Old English Period

LITERATURE A 2014 PROF. CECILIA KENNEDY, M. A.

Time Span
5 century to 1150

Doesnt conclude with Norman Conquest (1066)

Literary Features
1) PAGAN ORIGINS:

As time went on, Christian ideas influenced earlier

pagan ones Impossible to refer to any extant poetry as pagan (NB: manuscripts written down in monasteries)

2) ANONYMOUS ORIGINS: Direct mention of only one poet: Caedmon Name of Cynewulf known because he signed poems in runic lettera at the end of 4 poems Prose: Came later Used for practical purposes Authorship established in many cases

3)IMITATIVE QUALITY : Much prose and some poetry translated or adapted from Latin Favorite books for translation: books of the Bible, lives of saints

4) THE MANUSCRIPTS: Oral Tradition !!! Late in date Unique Four still exist: a) Beowulf (at the British Museum) b) Junius MS (at Bodleian, Oxford): contains Caedmonian poems c) Exeter Book (at Exeter cathedral): signed poems of Cynewulf d) Vercelli Book: 2 signed poems of Cynewulf and Andreas and The Dream of the Rood

Old English Language

Characteristics:

Difficulty Vocabulary: Mainly native Some borrowing from Latin Grammar: Declinable nouns, pronouns, adjs elaborate verbal system 4 main dialects: Northumbrian, Mercian, Kentish, West Saxon (language of king Alfred, in which almost all extant texts are preserved)

Old English Poetry

Beowulf: Considered greatest single work of Old English literature It is the story of a Scandinavian (Geat) thane (warrior or knight) who comes to help a neighboring tribe, the Danes, who are being attacked by a monster.

No evidence of actual authorship Reworking of older material by a Christian In West Saxon Strongly rhythmical verse Alliterative Genre: Heroic epic poem

Prose
1) King Alfred: father of English prose Began series of translations of texts in Latin due to lamentable state of English learning Encouraged education

Alfred The Great

Alfred the Great (871-899) encouraged education

Had books translated from Latin to English

Pastoral Care Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People

The Consolation of Philosophy

Sermon to the English

Prose
2) Aelfric: Extant works: Catholic homilies, lives of the saints, translations from Scriptures

Prose
3) Wulfstan: Several signed homilies survive

Prose
4) The Anglo Chronicle: Probably inspired by Alfred Style: varies greatly from simple notices to long passages of narrative and description