The Consequences Of The English And Norman Conquests Between 450 And 1066

freeman, earl, and churl to their king - a whole-souled devotion to which Anglo-Saxon was ready

Majority of books that are written or were written about history can become very tedious to read, but Howarth early on explains his intention is to captivate and tell a story that will keep readers awake. Howarth set out to chronologically tell the story behind the year 1066 in a way that can be easily absorbed, “this is not meant to be read as a work of scholarship, only as an evocation of the excitement, pleasures and miseries of that year; but I hope it is accurate enough to satisfy scholars.” (pg. 7). Howarth starts out very strong with his narrative. Howarth’s method of sequence in depicting the events throughout the year is very effective in painting the picture of events that occurred in 1066. His

1066: The Year of the Conquest, written by David Howarth, tells of one of the most important dates in the history of England. In 1066, William the Conqueror and William of Orange fought the historical Battle of Hastings. The outcome of this battle lead to many changes to the English people. The Norman people became assimilated into the English way of life. Howarth proceeds to tell the tale of the Battle of Hastings through the eyes on a common Englishman.

The Anglo-Saxon culture came from the ethos which arose from years of progress and understanding. This culture a unification of independent principalities brought together by one king known as Alfred the Great. The true sense of the culture came with the values of loyalty, kinship, and bravery, which present themselves in the epic tale of Beowulf whose violent victory propelled him from mercenary to rightful warrior and respected hero. where the birth of a hero came from the actions of a rightful warrior.

Topic sentence: The Anglo Saxons valued their leaders as well they have similar values as in Beowulf. Beowulf was an Anglo Saxon hero he was everything they valued in Christopher Garcia explains that "strength and physical appearance were what they valued most". Anglo Saxon culture is very similar to the culture in Beowulf as well. In Beowulf, Beowulf has to defeat monsters to protect his kingdom. Encyclopedia describes the Anglo Saxon culture as "the practice of blood-feud, the institution of the retinue (war-band), both of which could contribute to a high level of violence and instability in élite society". War and fighting was normal in Anglo Saxon culture, along with "lordship and of kinship". What the Anglo Saxon wrote in Beowulf was a similar out look on how their life's were

Anglo-Saxon culture consisted of receiving fame, glory, and wealth through acts of vengeance and courage. “Beowulf” portrays these parts in great detail and shows how destabilizing it can be. Through acts of vengeance, a never ending war occurs.

Every culture has its own set of beliefs values and customs. Cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout a lifetime. A culture is the sum of a group’s way of life and this is no different with the ancient Anglo Saxon culture. Cultures usually have distinct figures that reflect their culture as a whole. The importance of religion, values, and heroes are reflected a great deal in the epic poem of Beowulf accurately showing the Anglo Saxon culture as a whole.

Arguably the most important factor in the exertion of power over the English was the ability by the Normans to act militarily. The warlike attitude of the Normans, combined with the religious aspects that will be discussed later, provided them with a ready and capable army with which to support William’s claim to the throne. The early years of William’s rule, after the 1066 defeat of Harold, emerged as a sort of military occupation within England by the Normans. These years were crucial in the Norman advance within England. When William came to England he arrived with a large support of military men and much of these supporting military men remained in England because of their military duties. This army aided William not only in the initial battle against Harold, but later as well, through their

The Anglo-Saxon period was a time around 410 AD where settlers from Modern Germany invaded Britain after the failure of the Roman Empire. Anglo-Saxon warriors were hired to preserve the Roman way of life but decided the land was good for themselves. Therefore, Britain became their home. Anglo-Saxons contributed greatly to the foundations of Britain by spreading their culture in ways of their language, literature, religion and traditions in law and government. They were referred to as the “First Englishmen” and left the strongest reminder of their presence in ways such as the Exeter Book. The Exeter Book was literature that expressed all the ways and values of the Anglo-Saxon people. “The seafarer”, “the wanderer”, and “the wife's lament” being part of the Exeter book expressed the central theme of isolationism.

Many people may have heard of the story of Beowulf, but not know who the Anglo-Saxons were. According to an article on BBC History, the term Anglo-Saxon refers to settlers from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony. The Anglo-Saxons made their way over to Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire around AD 410 and the period lasted for 600 years. During this period there where many rises and falls of bishops and kings, as well as many important battles. The Anglo-Saxon warriors had a variety of weapons and armor to defend them. This includes spears, scramaseaxes, swords, shields, helmets, and body armor.

The focus on this assignment will be on William the Conqueror who was the king of England, and also the Battle of Hastings. William conquered many countries and won the Battle of Hastings, which then made him King of England. William the conqueror was born in 1028 in a country called Normandy. He became the Duke of Normandy at age 8 after his father (Robert 1, Duke of Normandy) died.

The Anglo Saxon period is the oldest known period of time that had a complex culture with stable government, art, and a fairly large amount of literature. Many people believe that the culture then was extremely unsophisticated, but it was actually extremely advanced for the time. Despite the many advancements, the period was almost always in a state of war. Despite this fact, the Anglo-Saxon period is a time filled with great advancements and discoveries in culture, society, government, religion, literature, and art.

Toward the close of the Old English period, an event occurred that had the greatest, longer lasting effect on the English language than any other in history. This event was the Norman Conquest of 1066. The historic victory of William, the Duke of Normandy (hereafter known as William the Conqueror), at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 proved to be the significant catalyst for the English people. This is most notably evidenced by the cultural, religious and literary developments in the years following the Norman Invasion. Before the conquest of England, the language of the country was what was called Old English or pidgin English. This French/Norman invasion changed Britain's Anglo-Saxon culture and language to one that was more akin to what existed in mainland Europe at the time. Additionally, the invasion shaped the English language irrevocably; the new French incursion pushed Old English in the direction of Middle English, a variety more closely resembling what is spoken today. This change in governance reformed nearly everything else in the country, especially literature.

Afterwards, life in Normandy went on pretty much as usual. Some of their men did not return, but there were always more warriors to take their place. The thanes that had fought for William took over English lands, and got as much out of them as they could, so they were more prosperous than before. The Normans drank their wine, and continued with their violent lives. However, the English never became Norman, and they did get their country back.

Anglo-Saxon is a term to describe any Germanic people during the 5th century until the Norman Conquest. Anglo-Saxon, as discussed Is composed of 3 Germanic tribes; the Anglos, Saxons, and the Jutes. They are also known as the last people who settled in Britain. They started out invading with small number of people, then increased in number, then invaded different areas, and had several kingdoms which were constantly in war at each other.