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A Social & Cultural History of English

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A Social & Cultural History of English A Social & Cultural History of English A.D. 443 – A.D. 465 Bielefeld University British and American Studies "A Social and Cultural History of English" Dr. Stephan Gramley WS 2009/2010 Presenters: Katharina Mock & Karsten Zurheide Who puts down history? Who are the authors? The Anglo- Saxon The Ecclesiastical History Chronicle: of the English People: z written in the late 9th z written by St. Bede (the century by a scribe in Venerable Bede), a Wessex monk, (672/673 - 735) z multiple manuscript copies were made and distributed to monasteries across England and were independently updated Differences in the accounts of The Anglo Saxon Chronicle and The Ecclesiastical History of the English People The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People: z Structure: z Structure: − year + short account − Narration z Language: z Language: − Old English − Latin z Contents: z Contents: − names of emperors, − names of emperors, kings, important places, kings, important places, and peoples and peoples − background knowledge − background knowledge about the protagonists about the protagonists and the peoples and the peoples − enumeration of wars − account of wars − religious beliefs and comments What happened? 449 - 465 z invitation of the Angles by Wutgern, king of the Britons, to fight against the Picts z victory against the Picts z Hengist and Horsa, kings of the Angles, sent a report to the nations of Germany: the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes: • success in war • fertility of the country • cowardice of the Britons What happened next? z Swarms of Saxons, Angles and Jutes came to the island and fought z against the Britons in 455 and 457 z against the Welsh in 465 Who were the Jutes? originated from: – Jutland in modern Denmark – Southern Schleswig (South Jutland) – part of the East Frisian coast Who were the Saxons? z confederation of Old Germanic tribes z Lived in today's − Lower Saxony, Westphalia, Sachsen, Sachsen- Anhalt, Holstein − eastern Netherlands − eastern Belgium − northern France Who were the Angles? • from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig- Holstein, Germany • Angeln peninsula: to the east of Flensburg and Schleswig Who were the leaders of the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes? → the two brothers Hengist (also spelled Hengest) and Horsa Hengist and Horsa The Anglo- Saxon Chronicle: A.D. 449. “[…] Hengest and Horsa, invited by Wurtgern [Vortigern], king of the Britons to his assistance, landed in Britain in a place that is called Ipwinesfleet [Wippidsfleet]; first of all to support the Britons, but they afterwards fought against them.” “[…] to fight against the Picts; and they did so; and obtained the victory wheresoever they came.” “They then sent to the Angles, and desired them to send more assistance. They described the worthlessness of the Britons, and the richness of the land. They then sent them greater support.” Hengist and Horsa The Ecclesiastical History of the English People: “In the year of our Lord 449 […] the nation of the Angles, or Saxons, being invited by the aforesaid king, arrived in Britain […] on the pretext of fighting in defence of their country, whilst their real intentions were to conquer it. Accordingly they engaged with the enemy, who were come from the north to give battle, and the Saxons obtained the victory.” “[…] news of their success and of the fertility of the country, and the cowardice of the Britons, reached their own home.” “[…] bringing a greater number of men. The newcomers received of the Britons a place to inhabit among them, upon condition that they should wage war against their enemies for the peace and security of the country, whilst the Britons agreed to furnish them with pay.” “The first commanders are said to have been the two brothers Hengist and Horsa.” Comparison of the accounts: Similarities: • A.D. 449 • Hengist and Horsa were invited by Wutgern to fight against the Picts. • Together the with the Angles the Britons defeated the Picts. • Many Saxons, Angles, and Jutes followed and settled down on the Britons’ land. Comparison of the accounts: Differences: • Did the Angles only pretend to support the Britons? • Did they have plans to conquer the country? → claimed by Bede only Why are Hengist & Horsa important? The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: The Ecclesiastical History of the English People: “Hengest and Horsa, who “They were the sons of were the sons of Victgilsus, whose father Wihtgils; Wihtgils was was Vitta, son of Vecta, the son of Witta, Witta son of Woden; from of Wecta, Wecta of whose stock the royal Woden. From this race of many provinces Woden arose all our trace their descent.” royal kindred.” Religious comments in The Ecclesiastical History of the English People "[...] they would break the league, and ravage all the island; nor were they backward in putting their threats into execution. In short, the fire kindled by the hands of the pagans, proved God’s just vengeance for the crimes of the people […]" Religious comments in The Ecclesiastical History of the English People "In the meantime, the Saxons and Picts, with their united forces, made war upon the Britons, who in these straits were compelled to take up arms. In their terror thinking themselves unequal to their enemies, they implored the assistance of the holy bishops; who, hastening to them as they had promised, inspired so much confidence into these fearful people, that one would have thought they had been joined by a mighty army. Thus, by these apostolic leaders, Christ Himself commanded in their camp [...]" Religious comments in The Ecclesiastical History of the English People "[...] As the enemy advanced in all security, thinking to take them by surprise, the bishops three times cried, "Hallelujah." A universal shout of the same word followed, and the echoes from the surrounding hills gave back the cry on all sides, the enemy was panic- stricken, fearing [...]" "[...] The prelates thus triumphed over the enemy without bloodshed, and gained a victory by faith, without the aid of human force [...]" Bede's writing purposes z a history of the church in England z historical and theological work z interpretation z accounts of miracles: − important role of such concepts in the world-view of Early Medieval scholars Old English th th z 5 -12 century (developed into Middle English) z used the runic system, later accepted the Latin alphabet (some runes remained) z rich in morphology (as opposed to ModE) z syntax generally is SVO (flexible) z word order inverted for questions Remaining Runes and other Symbols z eth ð [θ], [ð] as in ðæt z thorn þ [θ], [ð] wiþ z wynn P [w] Piþ z et 7 and – 7 is not a rune but a Tironian note dating back to Cicero's scribe M. Tiro (and is still used today, in Ireland for example). Morphology - nouns z declension − nominative se cyning − accusative Æþelbald lufode þone cyning − genitive þæs cyninges scip − dative hringas þæm cyninge − instrumental lifde sweorde Morphology - pronouns Personal pronouns Case Singular Plural Dual Nominative ic, īcwē wit Accusative mec, mēūsic, ūs uncit, unc Genitive mīn ūre uncer Dative mēūs unc Morphology - verbs Strong verbs pronoun present indicative past indicative infinitive stelan/ tō stelanne ic stele stæl þū stilst stæle hē/hit/hēo stilð stæl wē/gē/hīe stelaþ stælon Morphology - verbs z Weak verbs − different types depending on the ending. − number increased rapidly (and does so even today in ModE and ModGer) Dealing with the Texts Dealing with the Texts • Translating Old English requires – A digital version of the text (unless you want to spent hours on transcription) – Imagination – if the words are read out aloud they may resemble words already known, English or German (eg. ofslogon – erschlagen) – If that does not help: A good dictionary will. I used http://home.comcast.net/~modean52/oeme_dictionaries.htm – A hint at how Latin works – declension is the key! Verbs are mostly used in the past, so inflection is not too important. Dealing with the Texts Her sendon Brytwalas to Rome This year the Britons sent [word] to Rome 7 heom fultomes bædon wiþ Piohtas, and they bade them for help against the Picts, ac hi þar næfdan nanne, forþan ðe hi fyrdedon but they had [not] none, for then they fought Dealing with the Texts wið Ætla Huna cyningæ, with Attila, King of the Huns, 7 þa sendon hi to Anglum and then they sent [word] to the Angles 7 Angelcynnes æðelingas ðæs ylcan bædan. and bade the same from the nobles of the Angles. þancung for ēowere ymbeþanc! :).
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