The characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry

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600 – 1100 AD (up to 1066)

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Germanic tribes invaded England in the 5th century, after the Roman withdrawal, brought with them the Old English, of Anglo-Saxon. By the end of the 7th century invasion ended.

They also brought oral poetic tradition. This was not written literature. It consisted of songs, myths etc. which expressed the values of Anglo-Saxon society and the process of social development. A freeman changed to a serf. The warrior to a king’s man. The ideal member of society was a warrior.

The value of human life was nothing, the warrior wanted to die in a famous fight. A feudal system started to emerge gradually. Christianity became very important and the church became the promoter of learning and literacy. The latin alphabet was used. Christianity has different set of values based on life after death, people reach it if they live after Christian morals. The old ideal of the wariar was replaced by a new ideal, the saint.

Anglo – Saxons had runic script, but this was used only for special occasions. It was only after Christian missionaries brought the Latin alphabet that Old English works began to be written.

The oldest Anglo-Saxon literature grew out of the confluence of two traditions:
 * 1) the paganism of the Anglo-Saxons
 * 2) the Christian culture

Old English : many dialects were spoken.

Old English had many inflections, large consonant clusters, borrowings from Latin and Scandinavian. Modern English uses less than 1/4 of the words found in Old English.

The earliest written English words are from the 7th century. Much of Old English poetry was probably intended to be chanted, with harp accompaniment, by the Anglo-Saxon scop, of bard. This poetry is often bold and strong, but also mournful and elegiac in spirit, this poetry emphasizes the sorrow and ultimate futility of life and the helplessness of humans before the power of fate.

Almost all this poetry is composed without rhyme, in a characteristic line, or verse, of four stressed syllables alternating with an indeterminate number of unstressed ones. This line strikes strangely on ears habituated to the usual modern pattern, in which the rhythmic unit or foot, theoretically consists of a constant cumber of unaccented syllables that always precede or follow any stressed syllable.

Another unfamiliar and equally striking feature in the formal character of Old English poetry is structural alliteration, or the use of syllables beginning with similar sounds in two or three of the stresses in each line.

Thematically : heroic themes of honour, valour in battle, fame among one’s descendants. Metaphysical and Christian questions as well as the more concrete issues commonly associated with Anglo-Saxon culture.

Genres :  charms, riddles, cast spell, songs, carols, poems,

epic songs – connected with the new social group – nobility, very long stories which were sung at banquets for entertainment, it was not written, but sung by bards, after Christianity had been established some of the epic songs were written down in Latin or Old English. The monks put some new elements into works, we now have several versions of songs.

Very little literature survives from the Anglo-Saxon period. The literature of this time is generally religious based and often consisted of biblical stories.

Our knowledge of this literature:
only 4 manuscripts: Beowulf, Exeter Book , Vercelli Book , Junius(Cædmon)

The Song of Beowulf
- the name of Beowulf appear in many Scandinavian epics, famous hero, such poems were to encourage the warriors
 * An Anglo-Saxon heroic epic poem, the most important and famous work of OE literature, 1st major poem written in a European vernacular language = narrative secular poetry. The only surviving manuscript in the British Museum. It was written in the West Saxon dialect and it is believed to date from late 10 th century.
 * foreshadowing, noble tone
 * generally considered the work of an 8th century Anglican poet who fused Scandinavian history and pagan mythology with Christian elements. It represents and oral tradition that had been used for centuries.
 * Consists of 3182 lines . Each line with four accents marked by alliteration and divided into 2 parts by a caesura.
 * The sombre story is told in vigorous, picturesque language.
 * metaphors ‘whale road’ = sea, no rhymes, appears in other Scandinavian poems, interesting picture of life that time and culture, it describes fierce battles and brave deeds, the speeches of the leaders and the suffering of the men. mythology alongside Christian teaching, description of an ideal Behaviour
 * a character of royal blood, sails to Denmark, wants to help the Danish king Hrothgar in his struggle against Grendel – a monster which eats men. Hrothgar built a lovely feasthall Heorot in their honour, all fall asleep, Beowulf remains awake. Grendel catches some of the wariors, eats one, Beowulf fights him and wins, they drink mead, Grendel had mother, she comes at night and takes a warior, Beowulf goes after her, this ends the first part of the poem.
 * After many years Beowulf's country is attached by dragon. Beowulf is old, everybody is afraid. Beowulf goes off to fight alone. There is a long description of the fight. Beowulf is very seriously wounded, later dies. Long funeral scene.

The Exeter Book
- a manuscript collection of Anglo-Saxon poetry transcribed about 975 =Seafarer= - it shows some Christian elements, the narrator suddenly come to the conclusion that the life here is nothing against the life after death
 * a lyrical poem, an Old English elegy,
 * A sailor's life consists of many hardships; storms, hunger and isolation but he still longs for the sea. Despite the difficulties he wants a chance to set out again. Vivid descriptions and rich periphrases.

 The Wanderer, Wulf and Eadwacer , Christ The Phoenix , The Ruin 

- alliteration, philosophic blend of Christian values and Germanic fanatism, regular stress, free rhythm, use of conventional figures of speech called kennings



 Religious poetry - both pagan and Christian poetry flourished in the 7th and 8th centuries

Caedmon
– considered the earliest of the Anglo-Saxon Christian poets

- very shy, couldn’t sing. An angel appeared to him, to sing with God’s pride,
 * Caedmon’s Hymn – the ‘Hymn of Creation’, found in many sources, very popular, appeared in Latin work written by Venerable Bede – at the beginning of the 7th cent.,

=History of the English Church and people=

=Old English Prose= Venerable Bede - the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar, he wrote about 40 books  Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731)
 * came later than poetry, the oldest works were laws – in the 7th cent. Large number of religious works, a surprisingly rich source of insights into the elusive culture of the period
 * prose writers worked in Latin

=Anglo-Saxon Chronicle=
 * 1st important prose work in English literature
 * Written in OE from 890 unit 1154 . Importatn record of how the English language changed. Collection of several texts written in OE. History of England from conversion to Christianity up to 1154, Language and literature of that period.
 * it is a compilation of writings begun in the 9th century, it still serves as the principal source for the history of Britain before the Norman Conquest, it was written in many places in England, one of them until 1154
 * It is the earliest known history of a European people recorded in the language of that people. Founded by Alfred the Great, (wars with Vikings , decline of learning, Alfred made peace with the Danes, promoted learning, founded monastery schools, translated many books into Old English), in the 9 th century he gave monks a task to write chronicles, in several monasteries, adapted previous sources plus all the new events, were to compare one version was
 * some vivid descriptive passages and notable poems, seven different versions are known to exist

Aelfric

 * English abbot, writer, grammarian
 * his own works are source of information on his life
 *  Catholic Homilies , in OE, 990 - 992
 *  Lives of the Saints  – a collection of sermons mostly translated from Latin, translation of the first 7 books of the Old Testament