THE CELTS

The Celts arrived from north-west Germany in the Iron Age (around 700 BC). They were
warrior tribes who shared a similar language, religion and culture. They didn’t invade
Britain but gradually settled in the country between 500 and 100 BC. They were
hunters, shermen and metal workers. They used iron to make weapons, which
in uenced trade and encouraged local independence. The Celts also practiced farming
and are thought to have introduced the iron plough, which made cultivating the soil
easier. They lived in small villages or farming communities and sometimes built hill forts.
Houses were made of wood with thatched roofs. The basic social unit was the clan,
similar to the extended family of today. They were superstitious and venerated nature.
Religious ceremonies were performed in the woods or near water, often by Druids, who
were the priests and didn’t ght in war. Celtic women probably had a higher and more
equal status with men than in other ancient societies.

THE ROMANS
In 55 and 54 BC, Julius Caesar made early attempts to invade Britain, but the actual
Roman conquest of the island began later, from 43 to 47 AD, under Emperor Claudius.
The Romans promoted urban growth by establishing towns near their military bases,
which became vibrant centers of commerce, with public baths accessible to all. They also
constructed a network of over 9,600 km of paved roads, many of which were used for
centuries. London’s origins date back to this period, as the Romans built the rst
“London Bridge” on the River Thames, which became the heart of a new road network.
They named their settlement north of the bridge Londinium, and it quickly grew into a
major trading hub. Hadrian’s Wall, stretching from coast to coast near today’s England-
Scotland border, was the most signi cant Roman monument in Britain, serving as a
defensive barrier and customs post. In 409 AD, Emperor Honorius withdrew Roman
troops to defend Rome against Barbarian invasions, leaving Romanised Celts to face new
threats. Soon after, Anglo-Saxon tribes from Germany and Scandinavia invaded Britain
in the 5th century, ultimately destroying Roman-British towns.

THE ANGLO-SAXONS
The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons, were Germanic
tribes who arrived in Britain during the 5th and 6th centuries. These invaders, mostly
illiterate, used the runic alphabet for carving inscriptions on stone or metal but not for
writing. They were farmers and deep-sea shermen who hunted seals and whales. They
lived in wooden houses near streams or rivers and built large halls at the center of their
villages. These halls were decorated with carvings and paintings, re ecting the Anglo-
Saxons’ love for beauty, their ne ornaments, and their enjoyment of drinking and
feasting. They were organized into family groups or clans, with loyalty being their
strongest bond—both to their members and their tribal lord. They valued physical
courage and personal freedom. The dialects spoken by these tribes evolved over time
into Old English, forming the basis for Modern English, especially in words related to
everyday activities. Initially, the Anglo-Saxons worshipped multiple gods, but Christianity
reemerged in the late 6th century, when Pope Gregory I sent a monk, Augustine, to
reintroduce Christianity to England. Augustine became the rst Archbishop of Canterbury,
and monasteries were built as centers of community life and culture. Much of what we
know about Anglo-Saxon life comes from The Ecclesiastical History of the English People,
fl
fi
fi
fi
fi
fi
fi
fl
fi
written by the monk Venerable Bede, who was the rst to use the term “Angle-Land,” the
root of “England.”

THE HEPTARCHY
After the Anglo-Saxon invasion, Britain was divided into several small kingdoms, each
ruled by its own king. By the 7th century, seven major kingdoms emerged, known as
the Heptarchy:
• East Anglia
• Essex
• Kent
• Mercia
• Northumbria
• Sussex and Wessex.
Many of these names remain as regional areas in England today. Among these, the most
powerful by the mid-7th century were Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex, which
dominated the political and cultural landscape of Anglo-Saxon Britain.

THE VIKINGS
Between the 8th and 9th centuries, Britain faced new threats from the Vikings, seafaring
raiders and settlers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They began attacking
monasteries and settlements, with their rst major raid in 793 at Lindisfarne. Over time,
the Vikings settled in parts of England, leading to con icts and cultural exchanges with
the Anglo-Saxons.

FROM ALFRED THE GREAT TO ATHELSTAN

King Alfred the Great of Wessex (871–899) played a pivotal role in resisting the Viking
invasions. He reorganized the Anglo-Saxon military, built a strong eet, and forti ed
towns to defend against attacks. Alfred also valued learning and religion, promoting
literacy and overseeing the creation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. His grandson,
Athelstan (ruled 927–939), extended control over the Midlands, East Anglia, and nally
Northumbria, uniting England into one kingdom. Athelstan established royal authority,
standardized coinage, and laid the foundation for a centralized English state, earning
him recognition as the rst King of all England.

VIKINGS KINGS
In the late 10th century, Viking violence returned. England practiced Danegeld, a
system of paying o Viking invaders for peace. Then, a Danish king, Sweyn Forkbeard,
became ruler of England, followed by his son Canute, who created a North Sea empire
encompassing Denmark, Norway, and England. Canute ruled peacefully, integrating
Danish and English traditions. After Canute’s death, Edward the Confessor (1042–1066)
ascended the throne. Edward was deeply religious, commissioning the construction of
Westminster Abbey, which became the coronation site for English monarchs. Edward
died childless.
ff
fi
fi
fi
fl
fl
fi
fi
 THE NORMAN CONQUEST
After Edward the Confessor’s death in 1066, Harold II claimed the throne, but William,
Duke of Normandy, disputed it. William invaded England, defeating Harold at the Battle
of Hastings. He was crowned William I at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066,
marking the Norman Conquest. William introduced feudalism and reshaped English
society by blending Norman and Anglo-Saxon traditions, an event famously depicted in
the Bayeux Tapestry.

ANGLO-SAXONS LITERATURE
Anglo-Saxon literature, also known as Old English literature, spans from the second half of
the 5th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066. It includes a variety of genres such as
epic poetry, elegies, chronicles, riddles, translations of the Bible, and narratives
about saints and sermons. This literature was primarily oral and anonymous, with poets
known as “scops” who would perform in noble halls, often accompanied by a harp. Scops
played a vital social role by singing epic tales that upheld cultural values during important
ceremonies and festivals. The poetry was memorized and passed down orally until the
11th century when Church scribes began recording it.

Key formal aspects of Anglo-Saxon poetry were alliteration and stress. Each line was
typically divided into two halves by a pause, known as a caesura, and contained four
stressed syllables. The poetry also featured kennings—metaphorical phrases used to
describe things indirectly, like calling the sea “the whale-road.”

THE EPIC POEM

Epic poetry has roots in ancient oral traditions, with the term “epic” derived from the Greek
word “epos,” meaning “oral exposition.” The Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer,
are the most famous examples of early epic poetry, with later examples like Virgil’s Aeneid
and the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf. Epic poems are lengthy narratives that recount the heroic
deeds of gures from aristocratic and military societies. These narratives often re ect
the history and values of a nation.

The structure of an epic includes vivid, pictorial scenes known as “type-scenes,” which
cover events like banquets, battles, voyages, and funerals. Epic poems are objective in
narration, avoiding critique of societal ideals or customs. Their main themes emphasise
heroic values and the responsibilities of leaders in noble societies. The elevated
language and rich vocabulary further enhance the grandeur of these narratives. The
overarching goal of the epic is to glorify actions that lead to honour and glory.

Beowulf
It is a narrative long composition (because it’s a poem). It deals with:
- recollection of a glorious past in the history of a country
- the brave deeds of heroes
History is in the frame, but supernatural characters like monsters, are the canvas of the poem.

The epic poem has got

- aristocratic military society is described
- the narrative is made up of a series of type-scenes like battles, banquets, funeral and voyages
fi
fl
 - the narration is objective
- the main theme is the nature of heroic life
- didactic aim: celebration of heroic values
- the language is vivid and the style is elevated

Beowulf is considerated a national poem, and it is the only English epic poem, instead the story

- Is the oldest epic poem written in Anglo-Saxon more than 1200 years ago
- The poet (author) is unknown
- It deals with a time following the initial invasion of England by Germanic tribes in 449 (5th-6th
century)
- The date of the composition is unknown but it was probably composed as an elegy for a
king who died
- Originally it was untitled, the actual title was given only in the 19th century, just because it
was the name of a Scandinavian hero, who is the main character

SETTINGS

• Denmark: ruled by king Hrothgar. Here the rst actions of the poem take place
• Heorot: where Beowulf confronts the monster Grendel, who was lethally wounded
• The misty lake: where Beowulf ghts against Grendel’s mother (after 50 years)
• The land of the Geats in Sweden: where Beowulf confronts a re-breathing dragon this dragon
was the guardian of a cave where were hidden a treasure and it killed all the knights who had
ever tried to robs the treasure, this is the last part of the poem.

The plot it’s divided in 3 sections

1) Beowulf, the war leader of the Scandinavian Geats, ghts and defeats Grendel, the monster
(evil) and succeeds in killing in Heorot. Beowulf became the new king. And after defeats
Grendel’s mother he cuts his head. And he used it as a symbol power and to showing it to the
other heroes and he throes it in to the sea.
2) The hero ghts against Grendel-s mother with that big and magic sword, the mother represent
the evil side of the sorry. Beowulf manages to kill her in the murky lake
3) After fty years the hero kills kills a re-breathing dragon in Scandinavia but it’s mortally
wounded

According to Beowulf’s wishes his body is burnt in a funeral pyre and his warriors bury him in a
borrow overlooking the sea and he’s buried with the dragon treasure.

CHARACTERS

BEOWULF:
• it was a perfect hero: bravery, strenght, generosity, loyalty
• two lives : young- great warrior, heroic code, supporter of king’s son.
• old- responsable king, leader, wise, e ective ruler and conscious choice. he gives his life for the
people.

HROTHGAR

• he was a static chracter, characters were round (who changed) or at (who never changed)
• he warms his young protege (Beowulf) not to give into pride and always to remember that
blessings (benedizioni) may turn to grief (dolore).

GRENDEL
fi
fi
fi
fi
ff
fi
fi
fi
fl