The Anglo-Saxon time period is marked by the end of Roman rule in Britain circa 410 A.D to the Norman Conquest of 1066 (Campbell, The Anglo-Saxons, 8). When the Romans abandoned Britain, the native Britons had to protect themselves from intruders such as the ferocious Scots of the West and the persistent Picts of the North. The Britons asked two Saxon princes of modern day Germany to help them defend their land against such intruders (Campbell, The Anglo-Saxons, 29). The Saxons came immediately and were more than successful in defeating the enemies of the Britons and forming an alliance with the Scots and Picts, but they did not leave Britain after their task was done. They wanted to stay because of the fertile lands and wealth that the country …show more content…
These kingdoms are as follows: East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex. Although heptarchy implies that there were seven kingdoms, the numbers changed as well the power (Hawkins, 13). Some of the most prominent leaders of the Anglo-Saxon time period included Æthelberht of Kent, Æthelbald of Mercia, Offa of Mercia, Alfred the Great, Æthelstan, and Edgar the Peaceful (Campbell, The Anglo-Saxons, …show more content…
(Campbell, The Anglo-Saxons, 94). There isn’t a written account of exactly everything Æthelbald did during his reign, but there are many annalistic records that suggest he might have attacked the Welsh, the Northumbrians, and the West Saxons. Records also suggest that he might have allied with King Angus of the Picts. King Æthelbald was known for his charters, especially the Ismere Diploma of 736, where he granted himself as much power as Bede’s seven overlords. He was blamed for many of the Church’s troubles as he was responsible for the reform of the English Church. He violated his privileges as king by stealing money from the Church for his own purposes. He was killed by his bodyguard in 757 A.D., thus ending his 41-year reign (Campbell, The Anglo-Saxons,
King Alfred was born in Wantage, Berkshire in 848. Alfred was the son of the king of the West Saxons, Aethulwulf. When Alfred was a young child, his father made a mutual agreement with him and his four older brothers that if Aethulwulf were to die then the older brothers would take his place. This was because Aethulwulf did not want a young child to be the ruler of the West Saxons while Viking raids from Denmark threatened the country. Alfred grew up in a time when England was divided in to small individual states. Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia were states that were under the control of the Angles. The kingdom of the Jutes ruled Kent and the Saxons, Alfred's people, ruled Essex, Sussex, and Wessex ("Alfred, The Great", n.d.).
Kapelle, W.E. ‘The Norman conquest of the North:The region and its transformation 1000-1135’ (Croom Helm 1979)
Many people may have heard of the story of Beowulf, but not know who the Anglo-Saxons were. According to an article on BBC History, the term Anglo-Saxon refers to settlers from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony. The Anglo-Saxons made their way over to Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire around AD 410 and the period lasted for 600 years. During this period there where many rises and falls of bishops and kings, as well as many important battles. The Anglo-Saxon warriors had a variety of weapons and armor to defend them. This includes spears, scramaseaxes, swords, shields, helmets, and body armor.
The Battle of Hastings was fought between William the Conqueror and Anglo-Saxon the King of England. After the
Twenty years after the invasion, Britain was feeling oppressed by the Roman Empire, none more so than the Iceni tribe. Their late king, Prasutagus, had left the Icenian land to the Romans in his will, but on certain conditions. Upon his death, the Romans took over without abiding by any of these conditions, treating the land as if it was theirs by right of conquest. There was looting and tyranny, the king’s family was abused and the Romans savagely ruled over the Iceni. Another factor in aggravating the Britons was that the occupiers began to recall large loans which had been forced upon unwilling Britons. Some Britons were conscripted into the army, the Roman procurators wanted to extract as much wealth as could be had from the latest addition to the empire.
The roles Anglo-Saxon women played in their society depended on the status they had in their community. As in most cultures, the roles of women in Anglo-Saxon society included mother, wife, caregiver, and teacher. Because Anglo-Saxon women had many different roles, I will only focus here on marriage, divorce, and their daily life in their society.
Lineages are important in both the Anglo Saxon period and Ancient Egypt. In the Anglo Saxon period lot of kings and royals were put into their high power position because of where they come from such like Ancient Egypt. In the article, “The Conquest and its Aftermath” it said, “After all, Edwin and Morcar were the grandsons of one of the most successful collaborators,”(Ibeji). Edwins and Morcar high position was given because of his background. Their linage mattered to the person they are and shaped how they are viewed. In the article “Vikings”, it said “where the line of kings descended from Alfred the Great was faltering. Harald’s rebellious son, Sven Forkbeard, led Viking raids on England beginning in 991 and conquered the entire kingdom
When Gruffydd took over south Wales he assumed an aggressive policy towards the English. In 1055, Aelfgar, son of the earl of Mercia, was the victim of a political attack, and an attempt was made to have him exiled. He found Gruffydd ap Llywelyn a valuable ally, and supported by a Scandinavian force, he was reinstated. A successful combined attack on the English forces at Herefordshire, contributed much to Aelfgar's' success. That defeat caused Harold, earl of Wessex (later King Harold I), to intervene directly, mustering a large army and arranging a settlement. Harold at that stage did not produce any permanent defence for the frontier, but instead used a number of different tactics over the next few years. A new bishop of Hereford was appointed, Loefgar, one of Harold's priests, a chaplain with a strong taste for military matters. He attempted a surprise attack in Wales which went disastrously wrong, and which Gruffydd ap Llywelyn repulsed, leaving the English army with heavy losses.
Another trait of the Anglo-Saxon culture is loyalty to a leader. Which is a trait that is still shown today all throughout the world. For example, in the epic poem Beowulf the Geats show their loyalty to their leader when: “Beowulf is fighting with Grendel the Geats have their swords ready” (353-356). With the Geats being ready for the battle if their leader fails shows that they are loyal enough
The strongest ties of loyalty in their society were to kin and lord. A kingdom was only as strong as its war-leader king. In order to have loyal men, the King needed to repay them. In other words the men were paid for loyalty. They were sometimes given, land, gold, money, food, armor and other things for a reward after battle. Both the Anglo-Saxons and the characters in Beowulf are willing to risk their life at any moment-they are inattentive to danger. The Anglo-Saxons acquired riches by plundering treasures of their enemies. Every family formed a bond of loyalty and protection. A family was bound to avenge a father or brother’s death by feud with the tribe or clan which had killed him. This duty of blood revenge was the supreme religion of the Anglo-Saxons. The family passed down this hatred forever until avenged. Always staying loyal to family and the lord. (Allen, 12-14)
In the Anglo Saxon time period, the epic poem Beowulf written by The Beowulf poet, describes important symbols which signifies certain characteristics of important events. In Beowulf, certain examples of characters that have symbolism are Grendel’s Claw, Herot and Grendel’s Lair. The Anglo Saxon occurred in the Medieval Period which was around 449-1485. There was an invasion that occurred within Julius Caesar he tried to conquer throughput religion, roads, agriculture and protection. It happened in England in an Angle Land, the language spoken was old english. Alfred the Great was a viking the stopped from conquering. Norman Conquest 1042- Edward the Confessor. The Norman Conquest was the Battle of Hastings. They had many religions one was
The differences are more profound because of the unalike religions: Christianity and Paganism. In the Anglo-Saxon article, the text states, “Christianity was introduced to Britain during the Roman occupation, but centuries passed before it became the dominant religion of the country.” Also on the source of bbc.co.uk/primaryhistory/anglo_saxons/, quotes “Like the Vikings and the Greeks, the Anglo-Saxons believed in many gods and had many superstitions.” this also reffered to as Paganism. These two select texts prove that at one point of the Anglo-Saxon period the main religion was a form of Paganism, where there was a belief of many
The Angles were a Germanic tribe that occupied the region which is now Scleswig-Holstein, Germany. With their fellow ethnic groups, they formed the people who came to be known as the English. The Saxons were a Germanic people who first appeared in the beginning of the Christian era. The Saxons were said to have lived in the south Jutland Peninsula in the north of what is now Germany, but the fact has not been proven. They attacked and raided areas in the North Sea throughout the third and fourth centuries. By the end of the sixth century, the Saxons had taken all of the Roman territory within north-west Germany, as far as the Elbe River. The Angles joined the Saxons in the invasion of Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. British resistance to the 'Anglo Saxon' invaders in the second half of the fifth century ended with the Anglo Saxon’s victory at the battle of Mount Badon. After the British were defeated, though, the Angles and the Saxons continued to fight over their religion for many years (Irvin, Vacca, Probst, Beers, p.46).
Sommerville, J. P. "Anglo Saxon England II." History Department, University of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .
King Alfred was now in charge of stopping the Danes from occupying Wessex. Alfred was already an experienced military leader, as he had participated in several campaigns against the invading Danes (Bruce 3). The West Saxons had now made an alliance with Mercia. Yet in 868, the Danes met both Mercians and West Saxons; the two nations had formed an alliance, which had been strengthened that year by the marriage of Alfred and Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian ealdorman (Bruce 4). Alfred and his elder brother King Æthelred personally led the Wessex contingent, yet not even the combined forces of the Mercians and the West Saxons could handle the strength of the Danes.