Old English History

449 to 1066

*Anglo-Saxon Period or “The Dark Ages”

*Inhabitants include

• • Iberians• •• Celts • • • Romans•

Germanic Tribes (Jutes, Angles, Saxons)

• * 449 AD to 1066 * settled in Kent

• * brought with them • 1) heroic ideals and set of

traditional heroes • 2) Old English Language• 3) literature: melancholy,

stern, dangers

*King Alfred the Great of Wessox

• 1) 849-899 / reigned 871-899

• 2) was able to unite the three tribes and push Danish invaders (Vikings) to the N.E. part of England

• 3) rebuilt his kingdom: restored England to a learning, leading facility; and reestablished just law

• 4) Greatly influenced OE Literature (see more in OE Literature)

*Germanic tribes of England lived peacefully for two hundred years (850-1066)

Meanwhile . . .

• Christianity came to England, again• 2nd or 3rd c. (314 AD)• from the North (Celtic Christianity of Ireland, known as “the center

of Christ”)• from the South (St. Augustine and monks landed in Kent—

Canterbury; St. Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury)• wrote in Latin• wrote about scripture and theology• set up monasteries (Northumbria),which became important

learning centers• monks spent their days copying manuscripts in cloistered settings • Caedmon—1st English religious poet

Two Great Men of the ChurchSt. Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury

Caedmon’s prayer invites us to “Cradle a sense of wonder” in every person

*Bede the Venerable

1) most outstanding writer2) wrote about Caedmon3) prolific writer4) foremost scholar of his time5) regarded as the greatest ecclesiastical authority until Reformation6) “Father of English History” 7) Wrote The Ecclesiastical History of the English Church and People8) began translating Gospel of St. John into Latin9) lived 673-73510) Regarded as a prodigy (in later times may have been considered a “Renaissance Man”

And then came the . . . Vikings (Danes), meanest and most hated

and finally, the Normans

• Edward the Confessor Dies, (1-5-1066) leaving no heirs and a three-way rivalry for the crown

*Harold Godwinson, advisor to Edward, very powerful in England, brothers-in-law*William, Duke of Normandy, distant cousin to Edward, swore he received word of his succession by Harold, himself; claimed to have the Church’s support*Harald Hardrada of Norway; claims extended beyond Edward’s ownership of throne

William was the Conqueror

• Harold had assumed the throne, but William invaded and won in what is known as The Battle of Hastings

Battle of Hastings • *Norman Conquest (1066), lead by William the Conqueror of

France, marked the end of the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) time period

End of Anglo Saxon/Old English Period "King Harold is killed". Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings. Harold grasps the arrow lodged in his eye.

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy

Bayeux Tapestry*230 feet long*Contains 50 scenes leading up to the Battle of Hastings*Embroidered on linen with colored woolen yarn*commissioned in the 1070s*currently displayed in Bayeux, Normandy, France

At this time, look at the map of the Roman Invasion and the charts of the Indo-European Languages and

the Germanic Tribes

A-S Levels of SocietyEarldorman --nobility -- king

Thane --wealthy but owed allegiance to King

Geneat --(means companion) – owed land and allegiance to earl, thane, king

Peasants --owed rents or services to those who owned land; farmed

Theows and Thralls --(serfs and slaves) prisoners of war; performed menial tasks on the land or in homes of upper class

OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE

• *Characteristics: • *melancholy• *stern• *haunted by sea and dangers• *shortness of life• *eager to depict and praise acts of heroism• *heroic traditions and exploits• *elegiac traditions• *fatalism—dominant mood• *old pagan heroic tradition was later mixed with

Christianity• *Little literature available

Caedmon and Bede: contributors of Old English Literature (Bede, below)

* Caedmon—first English religious poet• Bede (673-735)—most outstanding

writer• 1) wrote about the life of

Caedmon in The History of the English Church and People

• 2) sang it, as most lyrics were• 3) began translating Gospel of

John into Latin• 4) child prodigy• 5) wrote 40 books, considered

the last word on their subjects for centuries (saints, grammars, biblical, commentaries, literary criticism, scientific treatises)

• 6) without him we would know little about English History up to the Norman Conquest

*Anglo Saxon Poetry

• poetry was memorized and recited by scops• not written down, thus not read• riddles, caesuras, kennings, alliteration,

repetition, variation, simple, but full of imagery

• few surviving pieces (Exeter Books, Beowulf, among few)

Anglo Saxon Riddle

*Beowulf

• 1) name means “bear”• 2) Beowulf was an actual Swedish warrior

in early 6th c.• 3) poem refers to historical events that date

as early as 516 – 520• 4) composed around 700 AD (Bede’s

day)• 5) 3,182 lines long• 6) anonymous author / recited, not read• 7) written in Old English around 1000 AD• 8) oldest surviving in any modern European

Language

9) Epic poem• long story on a serious theme,

narrating the adventures of a hero• one central heroic character• set in distant past• mood is noble, religious, dignified, and sublime• includes formal, genealogical

introductions• warrior heroes, perilous journeys, monsters,

eternal struggle of good versus evil

10) Scandinavian setting 11) offers glimpses of Scandinavian feuds between the Geats and Swedes,

Frisians and Danes, but mostly reflects English life as was in 7th c. 12) monster-battles 13) story is an allegory

*initiation into adulthood* testing one’s courage as an adult* honorable conquest by one’s death

14) told with concreteness, adventure, detail, and sympathy

15) Beowulf embodies the characteristics of an epic hero

• embodies outstanding char’s of race• involved in a struggle against opposing forces of

nature• represents his people through good deeds, linked

together in a narrative• represents a heroic ideal• honesty, integrity, courage, loyalty• sadness, fear• symbolic role as a fighter of monsters

Alfred the Great (849-899) / aka King Alfred

As a Literary Figure . . . * continued the translation of the Gospel of St.

John into Latin (began by Bede—see below)

• 2) produced “great books”—set of translations Europe’s classics such as Bede’s English History and Anglo-Saxon Chronicles

• 3) considered the “Father of English Prose”

• 4) helped to bring respect for the English Language to England

• 5) Responsible for starting the first “public” schools

• 6) All of this while he was nearly single-handedly saving the Germanic Tribes from Danish invasion!!! (see notes on OE History)