Unit 2 The Anglo-Saxon Age

(449—1066)

l       Key Words: Anglo-Saxon, Epic, Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon Prose

l       Target: This unit introduces the three important conquests in English history and the great epic: The song of Beowulf.

l       Study Points:

1. Three important conquests;

2. The definition of epic;

3. The Song of Beowulf;

4. The Anglo-Saxon Prose;   

4.  Appreciation.

I.  The History of Early Britain

1. A brief history of early Britain

The beginning of settlement in Britain took place in about 700 B. C. The early settlers were certain Celtic-speaking tribes called Britons, from whom the island got its name--Britain (the land of Britons). The Britons were a primitive people, a bronze-age people entering upon an age of iron.

2. The Roman Conquest (1^st invasion)

In 55 B. C. Britain was invaded by the Roman general Julius Caesar. The Britons fought bitterly against the Roman conquerors (for about 100 years) and was not completely subjugated to the Roman Empire until 78 A. D. With the Roman Conquest, the Roman mode of life and civilization came across to Britain also. The Roman Conquest ended in 410 A. D.

Influence: Christianity was introduced to Britain.

3. The Anglo-Saxon Invasion (2^nd invasion)

l     In the mid 5th century, Britain was invaded by three Germanic tribes--the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, from the Northeast of Europe, fierce Germanic tribes in late stages of tribal society;

l       established small kingdoms in Britain;

l       by the 7th century combined into a united kingdom called Englaland (the land of Angles);

l       people called the English;

l       three dialects spoken by them grew into a single language called Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, a derivative of Low German.

4. The Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons

l     In 597 St. Augustine and his monks landed in Kent. Heathen England was Christianized part by part in the following century. Monasteries were built all over the country. It was in these monasteries that the earliest English books were written down because at that time few except monks could read and write.

l     The literature falls into two divisions,--pagan and Christian. (Christianity: ① a new life and leader for England; ② the wealth of a new language)

5. The Danish Invasion

l       From 787, the English began to be troubled by bands of Danish Vikings (Scandinavian pirates/sea robbers);

l       invaded parts of the country from time to time;

l       came to make permanent settlement and ruthlessly destroyed many of the monasteries;

l       King Alfred fought to drive off the Danes. The Danes finally occupied England in 1013 and held it for about 30 years.

6. The Norman Conquest (3^rd invasion)

l    The French-speaking Normans, under the leadership of Duke William, (William the Conqueror) came in 1066. After defeating the English at Hastings, William was crowned as the King of England. The Norman Conquest marks the establishment of feudalism in England. This Conquest also greatly influenced English language.

Summary: The Formula of the Nation

l       Original Britons

l       Angles/ Saxons/ Jutes

l       Danes

l       Normans

l       English

II. Early English Literature

•      Oral tradition

–   The Britons (Celts) had no written language, so their myths and legends were not recorded for many centuries.

–   Legends about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were not written down until they reached the eleventh century France.

–   English literature actually began with the Anglo-Saxon settlement in England.

1. Beowulf

1. Introduction

•   Epic: A long narrative poem on a great and serious subject, told in an elevated style, and centered on a heroic or quasi-heroic divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race.

–  Iliad and Odyssey by Homer

–  Aeneid by Virgil

–  Beowulf

–  Paradise Lost by Milton

•   the first long poem in English

•   the hero and setting have nothing to do with England (Demark)

•  perhaps brought to England by the Angles, yet it is not even about the Angles, but about the Scandinavians (the Geats and the Danes in the southern part of Sweden). First it is a song on England’s soil. Eventually, with many changes and editions, it became English literature. The story handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. It was written down by monks probably. No one knows who wrote it, when and where.

•   Beowulf’s character seems to be a blending of historical figures with various mythical heroes of an earlier day.

2. Three Episodes of Beowulf

•   the fight with the monster, Grendel

•   the fight with Grendel's mother

•   the mortal combat with the Fire Dragon

3. Social Significance of Beowulf

A. provides insight into the best qualities of the newer culture they were building in England and mirrors their ideals (reflection of the features of the tribal society of ancient times)

–      valor

–      the love of glory

–      honor

–      duty

–      the loyalty of the retainer

–      the generosity of the lord.

B. reflects the typical tone of their literature, with its emphasis on the darker emotions, its grim scenery, its vigorous portrayal of the sea and of battle.

C. its chief significance lies in the vivid portrayal of a great national hero

–      brave

–      courageous

–      selfless

–      ever helpful to his people and his kinsfolk.

4. Three Features of Beowulf

1) the most striking feature: the use of alliteration, which is characteristic of all Old English verse.

–      each line composed of two halves separated by a strong pause,

–      each half line contains two feet

–      each foot has a single predominant stress. The verse is unrhymed

–      the half lines are held together by regular alliteration: one or two stressed syllables in the first half line alliterated with the first stressed syllable of the second.

Example of Alliteration from Beowulf

Of Men was the mildest and most beloved

Of his kin the kindest, keenest for praise.

2) the use of metaphors and understatements

–       many compound words used in the poem to serve as indirect metaphors that are sometimes very picturesque.

•  ring-giver for king

•  hearth-companions for attendant warriors

•  swan's path or whale's road for sea

•  battle-hero, shield-bearer or spear-fighter for soldier.

–       understatement is characteristic of the English people and their language

•  not troublesome for very welcome

•  need not praise for a right to condemn

3) the mixture of pagan and Christian elements

–      pagan elements: the observing of omens, the attribution of power to Wyrd( fate), cremation, blood-revenge, and the praise of worldly glory--all woven into the poem (the story of bee and wolf).

–      Christian elements: the assumption of God's dominion over the world, of Devil's agency among men, of existence of Heaven and Hell, of a Last Judgment, and of the noxiousness of Sin.

–      the monks’ influence Old English literature. 

5. The Audio and transcriptions of Beowulf  [Please Click and Enter]

2. Anglo-Saxon Prose

1. Bede (the Venerable Bede)

–   Father of English History

–   Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (631)

–   later translated from Latin into Anglo-Saxon by King Alfred as The Ecclesiastical History of the English People in 891

–   covers from the Roman Invasion of Britain to AD731, 4 years before the author’s death

2. King Alfred’s contributions to English literature

–   Translations from Latin, including Bede’s History

–   his free way of translation helped him to write in a natural style in English, his contribution to the development of English prose

–   launching the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (also known as Old English Chronicle), a historical register of national events from dim past to his own age. This work was continued by monks long after his death. 

3. Homework

1. Get the Ss. to read and appreciation the selected parts in History and Anthology of English Literature (P_7-17)

2. Review the value of Beowulf;

3. Preview The Period of Middle English

   l   Reference Books:

1. Freeborn, Dennis: From Old English to Standard English, London: Macrmillan Publishers Ltd, United Kingdom, 1998

2. Liu Bingshan: A Short History of English Literature, Zhenzhou: Henan People’s Publishing House,2000

3. Wu Weiren: History and Anthology of English Literature, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1998

4. 李正栓，李翠葶：《英国文学学习指南》，北京：清华大学出版社，2002

5. 万  莉，陈范霞：《英美文学选读》，北京：光明日报社，2001

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