Revision Guide Notes

General History I - The Anglo Saxons Revision Guide Coming of the Anglo Saxons -Sources= Gildas (not a historian, a religious polemicist), Bede (tries to be good too hard and ends up inventing dates and men), grave goods -Bede suggests they came c450, pottery c400 -Mercenaries theory most plausible -Britons probably divided and unorganised. Vortigern, Arthur. Roman vestiges -Grave goods show the militaristic culture, value of swords -Bede answers this very specifically; "They came from three very powerful Germanic tribes, the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes". - Does this show more Anglo Saxons in England? OR an increase in the use of Germanic customs, objects etc.?Coming of Christianity - marriage of Bertha, a Merovingian princess, to Ethelbert in around 560, which led to the coming of Bishop Luidhard=first conversion evidence - 596 Ethelbert, Kent, , Augustine and 40 helpers, 10,000 reported conversions in 598. Bretwalda influence? Reinforcements 601 - Aidan sent to Numb on Oswald's command, Lindisfarne - Oswald and Oswy's influence can be seen in the conversion of several kings, and therefore kingdoms; Wessex (c625), Essex (c653) and Middle Anglia - Redwald, who converted to Christianity in order to improve relations between himself and Ethelbert. Therefore political power reason to convert - Politial exile was a powerful factor in the conversion of royals- Oswald and oswy grew up in Dalriada - allowing them to control the people - Pope Gregory :Christianity made a king's 'glorious name still more glorious even to posterity' - emphasised that God's followers on earth would gain wealth and victory - miracles and rewards from God for being Christian - sea links with Gaul and the Med - fragile- Ethelbert's death in 616, combined with the paganism of his sons, almost caused the failure of the Christian mission - Earconberht, king of Kent, banned the worship of idols on a date in the period 640-64 - Sees were established at Canterbury, Rochester and London (604) - Irish Bishop Dagan who was in East Anglia from 610-620AD - to discuss the idiocies and contradictions of Paganism to insert doubt - religion brought writing, law code Anglo Saxon Poetry 

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