brit lit study set #1

who were the four Germanic tribes that came to England?

Angles, Saxon, Jutes, and Frisians

how did Christianity come to England?

the Roman invaders

who were the two invaders in the middle ages?

romans and the vikings

what are the three eras of the middle ages?

Anglo Saxon Era, High Middle Ages, and Late Middle Ages

What happened in the Anglo Saxon Era?

Angles, Saxons and Jutes were Scandinavian, they came to England because people were marauding in their areas, and they had mercenaries around.

what were the two invasions that the Anglo Saxon period was dominated by?

German invasions and Viking invasions.

Explain the German invasion

King Arthur was British and he won a great battle against the Saxons around 500 at Mt. Badon. Eventually 7 kingdoms emerged, fighting for power.

Explain the Viking invasions

They always attacked suddenly and brutally, the Angles and Saxons banded together to fight against the Vikings and became Anglo - Saxons. Alfred The Great eventually defeated the Vikings and created the Treaty of Wedmore. Eventually, Alfred died and his descendants were weak rulers.

What cultural changes did the Vikings make?

They adapted a version of English, they upheld laws and customs, brought sense of national unity, and developed a political system and a common perspective on the world.

name one important thing King Alfred did?

He cared a lot about education and God, so his people started to learn how to read and write in a better way.

What happened in the High Middle Ages?

A king died and he had no descendants, so two possible people stepped up to try and become king. A. Duke William (Normandy) vs Nobleman Harold (Anglo - Saxon). Harold was elected, but William murdered him with his army at The Battle of Hastings.

what type of social system was created during this era?

The feudal system. King -> Clergy -> Knights and Nobles -> Peasants and Serfs

what is the Manor?

it was the basic unit of feudal economy; an estate was ruled by nobles that produced goods for income

What happened with Henry the second?

he married the queen of France, and he owned more land in France than the King of France. He gave England Church Law/ Canon Law

what is church law?

it was a trial by jury that meant commoners had the right to royal court and not the feudal court; basically, it gave right to commoners and other people in the feudal system

What else did King Henry the second make?

he made the house of commons

what social improvements were made during the middle ages?

There were more trades and towns that were created. There were new ideas that were found due to the Crusades; medicine, math, and classical studies. Universities were expanding and people that were trained in the liberal arts could become priests, lawyers, or doctors. Also, art and architecture got better.

What happened in the Late Middle Ages?

The Bubonic plague killed a lot of people, the church was found to be corrupt, so people gave up on it, the hundred years war happened and the middle ages basically ended.

comitatus

relationship of respect between a leader and a follower who supported each other in battle

what is an epic?

An epic is a story that has a broad setting, with gifted heroes that are unusually strong. There are fantastical elements, with a hint of biblical/ tribal ideas that tend to clash in the story. It also starts in the middle of the action.

What is an example of a modern epic?

harry potter, star wars, lord of the rings (not the new one, the one in the early 2000's)

kenning

conventional metaphoric name for something, used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry (whale road for sea) (house cleaner for roomba)

symbol

a sign that has significance in a story (green in the green knight, or Beowulf's sword breaking against the dragon)

romance

poetic narrative that focused on courtly love and chivalry rather than heroism.

wyrd

fate; basically everything happens for a reason and you have no control of it

homeric epithet

repeated adjectives that relate to a god that describe a character

variation

changing the pattern of a rhyme for emphasis

legend

a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events