BRITANNIA between the ANGLO-SAXON invasion and the NORMAN CONQUEST ( !

""# Departure of the Roman legions 5th century AD Arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and their invasion in the 5th century AD The Viking invasion in the th century AD The !orman "on#uest and the defeat of $arold% the last Anglo-Saxon king% in the &attle of $astings '()**+ marking the ,eginning of the -iddle Ages in &ritain The $i%st e$$e&ts o$ the No%di& invasions The to.ns and villas ,uilt during the Roman occupation .ere plundered% ,urned and finally destroyed /ottery and glass ceased to ,e made -0 the collapse of production in the .orkshops "oinage stopped -0 the collapse of commerce 1The ,ar,arians drive us to the sea2 the sea drives us to the ,ar,arians2 ,et.een these t.o means of death .e are either killed or dro.ned3 '4ildas% &ritish priest+ '%itten so(%&es abo(t the An)*o-Sa+ons 4ildas% &ritish monk The Ruin of Britain2 the author sa. the coming of the AngloSaxons as 4od5s punishment for the sins of the &ritons &ede 'The Venera,le &ede+ - Ecclesiastical History of the English People !ennius% the first to have mentioned in his .ritings the existence of 6ing Arthur ,in) A%th(% - ./th o% %ea*it/0 The image of the hero king Arthur7 - The Arthur created ,y the poets of the -iddle Ages 'romances+ 0 a literary invention 'the .i8ard -erlin% the s.ord 9xcali,ur% "amelot% the 6nights of the round Ta,le% 4uinevere% :ancelot% Arthur5s final rest in Avalon+ - The historical Arturius% the dark age .arrior .ho fought against the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century AD T1E ANGLO-SAXON SOCIET2 The name of &ritain5s largest part% 9ngland ; 1the land of the Angles3 Structure of the society7 - the king or lord - the .arriors 'thegns+ - the ceorls '<9nglish peasant+ .ho farmed - the slaves pagan civilisation - =oden% Thor or >rig deep-sea fishermen% seal hunters and .halers they .ere not to.n-d.ellers -0 they lived in .ooden villages in clusters of huts around a large central hall they .ere organi8ed under the form of kingship the royal family .as considered to ,e of divine origin? They set up a num,er of kingdoms seven kingdoms in the @th century7 6ent% 9ssex% Sussex% =essex% 9ast% -ercia and !orthum,ria The king .as a source of .ealth% he gave feasts in his hall% attended ,y his .arriors% .ho .ere loyal to the king -0 the relation ,et.een the Anglo-Saxon .arrior and his king pave the .ay to feudalism and aristocracy

Administrative organisation7 the kingdom .as divided into shi%es% controlled ,y a shire reeve 'later% sheriff+ -0 the term Ashire5 is still present no.adays ':ancashire% Borkshire% Der,yshire% "heshire% :incolnshire% Staffordshire+ The highest court of Custice the 'itan% a council made up of .ise men% representatives of the "hurch and .arriors "hristianity ,ecomes firmly esta,lished? Dt .as spread directly% ,y missionaries sent ,y the /ope% or indirectly% ,y "eltic missionaries .ho had already em,raced the "hristian religion? 3th &ent(%/ - En)*and be&o.es 4a%t o$ the Ro.an &h(%&h -onasteries ,ecame centres of art and learning -0 the creation of i**(.inated .an(s&%i4ts '-anuscript ; :atin manus < hand2 scriptus < .ritten ,y hand2 illuminated ; :atin illuminare < lighted up+

An)*o-Sa+on &(*t(%a* he%ita)e5 I**(.inated .an(s&%i4ts Religious hand.ritten ,ooks decorated .ith gold% silver and vivid colours A com,ination of .ritten text% sym,ols and images '"hrist% the Virgin -ary% the four evangelists7 -atthe.% -ark% Eohn and :uke+ -0 the po.er of the visual aid <0 the ,ook ,ecomes 1a living reading of the :ord5s story for those .ho cannot read3 The Anglo-Saxon manuscripts com,ined 4ermanic and "eltic elements in a perfect mixture T1E 6I,ING IN6ASION =aves of !orthmen from !or.ay% S.eden or Denmark - th century a society .hich glorified fighting The Vikings .orked the land2 they .ere seafarers They ,rought ,ack the sea-faring ha,its and revived the to.n life% founded cities A pagan civilisation - they ,elieved that the gods re.arded fighters and that ,loodshed and death in ,attle .ere the true paths to .ealth and happiness

AL7RE8 T1E GREAT the on*/ 9in) who o44osed the 6i9in)s .arrior% administrator and scholar he managed to defeat the Danes and to re,uild :ondon? $e understood that the sea meant isolation for 9ngland% ,ut also an advantage -0 he set up a $*eet and made an availa,le army system he set up the $i%st 4(b*i& s&hoo* for teaching the sons of the no,lemen and thegns he t%ans*ated &ede5s :atin history into Anglo-Saxon2 he .rote hand,ooks of theology% history% geography he initiated the An)*o-Sa+on Ch%oni&*e% .hich is the first historical record ever composed in 9nglish AL7RE8:S SUCCESSORS 9T$9:R9D% Saxon king a ne. Danish invasion during his reign2 he decides to pay them to stay a.ay 'the tri,ute < dane)e*d < heavy taxation on the people+ "A!FT9% ,rother of the 6ing of Denmark% chosen ,y the =itan adopted "hristian religion2 ()(* he ,ecame 6ing of 9ngland

 9D=ARD T$9 "G!>9SSGR% 9thelred5s second son ,rought up in !ormandy% more of a !orman than of an 9nglish king -0 his reign paved the .ay for the future !orman invasion