This article from National Geographic explains how and why the Anglo-Saxons settled England, and examines what the discovery of artifacts in the English countryside tells us about these people.
The article is accompanied by some excellent related features, including a timeline of ancient England's beginnings, and a photo gallery of the weapons and armor found in the hoard.
A news article from 2009, when a 55-year-old British man made the largest discovery of Saxon artifacts in history, using an old metal detector in a neighboring farmer's field.
The BBC's History page contains sections on three different peoples that occupied ancient Britain: the Romans, the Vikings, and the Anglo-Saxons.
A world history website, covering prehistoric times to the present day. There are two ways to browse the articles on this site: by keyword ("Histories") or by timeline. The Timelines section is broken down by century, continent, empire, or theme (religion, science, etc).
** Day students! Please note that all library databases require a login in order to access them off-campus. Email us for a list of database usernames and passwords.
A great alternative to Wikipedia! A very current, easy-to-use, general database. Try a simple keyword search, such as "beowulf" or "anglo-saxon". Be sure to check the Related Articles section at the bottom of each article for more detailed information.
Look here for definitions to your Study Guide terms!For exploring your theme through in-depth research. This database is a great place to look for scholarly articles on history, the sciences, the humanities, politics, and more. Use the Advanced Search to narrow in on a topic.
A wealth of 100+ Oxford reference works covering many subjects. Includes a growing number of titles from the acclaimed Oxford Companions Series, plus the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
This map shows the different peoples and territories of ancient Scandanavia. The Geats, Beowulf's people, lived on what is now the tip of modern-day Sweden (designated by the dragon on this map). In the epic, our hero Beowulf journeys to the Danish King Hrothgar's palace (Heorot, shown within the circle on the map) to defeat the monster Grendel who has plagued the hall.
Blackmer, Kate. “Beowulf's World”. 2011. Web. 30 Nov 2012. http://www.blackmermaps.com/portfolio.htm
This map traces the migration of peoples to England from the Germanic regions and lower Scandinavia. With the crumbling of the Roman Empire, its armies were withdrawn from England in the early 400s. This gave the Germanic tribes the opportunity to move into the British territory that they had deserted. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes settled there and were able to set up societies of their own, ruling themselves as they wished for about six hundred years. They brought with them their languages, social customs, and rich traditions of history and folklore--among which was the tale of Beowulf.
"Migration Routes and Raids, A.D. 400-600." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, Nov. 2011.
Web. 25 Jan. 2013. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/11/gold-hoard/timeline.Here are a few of the books we have on this topic in the library. To find more, try a Power search in the library catalog.
Call Number: CD HEASeamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio recording. Read by the translator himself, it reminds us that the epic poem Beowulf, composed more than 1,000 years ago, was intended to be heard, not read.
Call Number: DVD 941.01 BEOThis documentary traces the origins of the tribes that created the epic poem Beowulf, looking at their religious beliefs and everyday life.
Call Number: 941.01 BLAA "very short" introduction to the Anglo-Saxon age. Covers the period from the earliest English settlements to the Norman victory in 1066.
