Old and Middle English Literature

Old English and Middle English Literature

• Old English and Middle English Literature evolved due to the Old and Middle Ages

Vocabulary Words

• Erst is an archaic term meaning "days long past".
• Thanemen were warriors serving a thane, the leader of a noble house.
• Rejoinder is an archaic term for a reply or response.
• Doughty-in-battle is an archaic term for a "worthy warrior."
• Burnie is an archaic term for a burn, usually on a person's side.
• Falchion refers to a broad, curved sword with a sharp edge on its convex side.

Old English Literature

• Old English Literature spans from approximately 600 to 1200 AD.
• Old English Literature embodies the expressions of people struggling, lost, and triumphant against neighboring invaders and warring factions.
• The literature encompasses Anglo-Saxon written and spoken works, along with Anglo-Latin works.
• Major manuscripts from that period depict the lives of saints, religious poems, and narratives.

Important People in Old English Literature

• St. Bede or Venerable Bede was important
• Alfred the Great was another figure
• St. Augustine played a role
• William, the Duke of Normandy, was significant.

Old English Poetry and Prose

• Most Old English poetry survived through four manuscripts due to monasteries or abbeys across centuries in Britain.
• The four manuscripts are Beowulf, The Exeter Book, The Junius or Caedmon Manuscript, and the Vercelli Book.
• Poetry is characterized by patterns of four-stress lines and six-stress lines.
• A caesura, or syntactical break, is placed in between the second and third stresses of the poem.
• Poetry is formulaic and utilizes phrase patterns with a prescribed description for every character.
• Kennings, a form of figurative language used instead of nouns, are a unique feature.
• The earliest prose work is the law code of King Aethelberht I of Kent, dated 597.
• Other prose from this period focused on laws, wills, and charters.

Middle English Literature

• Middle English was created to mark a period in the English language development.
• Most literature during this time focused on religion, being both religious and secular.
• Examples include stories of saints' lives, miracle plays, and sermons.

Middle English Poetry

• The poetry centered on adaptations from the Normans.
• Writings were still in Old English, emphasizing linguistic characteristics over aesthetic features.
• Influenced by the French, these pieces also borrowed alliterative verse and caesura from the Old English period.
• Romance was a predominant theme.
• Middle English Poetry has set rules.

Significant Works

• "The Legend of King Arthur" was written by Thomas Malory.
• Geoffrey Chaucer wrote "The Canterbury Tales".