AngloSaxon & Medieval Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is feudalism?
A dominant social system, seen like a pyramid with the king at the top.
What is a fief?
Property or rights given to a vassal by an overlord in exchange for allegiance and service.
What is a vassal?
Person obligated to a lord or monarch in exchange for privileges.
What is an elegy?
Poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
Who initially occupied England?
The Celts
Where did Britain get its name?
A tribe called the Britons
What religion were the Celts and what were their priests called?
Celts were pagans and their priests were druids.
What were the 3 early England invasions?
Romans: 55 BC-410 AD
Anglosaxons & Vikings: 410-1066 AD
Normans: 1066
What is Hadrian’s wall?
A defensive fortification in Roman province of Britain, built in 122 AD.
What was the Roman military called?
Legions
What was the Roman official language?
Latin
What religion were the Romans?
Christianity
Where did the Anglosaxons invade in 410?
Baltic shores of Germany
What did the Anglosaxons become after invading England?
Anglosaxon heptarchy
What is the Anglosaxons heptarchy?
Kent, Essex, Sussex, East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex.
When did the viking raids begin?
787
What was the Old English language born from?
Viking raids
What were two important effects of the battle of Hastings?
Fetch became the official language of politics and power, England began unifying under feudalism.
What is the order of the feudalism pyramid?
King, nobleman and freemen, serfs
What is a lyric?
A short poem expressing emotion or life principle.
What is a caesuras?
Pause within a line of poetry.
What is a kenning?
A two word poetic renaming of people, places and things.
