Textuality » 3A Interacting
The term Middle Ages refers to a period extending from the beginning of Anglo-Saxon invasions in the late 4th century to the accession to of the house of Tudor to the throne in 1485. It is a very long era and it is subdivided into Early Medieval Period (or Anglo - Saxon Period) and Late Medieval Period (or Anglo - Norman Period).
The Anglo Saxons:
Origins: from Northern Europe
What did they introduce in Britain? Their Nordic religion, military organization, code of values based on a high sense of courage, honor and fidelity for their chiefs. They also brought with them their farming and fishing methods.
Social structure: it has at his centre the family unit which branched out to the clan and the tribe and the kingdom.
Society: it was ruled by a king or a chief, then came earls, who and thegns. All the other people were freemen. People liver in country villages where farmland, woods, pastures were owned communally.
Towns: Anglo Saxons people began to form larger communities called boroughs.
Language: they spoke Old English, a mixture of Germanic dialects.
Christianity's role: It was a driving force uniting the kingdom. It also introduced the writing documents while pagan Anglo-Saxon culture was mainly based on oral tradition. Christianity opened the country o the influence of Europe.
Literature: there aren't many literary works. the oldest surviving british poetry is Beowulf. Author, place of this composition are unknown. It is in Old English, and it dates fron the 7th century.
We know them from archaeological rests (Sutton Hoo) and from texts written by monks.
The Anglo Normans:
Origins: France. After the conquest of king William, the Normans, who descended from the Vikings and had long before settled down in North-western France, invaded Britain.
They introduced the feudal sistem. The Normans did also two important things: the Magna Charta and Parliament. The old pagan values were replaced by more refined and elaborate ideals, such as true courtesy, honour, generosity, truth. They are the components of the code of conduct of the Anglo Norman nobles: chivalry.
Social structure: based upon rank. There was the king, nobles, knights and villains.
Language: they spoke French and wrote in Latin. English was considered inferior.
Christianity's role: Sovereings supported the Crusades launched by the Pope to free Jerusalem. The regular clergy lived in convents and monasteries while the secular clergy lived among ordinary people. The Church was also very important in preserving and transmitting culture. Monasteries were centre of learning and arts.
Literature: the most impostant text is the cycle of legends dealing within King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Important events: the Hundred Year's War, The War of the Roses, The peasant's revolt