Anglo Saxon litterature

Question 1

What are the tree points illustrated in Cædmon’s Hymn?

Answer 1

The characteristic features of Anglo-Saxon language
and typical techniques of AS literature (alliteration, kennings etc)
Merges the pagan (germanic vocabulary) and Christian (god) traditions
Makes west saxon become the standart

Question 2

who wrote Caedmon’s Hymn and when?

Answer 2

Bede, 730

Question 3

what did Bede write?

Answer 3

Caedmon’s Hymn

Question 4

Definition: elegy

Answer 4

term for the poetry of loss, either through the death of a loved person or through a broader awareness of transcience and mortality

Question 6

List the series of invasions during the Middle Ages in Britain

Answer 6

1. Celtic heritage
2. Roman invasion and retreat
3. Anglo-Saxon settlement
4. (Re)Christianization of Britain
5. Viking raids
6. Norman conquest

Question 7

Henry IV (1400) is what for the first time?

Answer 7

The first native english speaker since 1066

Question 8

What did the Celtic cultures bring to OE litt?

Answer 8

linguistic legacy (individual words)
cultural legacy: motifs of fantasy, magic, Stonenhenge

Question 9

explain “pax romana”

Answer 9

period of peace and prosperity

Question 10

“Rescript of Honorius”

Answer 10

“Look to your own defenses”
gradual retreat from UK
–> The Romans left Britain on their own in order to go protect Rome where there were conflicts

Question 11

What did the Roman settlement bring ?

Answer 11

Infrastructure (Hadrian’s Wall)
Latin language (lingua franca of the MA)
Roman alphabet

Question 12

Who is Alfred the Great?

Answer 12

(ca 870-900)
English king who united the the Anglo Saxons and Vikings

Question 13

Give two important battles that occured during the Viking invasions (ca800-1066)

Answer 13

1066: Battle of Stamford Bridge (Anglo-Saxon victory, end of Viking age)
1066: Battle of Hastings (AS defeat, start of Anglo Norman period)

Question 14

Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066)

Answer 14

Anglo Saxon victory during the Viking invasions, ended the Viking age

Question 15

Battle of Hastings (1066)

Answer 15

Battle between the Norman and Anglo-Saxon who lost. Started the Anglo-Norman period

Question 16

During 600-700, a re-christianization from the West and South of the UK happend. What is the legacy of this (re)christianization ?

Answer 16

1) Literacy and Latin manyscripts in monasteries
2) Christian worldview (the heroes become Christianized)

Question 17

What is the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”?

Answer 17

a year-by-year record of the nation’s
affairs probably begun in the time of king Alfred in the 9th century

Question 18

6 characteristics of “Cædmon’s Hymn” (ca 650) by Bede

Answer 18

• oral formulaic: tellls tales
  alliterative meter vs rhyme: repetition of initial consonant to emphasise the words
  -Formal vocab used in many contexts
  -Kennings (figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun; walking weaver for spider)
  -use of irony, understatement (fight: battle play)
  -elegiac tone: the “wyrd” (fate, destiny)

Question 19

Definition of elegy

Answer 19

term for the poetry of loss, either through the death of a loved person or through a broader awareness of transience and mortality

Question 20

What effect did Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People (in Latin, ca 730) have?

Answer 20

-Promotes a sense of identity
-creates foundation of the english natio, unites the peoples of England in one nation under God and the Roman Church

Question 21

Cædmon’s Hymn illustrates 3 important points

Answer 21

1. exhibits several characteristic features of Anglo-Saxon language and typical techniques of AS literature (alliteration, kennings etc)
2. merges two traditions: uses established Germanic (pagan) vocabulary to praise Christian God (like multiple words for ruler)
3. different versions of poem demonstrate that OE consisted of various dialects and that power moves South because of Viking
   raids and king Alfred’s court, inspired by Bede’s dream of a unified England, and so West-Saxon becomes the standard

Question 22

List 3 important books of old english litterature (ca 1000)

Answer 22

● Junius Manuscript / Vercelli Book
● Exeter Book: riddles, saints’ lives, elegies (The Wanderer)
● Nowell Codex: Beowulf, Marvels of the East

Question 23

5 characteristics of the germanic wolrdview

Answer 23

kinship
courage (heroic code)
(royal) generosity
(blood) vengeance
transcience (romantic love)
+Poetry style is often elegiac

Question 24

Beowulf can be divided into 5 parts

Answer 24

1. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, establishes Heorot, which is
   repeatedly attacked by Grendel
2. Beowulf arrives from Sweden, mortally wounds Grendel and
   is rewarded by Hrothgar
3. Heorot is attacked by Grendel’s mother, she is tracked to her
   lair and killed by Beowulf, who is rewarded again
4. Beowulf returns home and becomes king of the Geats, ruling
   successfully for fifty years (like Hrothgar)
5. Beowulf’s hall is attacked by a dragon, who is killed by
   Beowulf + Wiglaf, but Beowulf suffers a mortal injury

Question 25

Beowulf language & style

Answer 25

• oral-formulaic (was meant to be shared through speech, not a book)
  -alliteration
  -core vocabulary
  -kennings (metaphors)
  -mix of Germanic (terms) and Christian (Condomned by God) elements
  -Pagan world: not direct mention of Christ/Heaven
• Heroic-elegiac poem, not a historical element nor an epic

Question 26

What are the three interpretations for Beowulf? (so styles interpretations, Beowulf as a(n)……

Answer 26

1. elegy
2. otherness/gender
3. pre-national Epic