AngloSaxon World View and Key Themes What is

Anglo-Saxon World View and Key Themes

What is World View? • How a person/group of people feels about and interacts with the world, nature, and God • Anglo-Saxon worldview- grim, negativethey lived harsh lives full of war and hard work • Saw nature as the enemy; no concept of happy afterlife or loving God

WYRD • Anglo-Saxon concept of FATE. • They believed their lives were ruled by FATE (or wyrd).

LOF • Because the Anglo. Saxons did not believe in an afterlife, they sought immortality through a concept called LOF (or FAME)

COMITATUS • Again, because life was so harsh, they made life meaningful through relationships with one another and the king. • Comitatus means COMPANIONSHIPloyalty and love to your kinsmen, friends, and king

What made life worth living? • LOF (FAME)- for the afterlife • COMITATUS (COMPANIONSHIP)- for now • MEAD HALL- the king lived in a great hall called the mead hall where warriors would gather and tell stories and drink mead

SCOPS • Pronounced SHOPES • Storytellers and poets • Entertainers

Conversion • St. Augustine and St. Patrick are two famous missionaries who brought Christianity to Great Britain. • Christianity offered a happy afterlife, a loving God, and ideas like forgiveness and hope that their religion had not. • Celtic Cross= Pagan Celtic Sundial+Christian Cross

Make a chart listing the differences in Pagan and Christian Values

Pagan vs. Christian • Monsters and supernatural beings • Lof (Fame) • Warrior- Physical Strength • Courage • Pride (Heroic Boasts) • Revenge (Weregild) • Riches/Gold • Loyalty • Signs, Superstition, Wyrd (fate) • Valhalla • Sacrifice • “The Almighty” • Love • Compassion • Humility- “the meek shall inherit the earth” • Forgiveness “love your enemies” • Riches are in heaven, not on earth • Sacrifice • Heaven

Characteristics of Writing • Kenning- a metaphorical two word compound – – Example: “whale-road”= the ocean “soul-house”= the body Video example of kennings: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=a. YErtw_T 0 Ts • Epithet- replacing a character’s name with a descriptive phrase – Example: Grendel=“The Shadow of Death” • Caesura- a pause in the middle of a line indicated by a comma, semi-colon, or period • Alliteration- repetition of initial consonant sounds

Reasons for these Characteristics • Euphony= pleasing to the ear; it sounds good!! • Memory= rhythm and repetition help it make things easier to remember- the scops had to tell all of their stories from memory so caesura and alliteration helped

Epics: The Basics • Definition: a long narrative poem that recounts the deeds of a hero and/or the story of a nation • THEME: Good vs. Evil • SETTING: Vast- over many years and different landscapes • HEROIC BOAST- when the hero brags to achieve fame and gain “Lof” • TONE: formal and serious