Old English Literature Period: 469AD – 1066 AD

Or Anglo-Saxon Literature

•Anglo-Saxons•Norman Conquest•Caedmon’s Hymn•Song of Beowulf

Your JobEach of you has a sheet of notes in front of you

with important facts about the Old English

period. But some of the facts are missing. You

must pay attention and fill in the missing

information.

England in the Middle Ages

• Originally England was inhabited by the Celtic Britons.

• In the 1st century AD, it was conquered by the Romans.

• In the 4th and 5th centuries, Roman rule ended in Britain and troops began to withdraw from the island.

• This was the considered the beginning of what was described as the Dark Ages.

Replica of a 7th-century ceremonial helmet from the Kingdom of East Anglia, found at Sutton Hoo.

Anglo-Saxons in BritainWHO ARE THE ANGLO-SAXONS?

After the Roman military left Britain, it was invaded by 4 pagan, seafaring warrior tribes from modern Denmark and Northern Germany: Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians.

WHY DO WE CARE?

•The English we speak today came from the Anglo-Saxons. Old English became Middle English around 1100 AD, which eventually became Modern English around 1500. Ex. Angleland->Englaland->England

Anglo-Saxons

England in the Middle Ages

By the 7th century, about a dozen kingdoms had formed in England. And these kingdoms struggled for power through the 8th and 9th centuries.

Alfred the Great’s Wessex emerged as the only surviving English Kingdom but attacks from Scandinavia and conflicts continued through the 10th century.

Finally the kingdom was restored with Edward the Confessor in 1042.

The Norman Conquest

After Edward the Confessor, a dispute over the successor led to the Norman Conquest.

WHO ARE THE NORMANS?

The Normans were originally from Scandinavia and had settled in Normandy in the late 9th and early 10th centuries.

In 1066, Duke William of Normandy conquered England.

Norman Conquest

WHY DO WE CARE?

•The English elite were replaced by a French-speaking aristocracy, which had a huge impact on the language.

•It marks the beginning of the transition from Old English to Middle English.

Old English Literature

Old English Literature (also known as Anglo-Saxon Literature) includes literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Surviving works include Caemon’s Hymn, The Grave, Parker Chronicle, and Beowulf.

Most literature from this period are sermons, biblical translations, translated Latin works, Anglo-Saxon history books, legal documents, and poetry.

Cædmon's HymnThis is the oldest example of Old English Poetry. Notice the pronunciation. Do you think it sounds like English today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29v_adW9dn0

BeowulfThe most famous work of Old English literature.

Heroic epic poem dated between the 8th and early 11th century.

Survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex.

The author is anonymous.

The Story of Beowulf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBaSqO7n9U

Beowulf PlotThe Main Story Line

The main protagonist, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands and Grendel's mother with a sword of a giant that he found in her lair.

Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his kingdom terrorised by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his treasure in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns or servants, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair, at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares join him along with Tinshaw. Beowulf finally slays (=kills) the dragon, but is mortally wounded. He is buried in a tumulus or burial mound, by the sea.

What did you learn?

Please tell me one thing that you learned in today’s lesson.

NEXT CLASS: We will read an excerpt from the story of Beowulf.

Beowulf Part II

Here are some pictures of famous heroes and villains.

Turn and Talk with your partner for 1 minute in English.

What makes a hero a hero?

What makes a villain a villain?

Beowulf PlotThe Main Story Line

The main protagonist, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands and Grendel's mother with a sword of a giant that he found in her lair.

Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his kingdom terrorised by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his treasure in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns or servants, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair, at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares join him along with Tinshaw. Beowulf finally slays (=kills) the dragon, but is mortally wounded. He is buried in a tumulus or burial mound, by the sea.

Beowulf

“Fully they knew the strength of my body. Themselves they beheld me

When I came from the contest, when covered with gore

Foes I escaped from, where five I had bound,

The giant-race wasted, in the waters destroying

The Nickers by night, bore numberless sorrows,

The Weders avenged (woes had they suffered)

Enemies ravaged; alone now with Grendel

I shall manage the matter, with the monster of evil.”

What three words would you use to describe Beowulf?

Grendel“Asleep after supper; sorrow the heroes,

Misery knew not. The monster of evil

Greedy and cruel tarried but little,

He drags off thirty of them, and devours (eats) them

Fell and frantic, and forced from their slumbers

Thirty of thanemen; thence he departed.”

What three words would you use to describe Grendel?

Comic Strip Reading Activity

We are going to read the part of the story where Beowulf and Grendel fight.

You must draw a comic strip of what you have read. You need a picture and sentence.

You will have time in class to work on it but the final product is DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25TH.

We will do the first frame together.

Comic Strip Activity

Grendel enters Heorot hall to eat all the men.

Grendel enters Heorot hall to eat all the men.

Finish these sentences

Beowulf is _____________.

Grendel is ______________.