The Anglo-Saxons

The previous lesson  I asked what might have been the reason to define / call King Alfred as “the Great”, and you answered me, he was successful because he managed to destroy the Vikings. The answer is right, but you should go deeper into your research . That is the reason why, in the folder you should refer to, I added the first link on the Anglo-Saxon chronicle. 
What is the Anglo-Saxon chronicle ? Why Alfred ordered to write it ? 
The Anglo-Saxon chronicle is the first document about the Anglo-Saxons. It  records  the main events that happened in the land of the Anglo-Saxons : indeed from it you can get information about the life-style, the social and political organization of the Anglo-Saxons. We refer to the Anglo-Saxons because the name “England” comes from the name of the Anglo-Saxon populations : the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons. 

Whenever we speak about a country we generally tell scholars/students to take information from documents , events or thinkers' idea, that are generally handed over/ given up orally from generation and generation. 

The Anglo-Saxons brought with them : their Nordic religion, a strong organization and a code of values based on a high sense of honours and fidelity to their chiefs. They also brought with them their farming and fishing methods, that allowed them to survive in the difficult weather condition of the northern countries.  Their social structure had the family as its centre, which branched out to the clan and the tribe. Their society was ruled by a chief or a king, who was generally the military leader. The came the earls ( counts, dukes, marquises ), who were nobles by birth and then came the thegns, who were the personal companions of the kings. All the other people were free men, who were obliged/ compelled to help maintain roads, bridges and forts, and provide military service when necessary.
People lived in country villages, where the farmland, woods, pastures, and the meadows were owned communally. 

Language 
First of all the Anglo-Saxons imposed their language, later known as Old English, which became through several modifications the English spoken today. 
The Celtic languages of the native Britons survived only in Wales, Ireland and in the north-west of Scotland. 

Influence of Christianity
Christianity, which began to spread throughout pagan Anglo-Saxon Britain from the end of the 6th century, proved a driving force in uniting the kingdoms and in opening the country to the influence of Europe. 
  When the Danish king Cnut ( 1016-1035 ) , more commonly known as Canute, became Christian, he took pains to reconcile the Anglo-Saxons and the Danish. The Church was also very influential on aspects of culture because it introduced the writing of documents, while pagan Anglo-Saxon culture was mainly based on oral tradition. Anglo-Saxon tradition was handed out orally from generation to generation through an accessible language that allowed people to identify themselves.  Oral culture was based on people's ability to remember.  

Beowulf
The word Beowulf is made up of the words “beo” and “wulf”, the English for “lupo”. If Beowulf is one of the most important example of Anglo-Saxon culture, we should first ask ourself /wonder why do we know something about Anglo-Saxon culture. 
Beowulf is a narrative  form of epic poetry ; it is a poem celebrating the main heroes' gestures and deeds of Anglo-Saxon civilization.  What is Beowulf about ? It narrates the history of a warrior society. 
We don't have details, information about the origin of the epic poem and we don't know who composed it and when it was written.

Vocabulary : 
earl : conte 
count : conte 
duke :  duca 
marquise : marchese 
fort : fortezza, fortificazione
farmland : terreno coltivato
pasture : terreno per il pascolo 
meadow : prato  per il pascolo 
to prove : dimostrare , dimostrarsi, rivelarsi, 
to take pain : prendersi cura, prendersi la briga di fare qualcosa
to reconcile : rinconciliare, rimettere d'accordo
to be handed out : essere tramandato
deed : azione