Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 741.

The Germanic tribes. The formation of the first Anglo-Saxon kingdoms on the territory of Britain: Sussex, Wessex, Essex, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia. The life and culture of the Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-Saxon system of farming and free community. Beowulf and Sutton Hoo treasure – the main sources of the information about Anglo-Saxons. The formation of feudal relations. The conversion of Britain into Christianity. Roman missionaries activity. The first monuments of the Christian culture: Glastonbury, Wells, Lindisfarne, Rievaulx, Whitby Abby. Venerable Bede and the spread of culture.

Questions

1. Give several English place-names, which have come down from Anglo-Saxon times. Explain their origin.

2. What were the customary methods of cultivating land among the Anglo-Saxons? How can you account for these customs?

3. What “grave-goods” of the Sutton Hoo burial are mentioned in the extract from Beowulf describing Scyld's funeral?

4. How did the status of the tribal chiefs change after the conquest?

5. Why did the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons into Christianity take place in the 7^th c. but not earlier? Why was it that the Anglo-Saxon kings and nobles accepted Christianity first?

6. How did the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons into Christianity influence the cultural development of Britain?

7. What did the English names of the days of the week mean in early times?

8. Why is the town of Glastonbury unique?

9. What can you tell about Cheddar?

10. What do you know about Lindisfarne?

11. Where was the first Cistercian monastery in Britain? What do you know about it?

12. What contribution to British culture did Venerable Bede and Alcuin make?