A Saxon Noble serves King William the First
About twenty years ago I made my submission to William of Normandy
when I saw that we Saxons could no longer resist the rule of William
and his knights and men-at-arms; they were simply too strong and well
organized to be effectively resisted. My friend Hereward, known as
the Wake, held out of for eight years in the Isle of Ely, in the Fens
but then even he had to submit.
I realised that if we Saxon nobles continued to resist we would lose
our land, our animals, our crops, our houses and possibly our lives.
Several of the Saxon lords in Yorkshire and Northumbria had all their
land laid waste and the peasantry who served them barely survived and
many died from starvation. They called it the Harrying of the North.
That showed just how ruthless William could be. In the year 1069 we
seven gesiths of Warwickshire and the West Country held council
together to decide what we should do. We decided not to play heroics
since that would be like sentencing most of the geneats, geburs and
kotsetlas to starvation and death. These were our people; they
depended on us. We seven gesiths decided to go to William’s court
together and discuss terms. William was surprisingly generous to us,
although he did insist that we should all pay homage to him and give
him whatever service he would demand. For example he wanted our help
in bringing criminals to justice and he also wanted us each to raise a
troop of knights and men-at-arms to give him military service when he
needed it. He wanted provisions too from our estates. He
re-organized some of our estates, taking away some of our lands for
his Norman, Poitevin and Angevin knights, but giving us other land in
its place. This had the effect of mixing our Saxon ruling class with
the new foreign ruling class of Normans and others. I didn’t
particularly like this but I couldn’t see any alternative.
As we were enjoying a concoction of light fare and drink a gentlemen of period dress appeared without entrance. He greeted us and inquired if we had tasted the "tea"? When challenged as to his attire, he introduced himself as William Fell from Lancaster England and was a permanent resident of the Inn. He proceeded to tell the story of the area, how he had found, some 150 or so years ago, this as a suitable deep water port for shipping American goods back to England. In fact, he reminisced on the building of the first continental army's naval frigate, the Virginia and later the Constellation in these very waters. He also saw the need to bring a calming atmosphere to the high spirited seaman by creating a safe refuge in these quarters. As we proceeded to refill our glass of a very warming mixture, we turned and as quietly as the Admiral had entered the room, he had some how vanished. A ghost . . . I'm not sure, but was certainly a man of stature, knowledge and power.
The guest waked from a dream, and remembering his day’s pleasure hurried to dress himself that might it sooner begin. He was sure from the way the shy little girl looked once or twice yesterday she had at least seen the white heron, and now she must really be made to tell. Here she comes now, paler than ever, and her worn old frock is torn and tattered, and smeared with pine pitch. The grandmother and the sportsman stand in the door together and question her, and the splendid moment has come to speak of the dead hemlock-tree by the green marsh. But Sylvia
Many people may have heard of the story of Beowulf, but not know who the Anglo-Saxons were. According to an article on BBC History, the term Anglo-Saxon refers to settlers from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony. The Anglo-Saxons made their way over to Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire around AD 410 and the period lasted for 600 years. During this period there where many rises and falls of bishops and kings, as well as many important battles. The Anglo-Saxon warriors had a variety of weapons and armor to defend them. This includes spears, scramaseaxes, swords, shields, helmets, and body armor.
“Even in the dark I could see that it was dying, and doing it alone in the middle of all these un-concerned pines. That was the absolute way of things. Loss takes up inside of everything sooner or later and eats right through it,” (Kidd 55). This is eerie for someone who only just dodges supplementary prison time, but deciphers Lily’s logic of how life worked. A lone pine provokes speculation most did not mull over until they are older.
All people feared the Mongols of the thirteenth century. There are many reasons as to why people cringed when they heard the word Mongol. King Louis IX was especially fearful of the Mongols. He was so anxious he sent William of Rubruck to infiltrate the Mongol society, unravel their plans, integrate Christianity into their society, and show the world the culture of the medieval Mongols.
William the Conqueror and his Patronage William I, better known as William the Conqueror, began his medieval and political career at a young age when his father left him to go on a crusade. Effectively William became the Duke of Normandy. He had to fight against other members of the Norman royalty who desired William's land and treasure. William learned at an early age that the men who ruled Europe during the middle ages were primarily interested in their own greed at the expense of all else, including the concepts chivalry and honor. He soon became a feared military commander, conquering all in Normandy who would oppose his interests.
The clear definition of a hero is often open to interpretation and has never been clearly defined. In the translation of the epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, it is often debated whether the main character Beowulf is actually a hero or not. Beowulf displays hero-like characteristics through his bravery, loyalty, brute strength, confidence and protective nature. He is a crystal clear example of an Anglo-Saxon hero in his time period. In the present day he should be considered a hero as well. He displays heroism through his fights with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon while managing to protect his people and eventually sacrifice himself.
There have been many influential influences to the English culture throughout its hundreds of years of existence, but there was one man who arguably was one of the most important figures to have ever changed the course of English culture forever. This man was no inventor who sparked a new age, nor an artist who introduced a romantic theme. Shockingly, this man was not even of English descent, but rather a conqueror from a foreign land. He is most well known as William the Conqueror and the date 1066, is remembered as the year of his arrival to Anglo-Saxon England when he began the famous Norman invasion. This alien invader to the British island was a Duke in the northern region of France. To be more specific, he was the Duke of Normandy, a province of France whose culture was descended from the Norse influence of Vikings. In a series of tactfully genius military battles, William the Conqueror captured the English throne. Few figures in history can boast of conquering an entire nation and even less can claim that they kept control and influenced their new lands. After his invasion and being crowned king of England, William began to dig into England like a tick and his Norman culture spread. William had pulled off an amazing feat through his invasion in England and as well as his earlier life when he rose to power in Normandy which allowed him to embark on such rigorous campaign.
For the most part, Beowulf’s characteristics describe those of a triumphant warrior who played a major role in defending the lives of his fellow citizens, while leading a thriving country. Although Beowulf soon became king, he died for his people, and was remembered as a victorious fighter. Beowulf is at least in part a study of kingship because it discusses the qualities that produce a good king, the disadvantages during his rule and how he overcame them, and the problems that arose upon his death.
King Henry VIII of England and Ireland, third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on June 28, 1491. Henry VIII was born, like all other monarchs except Henry VII, at Greenwich Palace. His two brothers, Prince Arthur and Edmond, Duke of Somerst, and of his two sisters died before their father. Henry VIII was the only son. Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor were the only daughters to survive. It is said the King Henry was destined for the church and that his powers were thrust upon him. He was the first monarch, English monarch, to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance. Henry was an accomplished scholar, musician, and athlete. With the death of his brother, Arthur, and the death of his father, Henry VIII toke the throne.
William was born in 1027 in Falaise, France. His parents were Duke Robert I of Normandy and Arletta, a tanner’s daughter. William was illegitimate, he was also called “William the Bastard” and because of this he was an outcast. His father went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and left William as his successor with twelve barons to advise and take care of young William. When the news reached Normandy that his father was killed, violence broke out in the country.
...n Mrs. Todd came back and found her lodger gone. So we die before our own eyes; so we see some chapters of our lives come to their natural end” (129). The closed and quiet summer of village life has come to a swift end. The narrator departs as the tide sets in, leaving Dunnet Landing in its air of isolated stillness.
In history, evil men have reigned supreme across many cultures. Some people say that being evil is inherent in every human. If this is true, then writing may be the ultimate way of releasing hatred of the world without hurting anyone. In Beowulf, all of society's evil men can be personified within the demons of Cain. The main demon presented in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel personifies the exact opposite of what the Anglo-Saxons held dear. Beowulf, the story's hero, is the embodiment of what every Anglo-Saxon strove to become in their lifetime. Grendel is constantly angry, afraid and unsure of himself; while Beowulf is fearless and loyal to his king.
He was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, his mother, Herleva, the daughter of a tanner of Falaise. In 1035 William’s father Robert, Duke of Normandy, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in which he died. Before starting the pilgrimage, he presented to the nobles his seven year old child demanding their allegiance. "He is little", the father said, "but he will grow, and, if God please, he will mend." William, after a period of anarchy, became the ruler of Normandy in his father's place at the age of nine. William had a youth of clean life and of much natural piety, while the years of storm and stress through which he passed gave him an endurance of character which lasted to his life's end. During the time of anarchy in Normandy he became a skilled military leader and defeated his enemies, uniting his duchy. Once he began fighting, rumor has it that he never lost a battle.
The moorland scenery generated a habitation that seemed away from the society and the rest of the world. This made a perfect staging for the strange, odd, funny, weird and occasionally ghostlike events that were revealed i...