Anglo Saxon litterature Flashcards
What are the tree points illustrated in Cædmon’s Hymn?
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
who wrote Caedmon’s Hymn and when?
Bede, 730
what did Bede write?
Caedmon’s Hymn
Definition: elegy
term for the poetry of loss, either through the death of a loved person or through a broader awareness of transcience and mortality
List the series of invasions during the Middle Ages in Britain
- Celtic heritage
- Roman invasion and retreat
- Anglo-Saxon settlement
- (Re)Christianization of Britain
- Viking raids
- Norman conquest
Henry IV (1400) is what for the first time?
The first native english speaker since 1066
What did the Celtic cultures bring to OE litt?
linguistic legacy (individual words)
cultural legacy: motifs of fantasy, magic, Stonenhenge
explain “pax romana”
period of peace and prosperity
“Rescript of Honorius”
“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
What did the Roman settlement bring ?
Infrastructure (Hadrian’s Wall)
Latin language (lingua franca of the MA)
Roman alphabet
Who is Alfred the Great?
(ca 870-900)
English king who united the the Anglo Saxons and Vikings
Give two important battles that occured during the Viking invasions (ca800-1066)
1066: Battle of Stamford Bridge (Anglo-Saxon victory, end of Viking age)
1066: Battle of Hastings (AS defeat, start of Anglo Norman period)
Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066)
Anglo Saxon victory during the Viking invasions, ended the Viking age
Battle of Hastings (1066)
Battle between the Norman and Anglo-Saxon who lost. Started the Anglo-Norman period
During 600-700, a re-christianization from the West and South of the UK happend. What is the legacy of this (re)christianization ?
1) Literacy and Latin manyscripts in monasteries
2) Christian worldview (the heroes become Christianized)
What is the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”?
a year-by-year record of the nation’s
affairs probably begun in the time of king Alfred in the 9th century
6 characteristics of “Cædmon’s Hymn” (ca 650) by Bede
- 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)
Definition of elegy
term for the poetry of loss, either through the death of a loved person or through a broader awareness of transience and mortality
What effect did Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People (in Latin, ca 730) have?
-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
Cædmon’s Hymn illustrates 3 important points
- exhibits several characteristic features of Anglo-Saxon language and typical techniques of AS literature (alliteration, kennings etc)
- merges two traditions: uses established Germanic (pagan) vocabulary to praise Christian God (like multiple words for ruler)
- 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
List 3 important books of old english litterature (ca 1000)
● Junius Manuscript / Vercelli Book
● Exeter Book: riddles, saints’ lives, elegies (The Wanderer)
● Nowell Codex: Beowulf, Marvels of the East
5 characteristics of the germanic wolrdview
kinship
courage (heroic code)
(royal) generosity
(blood) vengeance
transcience (romantic love)
+Poetry style is often elegiac
Beowulf can be divided into 5 parts
- Hrothgar, king of the Danes, establishes Heorot, which is
repeatedly attacked by Grendel - Beowulf arrives from Sweden, mortally wounds Grendel and
is rewarded by Hrothgar - Heorot is attacked by Grendel’s mother, she is tracked to her
lair and killed by Beowulf, who is rewarded again - Beowulf returns home and becomes king of the Geats, ruling
successfully for fifty years (like Hrothgar) - Beowulf’s hall is attacked by a dragon, who is killed by
Beowulf + Wiglaf, but Beowulf suffers a mortal injury
