Early English History

449 AD

Celts are invaded by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes

476 AD

Fall of the Roman Empire

1066 AD

Norman conquest of England

Brythons

First settlers of Britain, believed in animism, spoke Gaelic

Angles and Saxons

Two groups that combined together and became the Anglo-Saxons. Conquered Southeastern Britain and were originally from Germany and Denmark

Vortigern

Celtic leader who hired Jutes as mercenaries to protect the Celts, gave them land payments in return

Celts

Early inhabitants of Britain, who were conquered by Romans

Jutes

a Germanic warrior tribe from the region of Denmark

Saxons

Germanic people. During the 5th century ad groups from these communities migrated to Britain either by invitation or invasion and in due course founded kingdoms which can generally be recognized by the fact that their names have the suffix 'sex'

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Elegy

a sad or mournful poem

Arrow in the eye

how Harold was killed in the Battle of Hastings

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215

Hastings

Battle in 1066 in which William, duke of Normandy, defeated the Danish king of England

William (Duke of Normandy) the Conqueror

A vassal of the king a France, claimed the English throne, winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066, defeating Harold Godwin (the Norsemen who ignored William's claim to the throne). He also took control of the Roman Church in England.

Alfred the Great

First great king of England

Emperor Claudius

Emperor of Rome (A.D. 41-54) who finally took control of Britain and "commanded all the Jews to leave Rome" (Acts 18:2)

Edward the Confessor

(1042-1066) The son of Aethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. His death launched a fight over the English monarchy between Harald and William the Bastard of Normandy.

Hadrian's Wall

80 mile wall across northern Britain built as defense against barbarian tribes

Harold

the Anglo-Saxon who claimed the throne of England; rival of William the Conqueror

Wales

the highland region west of England

Julius Caesar

Made dictator for life in 45 BCE, after conquering Gaul, assassinated in 44 BCE by the Senate because they were afraid of his power

Aethelred

The unready Saxon, driven into exile by invading the Danes, married Emma of Normandy, Edward the Confessor's father

Druids

Celtic priests

Angles, Saxons, Jutes

Germanic tribes that invaded Britain

Scop/Bard

Anglo-Saxon poet, singer or performer

Anglo-Saxon women

women could own & retain control of property, women joined religious communities & became abbesses,
the wife of an earl would supervise the weaving of clothes, slaughter of livestock, baking of the bread, & the brewing of mead.

Abbesses

Leaders of a monastery & a nunnery.

Mead

An alcoholic drink of fermented honey and water

Beowulf

Epic poem written between 700 and 1000 in Anglo-Saxon that tells the story of a hero from Scandinavia who defeats the monster Grendel

How did William Duke of Normandy become king?

Edward the Confessor takes vow of chastity and has no children, promises his nephew William Duke of Normandy throne after he dies

Kenning

A device employed in Anglo-Saxon poetry in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities, as in "ring-giver" for king and "whale-road" for ocean.

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds