General Info
-Anglo Saxon period lasted from 449-1066
-England was invaded by the Angles and tthe Saxons, hence the name Anglo-Saxon
-Next the celts invaded, and the largestt group, the Britons, settled on what is now Britain
-The second largest group of celts were called the Gaels, and they settled in Ireland
-Priests called Druids memorized long, eepic poems and began the oral tradition in English Literature
-Next invaders of England were the Romanns under the leadership of Claudius
-Romans ruled in Britain for 300 years, leaving behind cities, and a well made road system.
-The Anglo-Saxons brought Paganism to the British Isles...believed every "life was in the hands of fate."
-Famous Anglo-Saxon words we still use.... Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
-Christianity returned to Britain in 5633 (A.D.) brought by a group of Irish monks who were led by Columba
-Saint Augustine, in 597, convinces one of the early British kings, King Ethelbert, to convert to Christianity. He does, and declares it law to follow Christianity. Monastary set up at Canterbury
-Church very important to people. Broughht peace to the land, as well as education and the written word.
-Venerable Bede (673-735), a monk, writees "A History of the English Church and People." Important to us as a documentation of early Anglo-Saxon life.
-Next invaders were the Vikings...sackedd (destroyed) and plundered (robbed) Britain...took over all land except that ruled by Alfred the Great
-Alfred the Great divided Britain to keeep British land British...and away from these new invaders
-Alfred the Great also wrote his own hisstory of England... the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle." and had Bede's "History..." translated into the language of the people from Latin.
-1042, English rule is passed the Edwardd "the Confessor". But Edward's close association with the Normans (Vikings) led to the downfall of his rule, and the end of the Anglo-Saxon period.
Literary Characteristics
-Most Anglo-Saxon poetry/literature is unsigned, or annonymous
-2 categories exist...Heroic poetry and Elegiac poetry
-contain both Christian and Pagan influeences (eg. Christian refrences refer to God, and pagan influences refer to "wyrd", an 'ominous fate')
-passed down orally for centuries, thesee works have undergone many different changes
-many poems written in the language of tthe church...Latin
-modern day translations may differ>
There are "fewer than 30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon verse [that] still exist." It is easy, then, to see why the same poems keep cropping up when this time period is studied. Here are a few of the ones we studied in class.
The Seafarer is a typically long Anglo-Saxon elegaic poem. It is the lament
of a sailor on the sea...his trials and tribulations, and his love for it. Some may argue, also, that
this poem is not written from the voice of a sailor, but that of an exile. Both hate the sea that thay are forced onto,
yet both come to love it. The Seafarer is characterized by a strange change of voice about halfway through the poem.
Some say this is where the sailor/exile comes to terms with his life on the sea, others argue that this was
a new section added by Christian priests years after the original poem was told. Either is a tangible
expliantion for the sudden change in voice at line 64. (page 15 in text "Literature:The British Tradition", translated
by Burton Raffel)
Beowulf is the 'first' hero poem. Almost every other piece of
literature we read today, or even what we see on TV or in movies originates from this first heroic tale.
Beowulf learns that a horrible monster (Grendel) is eating his dear friend Hrothgar's guests as
they sleep after parties. Of course, Beowulf rises to the challenge of defeating this evil, and
triumphs...thus the first hero is born.
-Almost every Pagan reference is immediaatley followed by a Christian one
-use of imagrey is constant throughout tthe poem
-poem found in a collection of old manusscripts called "The Exeter Book"
Beowulf is an epic poem which was pased down orally for centuries. It is still being passed
down through the generations, although the names and situations mentioned may not be the same.
Every hero we meet, every villian we hate can trace its origins back to the battle of Beowulf and Grendel.
Perhaps the most famous, and most critically acclaimed work of modern literature based on Beowulf, is J.R.R. Tolkien's
trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings."
