Old English and the
Anglo-Saxon Period
(449-1066 CE)
THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, PART 1
Old English – What is it?
Recognize this?
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;
Si þin nama gehalgod
to becume þin rice
gewurþe ðin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele soþlice
Old English – What is it?
Recognize this?
Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
See anything in common?
Old English
Modern English
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;
Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Si þin nama gehalgod
Hallowed be thy name.
to becume þin rice
Thy Kingdom come,
gewurþe ðin willa
Thy will be done
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us
todæg
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgyf us ure gyltas
And forgive us our trespasses
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
As we forgive those who trespass
against us
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
And lead us not into temptation
ac alys us of yfele soþlice
But deliver us from evil
I. Early English History
Beaker people
 Stonehenge
 Left no written records
 What we DO know
 Celts/Britons
 Women
 Animism
 Druids

II. Roman Invasions

55 BCE & 54 BCE –
attempted Roman
invasions under Caesar

43 CE – Successful
invasion under Claudius
 Ramifications
 Picts
 Hadrian’s
CE)

Wall (122
410 CE – Fall of the
Roman Empire
III. The Anglo-Saxon
Invasion

449 CE – considered the
beginning of the AngloSaxon period
 Angles
 Saxon
 Jutes

By 600 CE, Germanic speech
of England has become
unique from continental
Germanic languages.
IV. The Anglo-Saxons

Culture

Kinship

Lordship
 Comitatus


Heroic virtues
Religion

Gods

Wyrd

597 CE – Gregorian
Mission

A Clash of Religions
V. Anglo-Saxon Cultural
Artifacts and Sutton Hoo

Sutton Hoo – 7th century
burial mounds
Recreation of the burial chamber, which was
designed like a room in the king’s house.
The mysterious silver spoons!
Purse lid and shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 7th century
Belt buckles from Sutton Hoo, 7th century
VI. Danish Invasion, English
Unification, and Norman
Conquest

871 CE – Alfred the Great
takes the throne

Battles with the Danes
(Vikings)

Importance of Christianity
in Unification

1066 – Norman Invasion –
defeats both the AngloSaxons and the Danes; end
of the Anglo-Saxon period
VII. Old English Literature

Written – runes

Anglo-Saxon verse


Heroic

Historical

Elegaic

Riddles
Oral Tradition

Scops