Transcript Document 7483828

English Literary History
By: Robert A. Griffin, B.A., B.Ed.
For: 12-2 English
The Britons

During the first stages of
recorded history, the
islands that we call The
United Kingdom today,
were settled by Iberians,
of the Mediterranean
area, and the Celts, of
northern Europe. They
became known as the
Britons.
•The early Celts were the
dominant tribe
•The Celtic culture and
language prevailed.
•The Celts were invaded
twice by Rome.
•First lead by Julius
Caesar, the Romans were
defeated.
The Roman Period
A.D.43-410
ROMAN ERA: A.D. 43-410
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The fair-haired Celts defeated
the first Roman invasion led by
Julius Caesar, 50 B.C.
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Julius Caesar wrote: “They
began by driving their chariots
all over the field, hurling
javelins, the terror inspired by
the horses and the noise of the
wheels was enough to throw
the enemy ranks into disorder.”
Caesar came back one year
later with a huge army. He
defeated the Britons, but
left without establishing a
Roman Province.
Roman Era: A.D. 43- A.D. 410
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In A.D. 43, Emperor
Claudius made the land of
the Britons a Roman
Province.
One Briton, Caractacus, led
a resistance movement for
nine years, but he was
eventually captured, and
taken to Rome.
Impressed by Caractacus,
Claudius made him a free
man to live in Rome.
•The Romans established
an
excellent
highway
system
•They also set up Roman
government and laws.
Fall of the Roman Empire...
The Roman Empire weakened over time
 Even in Britain, the Picts from the north,
Scots from Ireland, and Saxons from the
North Sea pressed in on the Roman empire.
 In 410, the Roman empire fell, when the
savage Goths of northern Germany swept
through Italy and marched into Rome.
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Anglo-Saxon Period
A.D. 449-1066
Anglo-Saxon Period: 449-1066
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The first permanent
settlement of invaders
came in A.D. 449.
The Angles received their
name for the old Saxon
word angul, meaning hook,
associated with fishing.
The Saxon name comes
from seax or sax, meaning
sword.
Anglo-Saxon Period: 449-1066

The literature of a
people springs
directly out of its life,
and the stern
barbarous life of the
Saxon forefathers
produced great epics
such as Beowulf.
Beowulf, written A.D. 700
Beowulf is the best example we have of
Anglo-Saxon Literature
 Author of Beowulf is unknown
 The line of the poem is written in caesura, a
broken line, tied together with alliteration
 “Then the fiend found
a worthy foeman.
Never had he
harder hand-grip
Met in a match
from any man.”
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Beowulf:Almost Lost 1731
The poem itself was written about A.D. 700
 The only surviving manuscript for Beowulf,
written about A.D. 1000, was almost lost.
 In 1731, while lodged at Ashburnam House
in London, a fire broke out that scorched the
edges of the manuscript.
 Between 1860-70, the manuscript was
preserved. Two copies of the manuscript
were previously taken, saving some words.
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Shorter Poems of Anglo-Saxons
Five shorter poems of the period have been
found that would have been sung by the
minstrels or scops of the day. The first two
describe the minstral’s life:
 Widsith: means wide goer, possibly the oldest
poem in English. These song writers were the
first to earn a living, though meager, on poetry.
 Deor’s Lament: tells of the hard life of a scop
who has fallen out of favor.
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Shorter Poems of the Anglo-Saxons
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Seafarer: allegory of the trials of
the sailor and those of life.
Fight at Finnsburg: 50 lines
remain of this war song. Hnaef
defending against the Finn and
his army.
Waldere: Germanic story on two
leaves, shows a glimpse of the
saga of Walter of Aquataine and
Hildgund’s escape from Attila
with great treasure, fighting
Gunther and Hagen.
Waldere is evidence the
Anglo-Saxons were familiar
with Germanic literature.
Christian Writers of the
Anglo-Saxon Period
Two great schools of Christian influence came
to England, putting an end to the wars of petty
kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons.
 Augustine came from Rome, spreading the
message of the Church to southern and central
England, especially in the kingdom of Essex.
 These Christian Monks, nor those they taught,
produced no lasting literature.
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Adian Leads Monks From Ireland
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The monks of Ireland
under the leadership of
the saintly Adian,
came to the west coast
of England, to work in
Northumbria, building
monasteries at Jarrow
and Whitby.
The Christian Writers of the Anglo-Saxons
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The three great names coming from this
movement are:
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Bede: (673-735) at Jarrow
 Caedmon: 7th century, at Whitby
 Cynewulf: 8th century
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The Venerable Bede (A.D.673-735)
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The Venerable Bede is the
Father of English Learning
He wrote mostly in Latin
His most important work is
Ecclesiastical History of the
English People
Gospel of St. John was
translated into Anglo-Saxon,
but the work has since been
lost.
Caedmon: Anglo-Saxon Milton
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What we know of Caedmon comes
from Bede’s account of Abbess
Hilda and her monastery at Whitby.
His greatest work is Paraphrase-the story of Genesis, Exodus and a
part of Daniel.
A work attributed to Caedmon or at
least his school is Judith.
Caedmon, 7th century
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Caedmon came to work at the Abby as
a labourer. In the evening the monks
would sing songs and recite poetry
around the supper table. Bede writes,
Caedmon left the table ashamed at his
lack of learning. That night, he had a
vision, who told him he could sing.
The next morning, he told Hilde, who
told him he had been given a gift. He
was accepted into the order as a monk,
and educated in the teaching of the
church.
CYNEWULF
Little is known about CYNEWULF.
 In his work, he suggests he lived to be old
and a burden.
 Some scholars believe that the uppercase
letters may be an acronym.
 The “Dream of the Rood” and “Elene” are
attributed to CYNEWULF.
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Vikings Invade: Much Lost
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During the 600’s and
700’s, many invaders
over
ran
England,
destroying the literature
of the land as they went.
In 800, King Alfred of the
Northern part of England
pushed the invaders back.
His goal was to restore
the literature of the land.
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Although Alfred was the
fifth in line to the throne
from his father, his elder
brothers died or were
killed. At the age of 21,
Alfred became king.
Through battles, peace
treaties, and fortified
villages he brought
peace to the land.
Alfred the Great: reigned 871-899
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Alfred the Great: Royal Collection by
George Virtue (1648-1756)
One of Alfred’s first tasks
was to translate Bede’s
Ecclesiastical History of the
English People from Latin
to English.
Alfred was patron to the
English or Anglo-Saxon
Chronicles. It begins with
the Caesar’s Conquest, goes
100 years beyond William
the Conqueror.
Anglo-Saxon Decline
After Alfred there were no great leaders or
writers in the country.
 A national life and a national literature were
not to be until the Norman Conquest of
1066.
 The Last Anglo-Saxon was King Harold,
who was given the crown by Edward the
Confessor.
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