Origins of English Literature

Roman Era to 1509

Dr. William J. Burling

Native Celtic cultures

Celtic, Druid tribes

Isolated from the continent

Unorganized tribal culture

Stonehenge

Early Periods of DevelopmentRoman occupation ends ca. 410 CESeries of invasions by Germanic tribes begins—Anglos and Saxons, ca. 450Vikings arrive in 865, establish the Danelaw (northern and eastern England)Unification of southern England (Wessex) under rule of Alfred the Great, 871-899Danish invasion in 981 establishes new line of kings

Roman influence, 43-410 CEFounding of Londinium, 43 CEInfrastructure, especially roads, links tribesInfluence of Roman law, art, and architectureImportance of York

Bath

Hadrian’s WallRoman defense against the Scots, 130 CE

Germanic expansion

Germanic expansion

Angle and Saxon invasions, ca. 450-550

Extensive linguistic influence

Norman period, 1066—1490s

Norman invasion in 1066, led by William the Conqueror

Influence of French language

Centralization of feudal government and church results in a court culture

William I (1066-1087)

Tower of London

Norman-era York, 13th century

Detail of Norman-era York

Clifford’s Tower

13th century

York today

Significant literary milestones

Beowulf

Canterbury Tales

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Everyman

Second Shepherd’s Play

Morte D’Arthur

Beowulf

Oldest of the long poems in English

Composed sometime between 8th and 12th centuries

Grendel

Beowulf

Grendel’s mother

Beowulf manuscript at the British Library

Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

Canterbury Cathedral

Beckett shrine

Thomas Beckett

Opposed the will of Henry II

Murdered in the cathedral (1170)

Mystery plays

Often presented in “cycles”

York, Chester, N-Town, Towneley

Morality plays The Castle of Perseverance

Single play performed

War of the Roses, 1455-1485

Warwick Castle

Transition to the Tudor era Henry VII (1485-1509)Defeated Richard III in 1485 at Bosworth to end the War of the Roses United the houses of Lancaster and YorkFirst Tudor monarch

Introduction of the Printing PressWilliam Caxton, 1476

Ben Franklin’s Press (1725)

A New Era Begins