- Zeitgeist: spirit of an era
- Two groups of Celts (farmers and hunters; tightly knit clans) invaded southern Europe:
- Brythons → settled on Britain
- Gaels → settled on Ireland
- Conquerors of Britain after the Celts → Romans; true conquest 100 years later → spread of Roman legions (lasted 300 years)
- New invaders: Anglo-Saxons (Germanic origin)
- 4th Century → Romans accept Christianity, spread to Britain; Anglo-Saxons also spread the religion; Celtic Christian Church
- Church → peace and unification
- 9th Century → Norse of Norway and Danes pressured to sea travel (vikings spread piracy)
- Sacking and plundering of villages common; northern, eastern, and central England fall under viking piracy
- King Alfred The Great opposed Danish control; truce conducted in 886
- Saxons say “yes” to Danish rule (east and north)
- Danes to respect Saxon rule (south)
- King Alfred → rebirth of learning and education
- Normans (lineage: vikings that invaded coast of France) → feudalism taking root, no central government; feudal system: exchange of property for personal service
- Norman rule ends: 1154, Henry Plantagenet comes to rule (concerned with law leading to conflict with church)
- King John → Magna Carta (“Great Charter”): promised no tax on land without meeting with Barons
- Begins constitutional government in England
- House of Lancaster → kings all central figure to Shakespeare plays
Literature of the Period:
- Anglo-Saxon: spoken verse and incantations; oral storytelling before the use of books
- Heroic poetry: recounts the achievement of warriors ( ex: Beowulf)
- Elegiac poetry: lamenting deaths of loved ones and the loss of past (ex: "The Wanderer")
- Beowulf: epic story (heroic poem), first known work composed in English language therefore it's considered national epic of England
- Prose: composed in Latin (before reign of Alfred the Great); vernacular --> language of the common people
- Medieval Drama: earliest dramas, plays, retold Bible stories or lives of saints; 15th century = new drama called morality play (moral lessons; ordinary people)
- Geoffrey Chaucer: poet, born into the merchant class; observed people which he integrated in his work
- Romances: adventures of knights; most popular told about King Arthur
- Lyric: developed due to their fondness for the lyre; poets strummed the lyre as they decided poems (secular and religious categories)
- Ballad: folk song that tells a story
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