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Medieval and Renaissance Literature: Anglo Saxon Poetry

Anglos Saxon migration

This map traces the migration of peoples to England from the Germanic regions and lower Scandinavia.  With the crumbling of the Roman Empire, its armies were withdrawn from England in the early 400s. This gave the Germanic tribes the opportunity to move into the British territory that they had deserted. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes settled there and were able to set up societies of their own, ruling themselves as they wished for about six hundred years. They brought with them their languages, social customs, and rich traditions of history and folklore--among which was the tale of Beowulf.

"Migration Routes and Raids, A.D. 400-600." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, Nov. 2011.

       Web. 25 Jan. 2013. https://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/11/gold-hoard/timeline.

 

Who were the Anglo Saxons?

The last Roman soldiers left Britain in 410. New people came in ships across the North Sea – the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon age in Britain was from around AD410 to 1066.

They were a mix of tribes from Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. The three biggest were the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. The land they settled in was 'Angle-land', or England.

If we use the modern names for the countries they came from, the Saxons were German-Dutch, the Angles were southern Danish, and the Jutes were northern Danish.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zq2m6sg#zxxxtfr

Intro to the Anglo Saxons

Threats

Image result for medieval europe threatened from all sides

Timeline of Anglo Saxon England

Anglo Saxon Poetry

Advent Lyrics

The Dream of the Rood

The Fortune of Men

 

Fall of Rome

Old English Ecologies: Environmental Readings of Anglo-Saxon Texts and Culture