Literature Test 1 Flashcards
When did the Middle Ages begin
When Germanic tribes invaded England in 1455
Ended when Henry 7th 1485 of the Tudor House was crowned king
The term Dark Ages
A name given this period by 18th century rationalists because of the spiritual decline fostered by the influence of the Roman Catholic Church
A period of constant change
The Middle Ages
The Roman invasion of England
Began in 55 BC
With Julius Caesar
Continued 100 years, total control under Claudius
Celts were conquered by whom
The Germanic people of the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons conquered the celts after the Romans left and then named the land Whales
English clergy chose which Catholicism
Roman.
Monasteries we’re then made in Wearmouth and Jarrow
Anglican Church organization was influenced by what
Roman Catholicism
The Ecclesiastical History of the English people
Traces the development of Catholicism throughout England,
The second counselor uses the illustration of a sparrow to portray the frailty of life
“Caedmon’s Hymn”: part of the Ecclesiastical History
The subject of his hymn is creation
2 features of Old-English poetry
Variation
Periphrastic epithet
Variation
The repetition of an idea in different words with the same grammatical form
Periphrastic epithet
Expression of an idea in a roundabout, more elegant way
Kenning
A specific form of periphrastic epithet, which is a metamorphic compound of two words, such as “whalepath” for sea
Beowulf is the…
Oldest surviving long poem in a modern European language
The — has replaced the —
Novel… epic
Social Setting of Beowulf
Contemporary England
Geographic setting of Beowulf
Scandinavia
Beowulf is what type of literary work
Folk epic
Epic:
A long, Styleyes narrative poem celebrating the deeds of a national hero
More on epics:
Typically didactic (concerned with teaching) Two types: Folk and literary epics
The novel has replaced the epic
Struggles of “Beowulf”
Reflect the universal conflict of good and evil
Main theme of “Beowulf”
The continuance of civilization requires virtuous heroes
The gloomy tone of Beowulf results from…
His ability to to conquer the external enemies, but he has no remedy for man’s internal evils.
Comitataus
The Scandinavian honor system during the fifth and sixth century between a king and his thanes
Figurative language
Alliteration
Kennings
Litotes
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Litotes
A type of understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary
(A positive statement stating in a negative way)
Ecgtheow
Beowulf’s father
Wyrd
The Anglo-Saxon term for fate
The fight between Grendel and Beowulf
Beowulf depends on his strength in hand to hand combat against Grendel
Mortally wounds Grendel by tearing off his arm
Beowulf suspends Grendel’s arm from the roof
King Alfred
The most responsible for beginning of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle
Doomsday book:
Record of all the property owned in England
