Old English Literature PDF

What are you thankful for? Anglo-Saxon Period Old English Literature Marla C. Papango College of Teacher Development Faculty of Arts and Languages United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain In 1...

What are you thankful for? Anglo-Saxon Period Old English Literature Marla C. Papango College of Teacher Development Faculty of Arts and Languages United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain In 1707, the name Great Britain was used to refer to the union of England and Scotland. The Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland with the Acts of Union 1707 on 1 May 1707 under Queen Anne. What is the United Kingdom? In 1801 Ireland formally joined with Great Britain as a single political entity, which became known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland—or the United Kingdom for short. However, the union lasted only until 1922. Ireland soon became a sovereign republic, and its former partner took on the official name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The map shows the territories of the British Isles and the names by which they should be referred to. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Situated Northwest of Continental Europe The 9th largest island in the world The largest European island and the largest of the British Isles Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, as are their respective capital cities: London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. The arrival of the Anglo-Saxon Tribes Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England  OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE 450-1066 Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period From the invasion of the Celtic England by Germanic tribes to the conquest of England in 1066 by the Norman French) Anglo-Saxon Literature/ Old English Literature (5th Century-1066) Old English literature survived in four manuscripts: Caedmon’s hymn, Vercelli Book, Exeter Book, and Nowell’s Codex. Poetry was written in the vernacular – Anglo Saxon – called Old English Beowulf …. the greatest of Germanic epics Exeter Book at the Exeter Cathedral  Anglo-Saxon Literature/Old English th Literature (5 Century-1066) Poems were handed down from generation to generation through oral tradition. Scops or wandering bards recited the poems with the accompaniment of the harp. Anglo-Saxon Literature/ Old English Literature (5th Century-1066) Anglo-Saxon literature include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, and riddles.  Anglo-Saxon Literature/ Old English Literature (5th Century-1066) The Anglo-Saxons loved riddles. They told each other riddles as well as listening to poems at their feasts. Some of the riddles were written down, so people can read them today. Some Anglo-Saxon riddles have survived as playground rhymes. ANGLO-SAXON RIDDLES A wonderful warrior exists on earth. Two dumb creatures make him grow bright between them. Enemies use him against one another. His strength is fierce but a woman can tame him. He will meekly serve both men and women If they know the trick of looking after him And feeding him properly. He makes people happy. He makes their lives better. But if they let him grow proud This ungrateful friend soon turns against them. ANGLO-SAXON RIDDLES Swings by his thigh / a thing most magical! Below the belt / beneath the folds Of his clothes it hangs / a hole in its front end, stiff-set and stout / it swivels about. Levelling the head / of this hanging tool, its wielder hoists his hem / above his knee; it is his will to fill / a well-known hole that it fits fully / when at full length He's oft filled it before. / Now he fills it again. ANGLO-SAXON RIDDLES I am all on my own, Wounded by iron weapons and scarred by swords. I often see battle. I am tired of fighting. I do not expect to be allowed to retire from warfare Before I am completely done for. At the wall of the city, I am knocked about And bitten again and again. Hard edged things made by the blacksmith's hammer attack me. Each time I wait for something worse. I have never been able to find a doctor who could make me better Or give me medicine made from herbs. Instead the sword gashes all over me grow bigger day and night.  Anglo-Saxon Literature/ Old English Literature (5th Century-1066) The verses are highly alliterative in nature with frequent pauses called caesura in each line. They also make elaborate metaphors known as kennings. Kennings use compound poetic phrases to substitute for the name of a person or thing. KENNINGS Examples of kennings in Beowulf: Battle: the storm of swords Blood: fighting gear/battle gear-armor, battle-sweat Dragon: the twilight-spoiler Lord/King: the protector of warriors; ring-giver, dispenser of treasure Queen: peace-bringer among nations KENNINGS Examples of kennings in Beowulf: Sea: swan-road, the whale-road, the sea- bird's baths Ship: bent-necked wood, the ringed prow, the foamy-necked, the sea-wood, the sea- farer Sword: light of battle, the leaving of the file, battle-lightning Representative writers/works The Venerable Bede (673-735) was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth. He was regarded as the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar who wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which earned for him the title Father of English History. Representative writers/works Alfred the Great (848?-899) was king of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 871-899. Not only did he defend the kingdom against Danish Vikings, but he also helped save and revive the Anglo-Saxon culture. Representative writers/works Alfred the Great (849-899) He wrote in his native tongue and encouraged scholarly translations from Latin into Old English (Anglo-Saxon). It is believed that The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was begun during his reign. Representative writers/works Cædmon (7th century) was an unlearned cowherd who was inspired by a vision and miraculously acquired the gift of poetic song. His only known surviving work is Cædmon's Hymn, the nine-line alliterative vernacular praise poem in honor of God. Representative writers/works Cædmon (7th century) is the most well known and considered the father of Old English poetry. He lived at the abbey of Whitby in Northumbria in the 7th century. Only a single nine-line poem remains, called Hymn, which is also the oldest surviving text in English: Caedmon’s Hymn Now let us praise the Guardian of the Kingdom of Heaven the might of the Creator and the thought of his mind, the work of the glorious Father, how He, the eternal Lord established the beginning of every wonder. Caedmon’s Hymn For the sons of men, He, the Holy Creator first made heaven as a roof, then the Keeper of mankind, the eternal Lord God Almighty afterwards made the middle world the earth, for men. - Caedmon, Hymn, St Petersburg Bede CAEDMON Representative writers/works Cynewulf (8th century) is regarded as one of the pre-eminent figures of Old English Christian poetry. His poems include The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene, and Christ II or The Ascension. Representative writers/works Cynewulf (8th century) - His poems include The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, Elene, and Christ II or The Ascension. Representative writers/works Beowulf is the National epic of England and the most notable example of the earliest English poetry, which blends Christianity and paganism. Thank you! Please email questions to Marla C. Papango [email protected]