Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxons were originally a collection of differing Germanic tribes from Angeln—a peninsula in the southern part of Schleswig, protruding into the Baltic Sea, and what is now Lower Saxony, in the north-west coast of Germany—who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century. They eventually coalesced completely around the 9th century into a single people, the Anglo-Saxons, forming the basis for the modern day English country, people, language and culture.

Anglo-Saxon culture

Anglo-Saxon architecture

:Main article: Anglo-Saxon architecture

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Anglo-Saxon architecture describes a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Related Topics:
History of architecture - Wales - 5th century - Norman Conquest - 1066

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There are few remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture, with no secular work remaining above ground. At least fifty churches are of Anglo-Saxon origin, with many more claiming to be, although in some cases the Anglo-Saxon part is small and much-altered, or confined to foundations and crypts.

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Distinctive features of Anglo-Saxon architecture include rough brickwork, extremely thick walls and mostly arch windows, with a few square- or triangular-headed windows. Particularly in earlier examples, reused Roman work is common. The vast majority of buildings were wooden, but only a single example survives.

Related Topics:
Arch window - Roman work

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Anglo-Saxon art

Anglo-Saxon art covers the period from the time of King Alfred (871-899), with the revival of English culture after the end of the Viking raids, to the early 12th century, when Romanesque art became the new movement. Prior to King Alfred there had been the Hiberno-Saxon culture (the fusion of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic techniques and motifs) which had ceased with the Vikings.

Related Topics:
King Alfred - Romanesque art - Hiberno-Saxon

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Anglo-Saxon art is mainly known today through illuminated manuscripts. It includes the Benedictional of St. Æthelwold manuscript, which drew on Hiberno-Saxon art, Carolingian art and Byzantine art for style and iconography. A "Winchester style" developed that combined both northern ornamental traditions with Mediterranean figural traditions, and can be seen in the Leofric Missal (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodl, 579). The Harley Psalter was a knockoff of the Carolingian Utrecht Psalter—all of which underscore the larger trend of an Anglo-Saxon culture coming into increasing contact with, and under the influence of, a wider Latin Mediaeval Europe.

Related Topics:
Illuminated manuscripts - Benedictional of St. Æthelwold - Hiberno-Saxon art - Carolingian art - Byzantine art - Iconography - Leofric Missal - Harley Psalter - Utrecht Psalter

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Manuscripts were not the only Anglo-Saxon art form, although they are the most numerous to have survived. Perhaps the best known piece of Anglo-Saxon art is the Bayeux Tapestry which was commissioned by a Norman patron from English artists working in the traditional Anglo-Saxon style. Anglo-Saxon artists also worked in fresco, ivory, stone carving, metalwork (see Fuller brooch for example]) and enamel, but few of these pieces have survived.

Related Topics:
Bayeux Tapestry - Fresco - Ivory - Metalwork - Fuller brooch - Enamel

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Anglo-Saxon language

:Main article: Old English language

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Anglo-Saxon, also called Old English, was the language spoken under Alfred the Great and continued to be the common language of England (non-Danelaw) until after the Norman Conquest of 1066 when, under the influence of the Anglo-Norman language spoken by the Norman ruling class, it changed into Middle English. Anglo-Saxon is far closer to early Germanic than Middle English, i.e., it is less latinized, and retains many morphological features (nominal and verbal inflection) that were lost during the 12th to 14th centuries.

Related Topics:
Alfred the Great - England - Danelaw - Norman Conquest - 1066 - Anglo-Norman language - Norman - Middle English - Germanic - 12th - 14th

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Before literacy, the Runic alphabet, called the futhorc (also known as futhark), was used for inscriptions. When literacy arrived with the reintroduction of Christianity to the English lands a form of Latin script was used with a few letters derived from the futhork; 'eth', 'wynn'.

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The letters regularly used in printed and edited texts of OE are the following:

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• a æ b c d ð e f g h i l m n o p r s t þ u w x y

with only rare occurrences of k, z.

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Anglo-Saxon literature

:Main article: Anglo-Saxon literature

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Anglo-Saxon literature (or Old English literature) encompasses literature written in Old English during the 600-year Anglo-Saxon period of Britain, from the mid-5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others. In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, a significant corpus of both popular interest and specialist research.

Related Topics:
Literature - Anglo-Saxon - Britain - 5th century - Norman Conquest - 1066 - Epic poetry - Hagiography - Sermon - Bible - Chronicle - Manuscript

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The most famous works from this period include the poem Beowulf, which has achieved national epic status in Britain. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of important early English history. The poem Hymn from the 7th century is the oldest surviving written text in English.

Related Topics:
Beowulf - National epic - Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - Hymn

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Anglo-Saxon religion

:Main article: Anglo-Saxon mythology

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The Anglo-Saxon mythos was a Germanic mythology and closely related to Norse mythology.

Related Topics:
Germanic mythology - Norse mythology

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Christianity (both Celtic and Roman forms) replaced the old gods in England around the 8th and 9th centuries AD. The Synod of Whitby settled the choice for the Roman form. As the new clerics became the chroniclers, the old religion was lost before it was recorded and today our knowledge of it is sketchy. One of the few recorded references is that a Kentish King would only meet the missionary St Augustine in the open air, where he would be under the protection of the sky god, Woden. Written Christian prohibitions on acts of pagan worship are one of our main sources of information on pre-Christian beliefs.

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Remnants of the Anglo-Saxon gods remain in the English language names for days of the week:

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• Tiw, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Tyr, the god of war: Tuesday
• Woden, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Odin, the one-eyed wise god of storms and the dead: Wednesday
• Þunor, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Thor, the thunder god: Thursday
• Frige, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Freya, the love-goddess: Friday