Germanic Invasion

GERMANIC INVASION.

Mirar power point, que no carrega.

Vortigern: when all the romans soldiers go, they know they are going to be killed. (ni puta idea del que diu aquest home)

KING ARTHUR: knight and soldier of somewhere who defends Christian values. Evolution of a person whose name was Ambrosius Aurelianus. Arthur connected to god because of Christianity, but also connected to the land by Excalibur (the land, living element in the celt culture, knows who the true king is, that is why he could hold the sword)

Merlin, friend of Arthur, is a druid, a magician. He can create potions, what good and bad is, etc. He is the evolution of the religion of the Celts.

Genevieve considered a traitor, the reason why Arthur fails.

They live in Camelot, where the Germanic people have not reached. It is a paradise, something like this.

All of this is a legend.

Round table: represented that everyone is the same and equal, there is no hierarchy.

Mythic battle at mount Badonicus. No one knows where it actually took place, because no one knows where this mount is.

Germanics invaded Britannia (England up to the Adrian’s wall + Wales) to improve their lives, not for political reasons. They found other Germans along the coast and in some island, such as Thanet.

Two of the generals from Germanic tribes that defended Britannia were Hengist and Horsa. They were from Vortigern tribe. They have a legend of the two generals that traces their ancestry back to Woden (Odín). They are not gods because they can be defeated, but they have super powers.

When Germanics started invading Britannia, the Celts went to Cornwall and Wales. King Arthur was one of the leaders of Celts.

When Romans went, they didn’t kill the Celts, they controlled the country but they didn’t want it. On the contrary, Germanics went and killed everyone and named everything in their language. That’s the reason why nobody knows where king Arthur came from or where Badonicus is (where took place the mythic battle Arthur won) because the Celtic names didn’t coincide with theirs.

THE ANGLO-SAXON (GERMANIC) SOCIETY.

-Thanes: upper class, earls, or free warriors.

-Thralls: slaves who did the farming and domestic work.

-Freemen.

-Witan: council of elders chosen to decide things.

Shires: Germanics people don’t control Britannia completely; each leader controlled a small area. (com comarques)

Shire-reeve: the one who controls the law; origin of sheriff.

Common law: not based on government laws, but on tradition.

With time, the different shires grew and a historical period of time in England named the heptarchy began. There were seven kingdoms: Sussex (south Saxons), Wessex (west Saxons), Essex (east Saxons), Kent, East Anglicans, Northumbrians, Mercians.

Prctically everyone in the north of Europe spoke old English (with dialectal differences, though). They probably had the same gods but with different names.

Beowulf (man-wolf): is an epic (long, heroic poem) about a great pagan dragon-slaying warrior renewed for his courage, strength, and dignity, which Germanic tribes explained as a story at night. Beowulf is the national epic of English and the oldest written story. It was written by the Monks.

Germanics tribes did flyting, a conflict of wits between two warriors where each praises his own deeds and belittles the other’s. it was a way to pass time. (como una jota, improvisando y criticando al otro.