Pre-Roman Britain: The Celts (c. 600 BC – 43 AD)

Before the arrival of the Romans, the island of Britain was home to numerous Celtic tribes, known collectively as Britons. Theirs was a tribal, hierarchical society, ruled by chieftains and guided by a powerful priestly class, the Druids. It was an oral culture, rich in myth, legend, and song, passed down through generations. The languages they spoke were the direct ancestors of modern Welsh, Gaelic, and Cornish. It is from this Celtic world, specifically in the stories of resistance against the later Anglo-Saxon invaders, that the foundational legends of King Arthur would eventually emerge.

What Came Before: Roman Britain (c. 43 – 410 AD)

The conquest of Britain, begun in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius, transformed the island. The Romans were master builders and administrators, constructing towns, a network of roads, and formidable fortifications like Hadrian’s Wall. They introduced a centralized government, Roman law, taxation, the Latin language, and, late in their rule, Christianity. But this era of order came to an abrupt end. Around 410 AD, the legions were withdrawn to defend a crumbling empire at home. The consequence was catastrophic for the Britons: the entire military and governmental structure vanished, leaving them vulnerable. The sophisticated Roman way of life collapsed, creating a power vacuum that would soon be filled.

The Period of Migration and Conquest (c. 450 – 600 AD)

Into the void left by Rome came new peoples from the European continent. The main Germanic tribes—the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—migrated from what is now Denmark and Northern Germany. This was not a single invasion but a long process of migration, conquest, and settlement. The result was a complete reshaping of the island. These tribes gradually conquered and settled most of the land, which came to be known as “Angle-land,” the origin of the name England. The native Celtic Britons were pushed to the remote edges of the island: into modern-day Wales, Cornwall, and Scotland.

The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy (c. 600 – 850 AD)

The period of conquest eventually settled into a new political structure. England was not a unified country but a collection of competing kingdoms known as the Heptarchy. These seven main kingdoms were often at war, vying for dominance. Among them, Northumbria and later Mercia emerged as the first great centers of learning and culture.

The Coming of Christianity (from 597 AD)

The conversion of the pagan Anglo-Saxons was a transformative event. It came from two directions: in 597 AD, St. Augustine arrived in Kent, sent by Pope Gregory I on a mission from Rome. Simultaneously, Irish missionaries were spreading their Celtic form of Christianity in the north. The key impact was the introduction of Latin learning and the Roman alphabet. For the first time, the great oral stories and poems of the Anglo-Saxons could be written down by monks in monasteries, preserving a literary heritage that would otherwise have vanished.

The Viking Age and the Rise of Wessex (c. 793 – 878 AD)

A new wave of invaders reshaped the political landscape once more. Beginning with the infamous raid on the monastery at Lindisfarne in 793 AD, Danish Vikings began to attack, and later to settle, vast swathes of the country. A large part of eastern England fell under their control, an area that became known as the Danelaw. The only kingdom to successfully resist this onslaught was Wessex, led by the remarkable King Alfred the Great. His victories preserved an independent English kingdom. Alfred’s legacy was not just military; he was a cultural visionary who championed the use of Old English for writing, initiating the translation of important books and the keeping of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

What Came After: The Norman Conquest (1066)

The Anglo-Saxon period came to a decisive end with one final invasion. At the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson. The Norman Conquest ushered in a new French-speaking ruling class, a new language (Old French), and a new culture, irrevocably changing the course of English history and marking the beginning of the Middle English period.

Summary: How History Shaped the Literature

The turbulent history of the era directly shaped its literature. From the warrior culture came the heroic values of loyalty, bravery, and an obsession with fate (Wyrd), which are central to epics like Beowulf. The conversion to Christianity created a fascinating blend of older pagan ideals with new Christian morality, beautifully captured in poems like The Dream of the Rood. Finally, the constant threat of invasion, the harshness of life, and the cold northern climate contributed to a characteristic elegiac tone—a deep sense of melancholy and a meditation on transience, found in masterpieces like The Wanderer and The Seafarer.

The Heroic Code

At the heart of Anglo-Saxon society was the heroic code, a set of values that dictated the behavior of lords and their warriors. This code was built upon the comitatus, an unbreakable bond of loyalty between a chieftain (the “ring-giver“) and his warriors (“thanes“). Thanes were expected to show absolute bravery and fight to the death for their lord. In return, the lord was expected to be generous with the spoils of war—treasure, weapons, and land—and provide a place of community in his mead-hall. A warrior’s ultimate goal was to achieve lof, or fame, which was seen as the only true form of immortality in a dangerous world.

Wyrd (Fate)

The pagan Anglo-Saxons believed in Wyrd, a powerful and impersonal force of fate or destiny that governed the lives of both men and gods. It was often seen as a grim, unavoidable force. Even after the conversion to Christianity, this sense of an inexorable fate persisted in the literature, creating a fascinating tension with the Christian concept of a benevolent, all-powerful God and his divine plan (Providence). This gives many poems a somber, courageous tone, where heroes face their doom with honor, accepting what fate has in store.

The Oral Tradition

Before being written down, Anglo-Saxon literature was a performance art. In the great mead-halls, professional poets, known as scops, would recite long epic poems and elegies from memory, accompanied by a harp. This oral tradition shaped the very structure of the poetry. It relied not on rhyme but on strong rhythms, alliteration, and formulaic phrases (kennings) to make the complex stories memorable for both the performer and the audience. Literature was a communal experience, a way of preserving history, celebrating heroes, and reinforcing cultural values.

Elegiac Tone

A profound sense of sadness permeates much of Old English poetry. This elegiac tone reflects a deep feeling of loss—the loss of a lord, of comrades in battle, of a home, or of a golden age now past. This theme, often referred to as ubi sunt (Latin for “where are they?”), mourns the transience of earthly life and the certainty of decay. Poems like The Wanderer and The Seafarer are powerful expressions of exile and sorrow, a mood that resonated with the harsh realities of their world and blended seamlessly with the Christian message that humanity’s true home is not in this fleeting world.

Key Figures