Written report

Anglo-Saxon Period or Old English Literature

Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Period

● Anglo-Saxon refers to the Germanic people who inhabited England and Wales from the
5th Century CE to the time of the Norman Conquest (1066).
● Now, this period is also known as Old English. It is believed that England is the
birthplace of the English Language.
● Genres in this period include epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal
works, chronicles, riddles, and others.
● In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, a significant corpus of
both popular interest and specialist research.
● Some of the most important works from this period include the poem Beowulf, which has
achieved national epic status in Britain. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of
early English history. The poem Cædmon's Hymn from the 7th century is one of the
oldest surviving written texts in English.
● Dark Ages (because of the fall of the Roman empire, wars are adamant in this period)
● The earliest phase of English Literature
● Anglo-Saxons (people)
● Key Concepts: Invasion, Settlement, Heathens, Christianity, Monastic Life, Kingdom,
Chronicle, and English.
● Anglo - Saxon Kingdoms:
○ Kent
○ Mercia
○ Northumbria
○ East Anglia
○ Essex
○ Sussex
○ Wessex

Introduction to poetry and heroic or epic poems in the Anglo-Saxon period

● Definition
○ The interplay of words and rhythm
○ The oldest form of literature
○ It conveys a thought
○ It can all be written with the same purposes as any other kind of literature.
● Types
 ○ Blank Verse
○ Rhymed Poetry
○ Free Verse
○ Haiku
○ Sonnet
○ Villanelle
● Poetry in Anglo-Saxon Period
○ Literature
■ Themes: honor, generosity, unity, and glory
■ Genres: Epic Poetry, Hagiography, Sermons, Bible Sermons, Legal
Works, Chronicles, Riddles, and others.
○ Poetry
■ Transmission: Oral
■ Rhythm: Unique system of alliteration
■ Syllable: Not counted
■ Sound and Rhythm: It sounds more like a chant and it is guttural
■ Language: Old English
■ Highly rhymical
■ Remarkable and Unique
○ Heroic figures
○ Narrative Verse
○ Style: Dignified, Dramatic, and Formal
○ Chanted or Recited
○ Transmission: Oral
○ Anglo-Saxons Famous Poets
■ Cædmon (658-680): Cædmon's Hymn
■ Bede (673-735): Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum or An
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
■ Cynewulf: the “Christ,” the “Elene,” the “Juliana,” and the “Fates of
Apostles”
■ Alcuin: Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes Quaestiones in Genesim
■ Aldhelm: De Laude Virginitatis (the prose De Virginitate)
○ Example of Heroic/Epic poem in the Anglo-Saxon
■ Poem Analysis
● Author: Unknown/Anonymous
● Loose Translation and Interpretation: Michael R. Burch
● Date: 10th Century AD / 960-990 AD
● Genre: A lament, Elegy/Dirge,
● Theme: a man cannot escape his fate and thus can only meet it
with courage, resolve, and fortitude
● Motif: loss, exile, lamentation
● Mood
○ agony
○ grief
○ suffered
○ sorrows
 ○ mourned over death
○ bemoaning
○ moans
○ sorrowful
○ Moaned
○ Evidence : 5th line
○ sorrowful and anxious
● Characters: Weland, Beadohild, Matilda, Theodoric, Ermanaric,
and Deor.
● Language: Old English
● Moral: No matter how deep and grim a man’s sorrow is, it will
surely pass one day.
● Lines: 42
● Stanzas: 6 of unequal length
● Figures of Speech: Alliteration, Anaphora
○ "That passed away; this also may."
● Classical and Latin Poetry
○ Several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts.
The longest is a tenth–century translation of Boethius' Consolation of
Philosophy contained in the Cotton manuscript.
○ Examples :
■ Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy
■ The Phoenix in the Exeter Book
■ The Panther
■ The Partridge
■ The Whale
○ The different versions of (Aspidochelone) ''The Whale"
■ In Physiologus
● The Whale
● The name aspidochelone appears to be a compound word
combining Greek aspis (which means either "asp" or "shield"), and
chelone, the turtle.
● Sailors
■ German Manuscript
● Saint Braiden and The Whale
● Jasconius
● saint brainden and group of monks
● The Promised Land for Saints (Terra Repromissionis Sanctorum)
■ French Manuscript
● Two Fisherman on an Aspidochlene
● 4In this story the whale is an unlikely symbol for the devil, literally
dragging those under his power to hell.
○ Analysis (
■ Physiologus
● Authors: Anonymous
● Genre: Modern Fiction
 ● Characters: Sailors, St. Brainden and Monk, Two Fisherman
● Date: from AD 515 to 950
● Symbolism: Whale
● Moral: We should never judge by Appearance
■ Trust but not too much.
● Christian Poetry
○ Also known as Old English Religious Poetry.
○ It is a writing of Christian themes derived from the material from the Bible and
the lives of the saints.
○ This Christian/Religious poetry may be divided into two sections:
■ the Caedmon group (Use Old Testament, heroic strain and pagan
spirit)
■ the Cynewulf group (Use New Testament, Christian in spirit)
○ 1) Caedmon
■ Full Name: Caedmon
■ Date of Birth and Death: unknown.
■ Born and Died: Abbey of Whitby in Northumbria
■ Caedmon was a herdsman and lay brother at Whitby, a monastery founded
in 657 by St. Hilda.
■ He served the monks by tending to their livestock.
■ Caedmon was illiterate and demonstrated no particular talents.
■ Flourished: 658 - 680
■ First Old English Christian poet, whose fragmentary hymn to the creation
remains a symbol of the adaptation of the aristocratic-heroic Anglo-Saxon
verse tradition to the expression of Christian themes.
■ Best-known and considered the father of Old English poetry.
■ Sang of the creation of the world, of the origin of man, the departure of the
Israelites from Egypt, their entrance into the Promised Land, of the
Incarnation, Passion and Ascension of Christ, the coming of the Holy
Ghost, the teaching of the apostles etc.
■ He created the oldest surviving text in English - Hymn.
■ 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.

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, Leningrad manuscript)

■Title: Caedmon's Hymn

■Genre: alliterative praise poem (and hymn).
■Summary : It is all about giving honor to God.
■Author's reason for writing : Related to Caedmon's personal life.
■Meter: 9-line poem.
■The first four lines are dedicated to God.
■The remaining five lines are about the idea of creation.
■Theme: God created the heavens and the earth for the enjoyment
of men.
■ Mood: serious and tough.
■ Figures of Speech: Alliteration, Caesura, and Allusion.
● 1st Stanza : Praise to God
● 2nd Stanza : Idea of Creation
○ 2) Cynewulf
■ Cynewulf, also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf.
■ flourished: 9th century AD, Northumbria or Mercia [now in
England].
■ Regarded as one of the pre-eminent figures of Christian Old
English poetry.
■ Author of four Old English poems, namely Elene, The Fates of the
Apostles, and Juliana, that were preserved in late 10th-century
manuscripts.
■ Famous for his religious compositions.
■ Work : Christ
● The poem falls into three parts dealing respectively with
the Advent, the Ascension and Doomsday. The dialogue
between Mary and Joseph in Part I is one of the earliest
dramatic scenes in English literature. In Part II, Christ
before ascension bids farewell to His followers and Part III
describes the day of judgment.
■ Title: Christ
■ Genre: Religious poem
■ Summary: It deals with Christ's Advent, Ascension and Last
Judgment.
■ Author's reason for writing: Cynewulf inspiration to
Christianity.
■ Comprises a total of 1,664 lines.
■ The poem is assigned to a triad of Old English religious poems in
the Exeter Book, known collectively as Christ.
■ Theme: God's presence through grace.
■ Mood: serious.
● Riddles and Gnomes
○ Anglo- Saxon Riddles
■ -Anglo-Saxon riddles are a significant genre of Anglo-Saxon
literature.
 ■ -prestigious literary form in early medieval England
■ -the pre-eminent composer of Latin riddles in early medieval
England was Aldhelm
■ -written in Old English verse found in exeter book
■ Enigmata - collection of Riddles
○ Gnomes
■ Gnomic
■ pithy, meaningful phrases that rhymed.
■ -comes from the Greek word gnomē means “moral aphorism” or
“proverb.”
■ -expressing strong moral and religious opinions
■ -Its form either imperative or indicative
■ Example of Gnomic verse :
● “The faith of men”
● Beowulf
○ Anglo Saxon literature frequently took up the theme of fights and
hostilities, in which the nobility of a character was brought out through a
display of courage, valor, loyalty to the lord and the community and a
thirst for glory. Glory was the most coveted thing because death lurked
everywhere. Attainment of glory meant a claim to immortality. The
indomitable spirit of the hardy races has been reflected in their literature
which they mainly brought mentally from their respective mainland.
○ The literature of the Anglo-Saxons (c. 450–1100) is abundant in heroic, or
epic, poetry: narrative poems which recount the deeds of heroic figures
who overcome significant challenges in the pursuit of goals that were
deemed virtuous by the standards of the day.
○ Beowulf, the longest surviving Old English poem, is a good example of
this in its own right, but it also shows signs of the rich tradition of heroic
poetry that flourished after the settlement of Germanic peoples in Britain
from the 5th century onwards. Warriors riding back from Grendel’s lair,
following the bloody track left by the monster after losing his arm,
compare Beowulf with the hero Sigemund, a dragon-slayer known to us
from other works of Germanic and Old Norse literature such as the
Vǫlsunga saga from Iceland.
○ Beowulf is a heroic poem of 3182 lines found in the Nowell codex. It tells
of two major events in the life of the Geatish hero Beowulf: the first when,
in his youth, he fights and kills first Grendel, a monster who has been
attacking Heorot, the hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, and then Grendel’s
mother who comes the next night to avenge her son; the second, 50 years
later, when Beowulf, who has for a long time been king of the Geats,
fights a dragon who has attacked his people, in a combat in which both
Beowulf and the dragon are mortally wounded.This is a massive poem of
three thousand one hundred and eighty two lines and tells the story of the
royal Geatish warrior Beowulf.
○ Summary : Beowulf falls into two parts. It opens in Denmark, where King
Hrothgar has a splendid mead hall known as Heorot, a place of celebration
 and much merriment. However, the joyous noise angers Grendel, an evil
monster living in a nearby swamp. For 12 years the creature terrorizes
Heorot with nightly visits in which he carries off Hrothgar’s warriors and
devours them.
○ After learning of the Danes’ trouble, young Beowulf, a prince of the Geats
in what is now southern Sweden, arrives with a small band of retainers and
offers to rid Heorot of its monster. Hrothgar is astonished at the little-
known hero’s daring but welcomes him. After an evening of feasting,
much courtesy, and some discourtesy—at one point, one of Hrothgar’s
men insults Beowulf—the king retires, leaving Beowulf in charge. During
the night, Grendel comes from the moors, rips open the heavy doors, and
devours one of the sleeping Geats. He then grapples with Beowulf, who
refuses to use a weapon. Beowulf grips one of Grendel’s hands with such
force that the monster finally wrenches himself free only when his arm is
torn off at the shoulder. Mortally wounded, Grendel returns to his swamp
and dies. Beowulf then displays the monster’s arm in Heorot for all to see.
○ The next day is one of rejoicing in Heorot, and a feast is thrown in
Beowulf’s honour. However, as the warriors sleep that night, Grendel’s
mother, another swamp monster, comes to avenge her son’s death, and she
kills one of Hrothgar’s men. In the morning Beowulf dives into her mere
(lake) to search for her, and she attacks him. They struggle in her dry cave
at the mere’s bottom, and Beowulf finally kills her with a sword. In the
cave, Beowulf discovers Grendel’s corpse, whose head he cuts off and
takes back to Heorot. The Danes rejoice once more. Hrothgar makes a
farewell speech about the character of the true hero, and Beowulf,
enriched with honors and princely gifts, returns home to King Hygelac of
the Geats.
○ The second part passes rapidly over Hygelac’s subsequent death in a battle
(of historical record), the death of his son, and Beowulf’s succession to the
kingship and his peaceful rule of 50 years. However, the tranquility ends
when a fire-breathing dragon becomes enraged after a man steals from its
treasure-filled lair. The creature begins ravaging Geatland, and the brave
but aging Beowulf decides to engage it, despite knowing that he will likely
die. The fight is long and terrible—a painful contrast to the battles of his
youth. Painful too is the desertion of all his retainers except for his young
kinsman Wiglaf, who comes to his aid. They ultimately kill the venomous
dragon, but Beowulf is mortally wounded from a bite in the neck. Before
he dies, he names Wiglaf his successor. Beowulf is cremated on a funeral
pyre, and his remains are buried in a barrow built by the sea. As his people
mourn his death, they also express the fear that, without Beowulf,
Geatland will be invaded by nearby tribes.
○ Analysis
■ Genre: Heroic Epic Poem
■ Epitome of brave legendary warrior who conquers demons and
beasts
■ salient piece of Old English literature
 consists of 3, 182 lines
■
usually deals about war, fighting demons, beasts, loyalty to the
■
Lord and hunger for triumph
■ Beowulf was first transmitted orally using the Old English
language and other languages.
■ Then it was translated and written in English.
■ It doesn't have a meter, but it was accentual and written in
alliterative verse.
■ There are three main themes found in Beowulf. These themes are
the importance of establishing identity, tensions between the heroic
code and other value systems, and the difference between a good
warrior and a good king.
● Kennings and Caesura
○ Caesura
■ (sez-yoo-ra)
■ - It can be used as “caesurae” or “caesuras”
■ - A caesura is a pause that occurs within a line of poetry, usually
marked by some form of punctuation such as a period, comma,
ellipsis, or dash. A caesura doesn't have to be placed in the exact
middle of a line of poetry. It can be placed anywhere after the first
word and before the last word of a line.
■ How do poets mark Caesura
● Using “double pipe” or “II”
● Example:
○ To be, || or not to be — || That is the question...
● Feminine Vs. Masculine
○ In poetry that uses meter, each caesura is defined as
"masculine" or "feminine" depending on whether
the pause comes after a stressed or unstressed
syllable.
○ Feminine
■ A feminine caesura follows an unstressed
syllable, as in:
● The woods are lovely, || dark and
deep
○ Masculine
■ A masculine caesura, on the other hand, is
one that follows a stressed syllable, as in:
● My words fly up, || my thoughts
remain below.
● 3 Caesura
○ Initial Caesura
■ it occurs towards the beginning of the line,
such as the comma (,)
■ Example:
 ●“To be, or not to be —that is the
question…
○ Medial Caesura
■ a caesura that occurs in the middle of the
line, such as the dash (—)
■ Example:
● “To be, not to be — that is the
question…”.
○ Terminal Caesura
■ it occurs near the end of a line, such as the
long dash (——)
■ Example:
● “Then there’s a pair of us ——don’t
tell!”
○ Kenning
■ A kenning, which is derived from Norse and Anglo-Saxon poetry,
is a stylistic device defined as a two-word phrase that describes an
object through metaphors.
■ The word "kenning" comes from the old Norse "kenna" which
means "to know".
■ Characteristics:
● A literary piece may be considered as a kenning example if
it possesses the following defining characteristics:
● It is used to describe an object in detail.
● The two parts of a compound word represent a relationship
between subjects and objects, which creates associations in
an abstract and concise way.
● It is also called a compressed metaphor.
■ Kennings in Beowulf
● Kennings in Beowulf are one of the main topics discussed
by scholars and students about this famous epic poem.
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem written between 975
and 1025 AD, and it happens to take place in Scandinavia.
It was written by an anonymous author, who outlined the
journey of a Germanic hero named Beowulf. One of the
most brilliant attributes about this poem is the use of
kennings.
● Here are some examples of kenning in Beowulf together
with their meaning in the epic poem:
○ battle-sweat: blood
○ sleep of the sword: death
○ whale-road: the sea
○ raven-harvest: a corpse/corpses
○ sky-candle: the sun
○ ring-giver: a king
○ earth-hall: burial mound
○ helmet-bearers: warriors
○ stout-hearted: brave
○ dwelling-place: residence.