NOTES ON THE ANGLO- SAXONS
LANGUAGE AND STYLE:
Old English is not uniform. It consists of various dialects, but literature needs to treat it as a language. We get our syntax from the Anglo-Saxons, our preference for and greater ease with nouns, the tendencies to simplify grammar and shorten words, and the "law of recessive accent" -- the tendency to place the accent on the first syllable and to slur over subsequent syllables. (Later words adopted from outside illustrate: "quantité" is anglicanized to "quántity"; "contraire" to "contrary.")
Most Anglo-Saxon poetry emerges from an oral tradition and was meant for mead-hall entertainment. Scops (the poets) and Gleemen (harpists) sung or recited and were the only historians of the time. The poetic structure was based on accent and alliteration (not rhyme and meter), and made use of stock formulae.
Epithets were useful for alliteration, so God could be called "Weard" (guardian) or "Meatod" (measurer) or "Wuldor-Fæder" (glory-father) or "Drihten" (lord) or "Scyppend" (creator) or "Frea" (master), etc. A king could be a "ring-giver" or a "noble lord" or a "righteous guardian." A phrase replaces a simpler name.
Appositions show up as several epithets in a row, and we're even more top-heavy with noun-phrases.
Kennings were poetic phrases consisting of compound metaphors. The sea could be called "the swan's road" or "the whale's way." As mentioned above, women were "cup-bearers" or "peace-weavers."
Litotes refers to ironic understatement, another apparent favorite trope of the Anglo-Saxons in which the affirmative is expressed by the negation of its contrary. "Not easily did I come through it with my life."
Alfred the Great in the late 800s united the tribes somewhat successfully against the Norse and was a patron of literature -- a political maneuver, since language and literature help form a national identity. Latin works were translated into Old English, including Bede; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles were begun (and lasted to the mid-12th century); and works were preserved through copyings (such as Beowulf).
CLOTHING
The robe or tunic gathered at the waist was the common garment for a man, completed by hose and soft shoes.
For a woman the robe or dress extended to the feet.
The usual materials were linen and woolens, the more expensive outfits being marked by colourful dyes and exotic borders.
Brooches were used to fix clothing by rich and poor, and amulets of stones were used
LEISURE
When they weren't fighting the favourite pastimes of the Dark Ages were dice and board games such as chess.
Elaborate riddles were popular, as was horse racing and hunting.
At feasts the most common entertainment was the harp, CALLED A LYRE which was also used in church music.
In addition to the harp, scenes of juggling balls and knives have been found illustrating books of the period.
TRAVELING
Travel was not uncommon, and the main trade routes, often along the old Roman roads, were used frequently. However, off the main routes travel could be a risky business. Travellers were advised to shout, blow horns, and make lots of noise. Otherwise any strangers were assumed to be outlaws, and could be killed out of hand.
FARMING
In the countryside the vast majority of the people lived by farming. At first most of the farms were owned outright.
The ceorls worked co-operatively, sharing the expense of a team of oxen to plough the large common fields in narrow strips that were shared out alternately so that each farmer had an equal share of good and bad land.
Later much of this land was consolidated into the large estates of wealthy nobles. Ceorls might work the land in return for service or produce, or they might work the lord's land a given number of days per year.
As time went on more and more of these large estates were established as integrated commercial enterprises, complete with water mill to grind the grain.
FOOD
The crops most frequently grown were wheat, oats, rye, and barley (both as a cereal and as the base for beer).
The favourite brew of the Anglo Saxons was called MEAD and was made of yeast, malt and honey
Peas, beans, and lentils were also common. Honey was the only sweetener in use, and it was used to make the alcoholic beverage mead.
Pigs were a major food animal, as were cattle, goats, and sheep.
Horses and oxen were raised for heavy farm labour and transportation, though the stirrup had yet to make an appearance from the far east.
RELIGION
The Anglo-Saxon gods lend their names to days of the week: Tuesday from Tiw, the dark god; Wednesday from Woden, the war god; Thursday from Thor, the thunder god; Friday from Frigga, goddess of the home.
The Anglo-Saxons were pagans when they came to Britain. They worshipped gods of nature and held springs, wells, rocks, and trees in reverence. Religion was not a source of spiritual revelation, it was a means of ensuring success in material things. For example, you might pray to a particular goddess for a successful harvest, or for victory in battle. A few of the main Anglo-Saxon gods were Tiw, Wodin (Odin), Thor, and Friya, whose names are remembered in our days of the week Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Religious observance consisted of invocations and charms to ensure the gods' help in securing a desired outcome in the material world, though the presence of grave goods indicates a belief in an afterlife. There is a possibility that female slaves may have been sacrificed on the death of a male owner and included in the grave to accompany him in the next world.
The Anglo-Saxons were pagans when they came to Britain, but, as time passed, they gradually converted to Christianity. Many of the customs we have in England today come from pagan festivals.
Pagans worshiped lots of different gods. Each pagan god controlled a particular part of everyday life: the family, growing crops, love, healing, wisdom, metalworking, the weather, war, day & night and so on.
GOD GOD OF WHAT?
Balder God of Immortality
Eostre Goddess of Birth
Frigg Goddess of Love
Hel Goddess of Death
Loki God of Cunning
Saxnot God of the Family
Thunor God of Thunder
Tiw God of War
Wade God of the Sea
Wayland God of Metalworking
Woden Chief God
Religion was a means of ensuring success in material things. For example, you might pray to a particular goddess for a successful harvest, or for victory in battle.
DAYS OF THE WEEK
Certain days of the week are named after early Saxon Gods.
Monandæg ( Moon's day - the day of the moon ),
Tiwesdæg ( Tiw's-day - the day of the Scandinavian sky god Tiw,Tiu or Tig),
Wodnesdæg ( Woden's day - the day of the god Woden (Othin) ),
Ðunresdæg ( Thor's Day - the day of the god Ðunor or Thunor ),
Frigedæg ( Freyja's day - the day of the goddess Freyja or Frigg, wife to Woden),
Sæternesdæg ( Saturn's day - the day of the Roman god Saturn, whose festival "Saturnalia," with its exchange of gifts, has been incorporated into our celebration of Christmas.),
Sunnandæg ( Sun's day - the day of the sun ).
FROM PAGAN TO CHRISTIANITY
About 1400 years ago, the Pope in Rome sent a missionary to England to persuade the Anglo-Saxons to become Christians.
The leader of the Christian Church was the Pope, who lived in Rome. The Pope sent a monk called Augustine to England. Augustine landed in the south and converted the first King Ethelbert of Kent, and then the people living there.
The Pope made Augustine a Bishop and Ethelbert allowed him to build a church in Canterbury.
Christianity then spread to other parts of Britain.
The pope gave orders that pagan temples should be converted into Christian ones and that pagan celebrations should also be made into Christian ones.
Adapted from http://www.britainexpress.com/History/anglo-saxon_life.htm