INTRO. LECTURE TO OLD ENGLISH & ANGLO SAXON LITERATURE

ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE AND BEOWULF LECTUREANGLO SAXON LITERATURE
ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE AND
2. THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
SI ÞIN NAMA GEHALGOD
TO BECUME ÞIN RICE
AND FORGYF US URE GYLTAS
SWA SWA WE FORGYFAÐ URUM GYLTENDUM
AND NE GELÆD ÞU US ON COSTNUNGE
AC ALYS US OF YFELE SOÞLICE
OLD ENGLISH TO MODERN ENGLISH Old English (~400s – 1066)
Fæder ure u e eart on heofonum,
si in nama gehalgod.
to becume in rice,
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us
todæg,
gyltendum.
ac alys us of yfele solice.
Middle English (~1066 – 1400s)
halwid be i name;
Be i wille don
bred.
oure synnys
is to men at han synned in us.
And lede us not into temptacion
but delyuere us from euyl.
(Early) Modern English (~1400s onward)
Our father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass
against us.
but deliver us from evil.
Fun fact: Your favorite guy Shakespeare is considered Modern English.
I. THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD (449-1066)
THE ANGLO SAXON INVASION • THE EVENT THAT STARTED IT ALL…
• 428 CE – BRITON RULER (VORTIGERN) HIRES GERMANIC (SAXON) TROOPS
(MERCENARIES) TO REPEL INVASIONS FROM PICTS (PAINTED ONES”) FROM THE NORTH
(SCOTLAND); THE STORY GOES THAT HE FAILED TO PAY HIS DEBT TO THEM SO THEY URN
AGAINST HIM AND INVADE HIS KINGDOM
• 449 CE – ENGLAND IS THE TARGET OF A LARGE SCALE INVASION; THIS IS CONSIDERED
THE BEGINNING OF THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
• ANGLES (MODERN SOUTHERN DENMARK)
• JUTES (MODERN MAINLAND DENMARK)
• BY 600 CE, GERMANIC SPEECH OF ENGLAND
HAS BECOME UNIQUE FROM CONTINENTAL
GERMANIC LANGUAGES.
4 kingdoms
II. ANGLO SAXON CULTURE (449-1066) • A-S CULTURE EVOLVES AS GERMANIC TRIBES EITHER DRIVE OUT THE
NATIVES OR MIXED WITH THE. THEY BRING THEIR OWN RELIGION & CULTURE
• EXIST IN HIGHLY ORGANIZED TRIBAL UNITS
• 2 TYPES OF IMPORTANT BONDS/COMMITMENTS:
• KINSHIP: LOYALTY TO ONE’S KIN & TRIBE
• LORDSHIP: LOYALTY TO ONE’S LORD/KING/CHIEF (MOST IMPORTANT) • BOTH LOYALTIES ARE VITAL TO SURVIVAL
• COMITATUS • HEROIC VIRTUES
• HONOR – AIM IS GLORY, THE FAME OF A “GOOD NAME”
• PROWESS IN BATTLE
• DRINKING AT A FEAST (LIFE MOVES FROM BATTLE TO FEAST AND FEAST TO
BATTLE)
• UBI SUNT – “WHERE ARE THOSE WHO WERE BEFORE US?” LIFE IS
SHORT/FLEETING/TRANSITORY – CONSIDER HOW THIS SHAPES THEIR
WARRIOR MENTALITY
RELIGIOUS CONSIDERATIONS:
• POLYTHEISTIC – WORSHIPED PAGAN GODS
• GERMANIC VERSION OF GODS – E.G. WODEN (I.E. GERMAN VERSION OF
ODIN)
• VIEW OF LIFE IS FATALISTIC; YOU HAVE A FATE AND IT IS GOING TO
HAPPEN
• BELIEF IN WYRD – FATE, EVERYONE, EVEN THE GODS HAD A FIXED AND
UNAVOIDABLE FATE. HUMAN LIFE IS IN THE HANDS OF WYRD/FATE
• CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY
CONVERT THE ENGLISH TO CHRISTIANITY
• A CLASH OF RELIGIONS – CAN BE SEEN IN THE LITERATURE
• MOST OF SOUTHERN ENGLAND CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY BY 650.
FUN FACT
• SUTTON HOO – 7TH CENTURY BURIAL MOUNDS/PAGAN BURIAL SITE OF
AN UNKNOWN KING
1 IN 1939 CONTAINED ONE OF THE MOST MAGNIFICENT
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS IN ENGLAND FOR ITS SIZE AND
COMPLETENESS.
• BURIAL PRACTICES
• MIXING OF PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS
• AS WE READ BEOWULF, TWO FUNERALS ARE DESCRIBED FOR US. CONSIDER THE SIMILARITIES OF SUTTON HOO TO THE
BURIALS IN THE POEM. HOW ARE THESE IMPORTANT TO THE
INTERMINGLING OF CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN TRADITIONS?
Model of the ships outline
and how it might have
appeared with the chamber
area outlined in white.
Recreation of the burial
the king’s house.
Mystery spoons – read “Salvos”
one knows why they’re there,
but it reveals the co-existence
of pagan religion and
Anglo-Saxon history Warrior and horse buried with the
king (horse sacrificed to travel with
him into the afterlife)
Purse lid and shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 7th century
Belt buckles from Sutton Hoo, 7th century
"They stretched their beloved
mast, amidships, the great ring-
giver. Far-fetched treasures
before of a ship so well
furbished with battle tackle,
loaded on top of him: it would
travel far on out into the
ocean's sway.“ from Beowulf
• 871 CE – ALFRED THE GREAT TAKES THE THRONE –
BECOMES THE 1ST MONARCH (KING OF WESSEX)
• DANISH INVASION: • BATTLES WITH THE DANES (VIKINGS)
• 1ST INVASION – ALFRED’S FORCES ULTIMATELY SUCCESSFUL;
DANES’ GERMANIC LANGUAGE BEGINS TO BLEND WITH
ANGLO SAXON
SAXONS AND THE DANES
SAXONS AND THE DANES; END OF THE ANGLO-SAXON
OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE • STILL SEEING ORAL TRADITIONS AS DISCUSSED WITH THE
ANCIENT GREEKS
• RUNES – PRIMARILY USED IN INSCRIPTIONS; USED
BEFORE DEVELOPMENT OF LATIN ALPHABET
• ANGLO-SAXON VERSE
AND/OR THE PAST
• ALLITERATION
• CAESURA
• COMITATUS
• KENNING
• LITOTES
manuscript, called the Cotton
A, 15 th
Ashburnham House (part of
Westminster School in London)
“The Battle of Maldon” was
destroyed)
work about Aristotle, and an
illustrated collection of beasts and
monsters.
is also a matter of controversy. Who?
When? Where? We don’t know
precisely.
but it is at least 1,000 years old. Some
scholars argue the 8 th
century; others
much scholarly debate.
Epic hero/poetry elements
The virtues of Anglo Saxon culture
Look for Pagan and Christian elements
Look for what the poet celebrates (What is seen as heroic? What is
seen as honorable behavior? What is criticized and why?)
Look for connections that can be made to other texts
Look for style elements (repetition, theme, epic conventions, etc.)
Consider STRUCTURE
(We will be examining different elements of ring structure in this
poem)
“THE BATTLE OF MALDON”
RECOUNTS AN HISTORIC BATTLE IN WHICH THE ANGLO SAXONS FAILED TO PREVENT
A VIKING INVASION
• COMITATUS
HISTORICAL INFORMATION AT THE