why are you using "Anglo-Saxon" all the time?

Adam   Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:42 am GMT
You're right, but as we say here, "don't even go there!"
Sander   Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:27 am GMT
LOL, I'm sorry ... 'WE' ?! Is there a 'WE' here , which you included?!
Sander   Tue Nov 08, 2005 3:50 pm GMT
with
Adam   Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:37 pm GMT
Why does he (or she, or it) pretend to be me?
Adam   Tue Nov 08, 2005 7:38 pm GMT
Michael Delahoyde
Washington State University

ANGLO-SAXON CULTURE


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History:

When Rome was weakening early in the fifth century c.e., troops in the outlying regions, including the British Isles, were withdrawn. Walls, roads, and baths remain even now. They also left the native Celts and Celtic-speaking Britons somewhat christianized, and Picts and Scots in the north, but "political" power fell to unstable tribal units. One of these leaders, Vortigern, "invited" Angles, Saxons, and Jutes to join his military power, so the land saw a swell of invasions by Jutes -- a germanic tribe from Denmark -- in 449, followed soon by Angles and Saxons. (The current name originates as "Angle-Land.") These hordes settled in and pushed the Celts into Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, and to the north. King Arthur grew from legends of one Celtic chieftain who held out better than most.

The Anglo-Saxon social structure consisted of tribal units led by chieftains ("kings," or "lords") who, theortetically at least, earned their respect from their warriors (or "retainers," or "thanes," the group being called a "comitatus"). Kings should display the heroic ideal and be known for an extraordinary and courageous feat or for success in war, all preceded by some boasting. The king must be a generous "ring-giver" too -- that is, he must dish out the spoils of war to his thanes rather than hoard the treasures won in tribal warfare (a practice that has survived in diluted form, says Tom Garbaty, with the Queen giving medals to the Beatles and such). These weapons and treasures are important too. The craftsmanship is always elaborate and stories accrue about each ding. Although theoretically the thanes freely agreed to join a king, it was nevertheless vital for one's sense of self to be part of a tribe. The thane shouldn't survive the king, and the worst fate for these people was to be exiled or to outlast all one's fellow warriors. The sense of identity came from the warrior community.

Fighting was a way of life, and not to avenge the death of a family member was a social disgrace, so endlessly intricate blood-feuds generated perpetual excuses for going to war. The two alternatives for ending a blood-feud were 1) paying "wergild" -- the man price, or 2) arranging a marriage. Women were known as "cup-bearers" (because they served the mead) and "peace-weavers" (because of this function whereby feuds could be ended). But none of this really ever worked. The germanic tribes hated peace; fighting was more honorable.

Occasionally some tribes temporarily grouped together for a larger war task, or against Viking invaders, but there was no national unity or any Round Table in these early years. Alfred the Great and Athelstan made names for themselves as successful against the Norse.

In 597 St. Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory the Great (Mr. Chant) to convert the Anglo-Saxons. Writing came in only with Christianity, and the Latin alphabet ousted the crude germanic runes. In general, churchmen were anxious to eliminate pagan stories, so Beowulf is quite unusual. Edwin, King of Northumbria, converted to Christianity in 627. Laws started to be written. The Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People emerges in 731.

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).

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.")

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.

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-Faeder" (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."



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Works Cited
Rosenwein, Barbara H. A Short History of the Middle Ages. Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press, 2002.
natalie   Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:16 pm GMT
I really hate it when americans say there anglo saxon sumtimes they havent even been to england most people from english talking countries are a mishmash of diffrent races no one can b a true anglo saxon now days soz but i had to get that off my chest
im english by the way and i would just like to b called that
Guest   Sun Mar 26, 2006 8:57 pm GMT
shut up you little spoiled bitch.
Guest   Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:23 pm GMT
WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestent)
Benjamin   Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:20 pm GMT
« All of the British people I've met seem to like to being called Anglo-Saxons »

Then you haven't met many British people. In England at least, the term 'Anglo-Saxon' usually refers almost exclusively to the tribe which invaded England about 1500 or so years ago (from what we know call Germany), and to the language which they spoken, which is also known as Old English. The application of the term to refer to modern day peoples would likely cause confusion.

As a side note, I'm not sure if it's really appropriate to refer to the United States as an 'Anglo-Saxon' country, since I understand that the vast majority of Americans are not primarily of English (or even British) descent.
Benjamin   Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:28 pm GMT
*tribes
*spoke
Travis   Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:19 pm GMT
>>As a side note, I'm not sure if it's really appropriate to refer to the United States as an 'Anglo-Saxon' country, since I understand that the vast majority of Americans are not primarily of English (or even British) descent.<<

Agreed most definitely.
natalie   Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:25 pm GMT
im not spoiled !!! i am working class so there!
i think travis and benjamin have got it right .

ps i duno if u mean that i am refering to the usa as a anglo saxon country becoz im not the usa has loadz of diffrent races living there and i understand that same as in the uk and i dont go round saying im an anglo saxon.

i definitely agree travis and benjamin
Fredrik from Norway   Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:55 pm GMT
I cannot see why the term Anglo-saxon could be so confusing. Usually you see very clearly from the context wether somebody is talking about pre-1066 England or the English-speaking world.

"English-speaking" might be a good substitute for Anglo-Saxon, but it doesn't show how the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand also share a lot of cultural heritage apart from language, e.g. political and legal systems, literature, pop culture, religion, sports.

I won't deny that there are equally many things dividing these countries and their populations are certainly not 100 % genetically Anglo-Saxon!

But there is an Anglo-Saxon world, united in the worship of Runnymeade and Stratford-upon-Avon as the cradles of their civilization.

I suppose you need an outsider's view to see that...
Travis   Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:23 pm GMT
>> I cannot see why the term Anglo-saxon could be so confusing. Usually you see very clearly from the context wether somebody is talking about pre-1066 England or the English-speaking world.<<

The matter is that many North Americans read such usages of "Anglo-Saxon" as being quite ethnically loaded, especially since a very large portion of North Americans are not primarily of English or any sort of British descent, if they are of any to begin with. Also, for many "getting off the boat" was not truly that long ago, either, which only increases the importance of the ethnic implications of the term "Anglo-Saxon". Anyways, Americans today are, as a whole, English-speaking but not Anglo-Saxon.

The ethnic implications of the term are shown by the phrase "White Anglo-Saxon Protestant" here, which is most definitely not referring to the entire English-speaking world with the use of the term "Anglo-Saxon". However, one note is that many usages of the above term have broadened the sense of the term "Anglo-Saxon", in that it has been used at times with individuals who are primarily, say, ethnically Dutch or German.

>>"English-speaking" might be a good substitute for Anglo-Saxon, but it doesn't show how the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand also share a lot of cultural heritage apart from language, e.g. political and legal systems, literature, pop culture, religion, sports.<<

The thing, though, is that "English-speaking" lacks the certain connotations and implications laid out above which "Anglo-Saxon" does have, at least in North America.

As for religion and sports, I would have to say that those do not apply that strongly here, as I would guess that Episcopalians (the NA equivalent to Anglicans) are probably not that large of a group here, all things concerned, and we don't play cricket. Of course, then, one could still make the argument that football (aka American football) is still tied to such, in its being related originally to what are now football (aka soccer) and rugby.

>>I won't deny that there are equally many things dividing these countries and their populations are certainly not 100 % genetically Anglo-Saxon!<<

The only thing is that, at least here in North America, the term "Anglo-Saxon" has different connotations than it may have elsewhere, say, in France.

>>But there is an Anglo-Saxon world, united in the worship of Runnymeade and Stratford-upon-Avon as the cradles of their civilization.<<

Of course, the Stratford-upon-Avon thing ties into common literature, which is an obvious outgrowth of common language.

>>I suppose you need an outsider's view to see that...<<

Well, yes, but while there are definite commonalities amongst the primarily English-speaking areas of the world today, such is often heterogeneous in ways that may not necessarily be externally apparent either.
Uriel   Wed Mar 29, 2006 1:43 am GMT
Episcopalian? What's that? ;)

Apparently the Episcopalian/Anglican denomination has fewer than 5 million adherents in the US -- or 1.7% of the population. The Church of England -- not exactly taking the place by storm....

So I'm not sure how true Fredrik's assertion that there are bonds of religion in the English-speaking world is, other than a generalized penchant for Christianity, which would also be shared with Europe and the rest of North and South America.