans! |
| So what happened after Romans left? -political void was not filled for centuries -no new coins minted after 410 -Roman towns in the South declined -drastic depopulation in the 5th and 6th centuries (diseases,...) -long chain of migration and resettlements, but Christianity survived | Context: Goodbye, Romans! |
| Who were the Anglo-Saxons and why did they come? | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| The arrival of the Anglo-Saxons: -new start in Britannia, unique in western Europe, why? - from the 430s onwards Germanic settlers (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) arrived in large numbers | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| Who were they and why did they come? -Anglo-Saxons were feared as pirates, later became conquerers & settlers => their own land populated by others | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| What was the relationship between the newcomers and the British? | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| Allies or Invaders? -at first allies against the Picts -led by brothers Hengist and Horsa, who founded the kingdom of Kent about 450 => were merchants who revolted against king | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| -by the end of the 6th cent.: invaders controlled half the island; local kings often gave themselves the title "Bretwalds" (=Lord of Britain) -territory of Roman Britain (like 30%) -Scotland => Picts | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| relationship at the end: mainly antagonistic, colonizers vs colonized -Mercian king Offa (757-796) as the most powerful king before Alfred -Offa's Dyke (Deich): border to Wales (rather barrier) to counter Welch attacks (English settlements had to be defended) - deep division between ethnical groups | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| Cult of King Arthur: -Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae" (1100-1155) -Arthur lived around 500, became the figure of European romance -was Celtic king or nobleman fighting the Anglo-Saxons (symbol of warrior in a defeated culture, theme of revenge) | Anglo-Saxons, 400-800 |
| Anglo-Saxon society: -Germanic tribes speaking Germanic languages -brought new society, new religion and new political values -own Gods: days of week after their gods -patriachal: land to oldest son | Anglo-Saxons, Context |
| -their language replaced Latin -Celtic population often saw them as barbarians ("Sassenach or "Saeson"/Saxon as terms of abuse) -in many ways similar to Celts | Anglo-Saxons, Context |
| Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: The Heptarchy Northumbria (land north river Humber) Mercia (from "march" => boundary) Essex (East Saxons) East Anglia (East Angles) Kent (from border => Kante) Sussex (South Saxons) Wessex (West Saxons) | Anglo-Saxons, Context |
| first English towns: -Canterbury (580), York, Winchester, Worcester - had own cathedrals -churches & fortresses as witnesses of former culture (trade, churches, fortresses as pillars of culture) -Winchester as "stable capital of Essex" | Anglo-Saxons, Context |
| Describe the spread of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England. | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| -renewed Christian mission of Britain -Pope wanted England to follow his formof Christianity (rather than Celtic one) -Pope Gregory (the Great) sent Augustine to Kent, became the first archbishop of Canterbury in 598 | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| -Kent was chosen because it was close to the already Christian France (tight bonds through marriages) - Kings used Church (enhanced status to "given by God" for legitimacy) -Literacy increased | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| -no "instant" Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxons (example of Beowulf) -Christians & Pagans coexisted for centuries => Christian holidays blended in with Pagan traditions (decorated tree for Christmas) | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| -around 700: predominantly Christian - found in 2012: grave of girl from the 7th century with gold cross on chest + Iron knife + belt => Pagan tradition | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| The work of monk Bede (673-735) ("father of English history) -wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731 !first to write sth. historical => chronologist who introduced AD | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| Bede's main theme: conversion of the "English" to Christianity, English as nation chosen by God -Bede provided the Anglo-Saxons with a Christian version of their past =>obscured the true, barbarian history to stable Christianity in society | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| -Bede first to name a "genus Anglorum" (people of English) =>forged kind of national identity to stop wars among each other with Christianity as its glue | Anglo-Saxons, Christianity |
| Old English: -introduced lower-case letters (Latin had only capitals) as well as some specific to Anglo-Saxon pronunciation, such as the letters thorn (þ), eth (ð), wynn (Ƿ), yogh (Ȝ), ash (æ), and ethel (œ), some of which derive from runes (first text: Beowulf) | Anglo-Saxons, Context |
| Who were the Vikings and why did they come? | VIKINGS!!! |
| The Viking Invasions (ca. 800-1066) -arrival of the Vikings from the end of the eighth century onwards -the so-called Vikings, Danes and "Norsemen" (i.e. people from the North) started attacking the English coasts in the late 8th century | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| -hardly established church & kingdoms when they were attacked =>attacks focused on churches & monastries -"plunder & slaughter" | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| -term "Viking" originally term for "pirate" -central puzzle: why did the Norse communities suddenly explode? -demography: rise of population => scarce ressources -typical viking: farmer in arms | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| Viking advantages: crucial invention of the longship => domination of North Sea (established control on coasts and islands) -two main routes: one around the north of Scotland to the Western Islands, the other to the east and south coasts of England and to Gaul | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| Vikings, 800-1066 | |
| -saved England from Vikings: Alfred the Great (871-899)-King of Wessex -first writer known to use "Angelcynn" (literally "the lang of the English folk") -gathered a circle of court intellectuals around him -only king before Henry VIII who wrote books (could speak Latin) | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| the Vikings during the 10th cent.: -struggles for power between various Viking groups -along the East coast of Britain Anglo-Saxon England ceased to exist, replaced largely by a pagan, oral culture, which looked to Denmark and Norway | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| Danelaw: most populous and most prosperous region of the country | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| The "Age of Wessex" in the 10th cent.: -succession of able kings, beginning with Alfred (871-899) -Wessex became more centralized and militarized -"new" monarchy with monopoly on violence => king decides | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| -lots of castle building -French threat: needed new soldiers: feudalism -big age of feudalism | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: -created in late 9th cent. under Alfred -famous events recorded -distributed to other monastries within England: different versions, much information about cleric behaviour | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| British Isles in the 11th cent.: 1016: Dane Cnut became king (1016-1035) -apart from England: Viking king in Dublin, alliances with native Welsh rulers and Gaelic rulers in "Scotland" -impact of the Vikings on "Wales" and northern Britain rather obscure | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| The Emergence of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland -British settlement on Scotland's coast -in 9th cent.: political conclusion got Scotland emerged ~1080 Scotland as Scotland -British+Pictish declined | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| The Vikings in hindsight: -W. Bell Scott: "Descent of the Danes" -part of today's pop culture: games, costumes, ideal manly stereotype, series, movies | Vikings, 800-1066 |
| The final years of Anglo-Saxon history: -dominated by problem of the succession of Edward the Confessor -Harold as last Anglo-Saxon kin, succeeded Edward -very educated: surrounded himself with Norman advisors | Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, 400-1066 |
| -Harold failed to produce heir => Harold last Anglo-Saxon king!! => two kings fought for crown now!!! and then....1066! | Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, 400-1066 |
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