| A | B |
|---|
| Alfred the Great | Anglo-Saxon king; Father of English Prose |
| William the Conqueror | Norman leader; defeated Anglo-Saxon, ended Anglo-Saxon era |
| Venerable Bede | monk, Father of English History |
| Boadicea | Celtic queen who lead a rebellion against Romans |
| Beowulf | the first great work of English literature |
| Anglo-Saxon Chronicle | a long running history of early English life |
| The Seafarer | an elegy expressing the hardships of an Anglo-Saxon sailor |
| Iberians | the first known inhabitants of England |
| Celts | early English settlers, hunters and farmers |
| druids | a group of religious priests serving the Celts |
| Romans | brought advances such as cities, running water, and roads to England |
| scop | traveling Anglo-Saxon poet, spread one's reputation and fame |
| Normans | conquerors from France who ended the Anglo-Saxon era |
| epic | a poem written in an elevated style about the great deeds of an individual |
| elegy | a sad poem expressing the loss of someone or something |
| riddles | word puzzles; difficlt, witty, sometimes humorous descriptions of things |
| epic hero | a character in literature of cultural sigificance who accomplishes great feats |
| kenning | ring giver |
| caesura | a pause in a line of poetry,created either by punctuation or by spacing |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds at the beginnings of words |
| epithet | descriptive title attached to a name, such as those for the Duke of Normandy |
| mead hall | gathering place for drinking, story telling |
| runes | a stylized alphabet usd to sign or decorate Anglo-Saxon items |
| wergild | man payment |
| wyrd | a concept similar to "fate", the idea that humans are not in control |
| Vikings | a merciless seafaring peole who conquered much of England |
| Anglo-Saxons | composers of the earliest English language literature |
