OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE Anglo-Saxon Culture Mead-halls: Mead-halls were places where warriors would gather in the presence of their lord to drink, boast, tell stories, and receive gifts. Hero-king: The best warrior and the leader of the band who would demonstrate himself as the greatest warrior. He would distribute gifts to his followers (thanes) who were expected to follow him loyally to death. Scop: Germanic kings used to keep professional poets called scop (gleeman). The scop’s function was to compose noble songs and sing them before a great lord. Wyrd: Fate (strong belief in fate) Comitatus: (loyalty).The warriors would swear to be loyal to the hero king and he would undertake to support them and would give gifts. This relationship is called comitatus. Wergild: Blood-price, death price or blood- feud. Old English period: (from the invasion of Britain by Germanic tribes (449) till the Norman Conquest of 1066) The Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian peoples had invaded the island of Britain and settled there several hundred years earlier, bringing with them several closely related Germanic languages that would evolve into Old English. Most of Old English literature is religious Oral tradition Many of the works of literature from the Old English period are anonymous. Early Germanic poetry was composed and recited by the scop, a professional bard who wandered from one court to another, hoping to acquire the patronage of some generous lords. Literacy was restricted to men of the church With the conversion of England to Christianity oral literature was written down by clerics. (lead to juxtaposition of pagan and Christian elements) The clerics generally preserved such materials as were considered serviceable to Christianity. Most of Old English poetry is contained in just four manuscripts: The Junius manuscript, also known as the Caedmon manuscript, is an illustrated collection of poems on biblical narratives.( Contents: Genesis, Daniel, Christ and Satan, Exodus) The Exeter Book, is an anthology, located in the Exeter Cathedral since it was donated there in the 11th century.(Contents: The Wanderer, The Seafarer ,Widsith, Deor, Wulf and Eadwacer, The Wife's Lament, The Husband's Message, The Ruin, Juliana, The Rhyming Poem, The Fortunes of Men, The Whale, Guthlac A and B, Christ I, II, III, The Phoenix, Vainglory, Maxims I, The Gifts of Men, Precepts, Azarias, The Order of the World, The Panther, Soul and Body II, The Partridge, The Judgment Day I, Resignation, The Descent into Hell, Alms-Giving, Pharaoh, The Lord’s Prayer I, Homiletic Fragment II and ninety-six riddles preserved in the Exeter Book). The Vercelli Book, contains both poetry and prose;(Contents: Andreas, The Fates of the Apostles, Soul and Body I, Dream of the Rood, Elene, Homiletic Fragment I) The Nowell Codex, also known as the Beowulf Manuscript, contains prose and poetry, typically dealing with monstrous themes, including Beowulf and Judith. The Wife’s Lament and The Husband’s Message: One of the very few female characters and speakers in an Anglo- Saxon poem, the wife of an outlawed man complains about her being kept in an earth-cave, the captive of her husband’s relatives. The second poem has a more optimistic tone, the exiled husband has become a retainer in a foreign country and he hopes to get reunited with his wife. They are among the very few poems which survived an age of severe religious censorship. The Wanderer is the lament of a solitary man, once happy in the service of a loved lord, who now, after the death of his lord, has lost his place in society and has become an outcast in exile, across the icy sea. Deor (‘s Lament) presents in 42 lines the complaint of a scop who, after years of service to his lord, has lost his position, being replaced by a rival. Allusions to four legendary events precede the description of his misfortunes. This is the only surviving Old English poem composed in stanzas with a variable number of lines and with a refrain (“That passed away, this also may”). The Seafarer was translated into modern English by Ezra Pound. Some critics consider it to be a dialogue, a “for and against” debate between an old sailor and an eager young man willing to take to the sea. Others consider it to be the monologue of an old sailor who mingles regret and self-pity while speaking about the loneliness and hardships of a life at sea, of self-imposed exile, on the one hand, and the fascination and rewards of such a life, on the other hand. Life at sea is equated with the renunciation of worldly pleasures and with the life dedicated to God. The Ruin is the 8th century poem describing the stone buildings of a ruined city – the Roman Bath. The art of building in stone was unknown in early Anglo-Saxon England and the ruins of Roman towns and roads are referred to as “the work of giants”. The poet is aware that everything man-made will perish. And yet, there is no sense of loss, but rather of admiration and celebrations. The Dream of the Rood: The Dreamer in the poem sees at midnight a glorious cross rise to fill the sky, worshipped by all of creation. It is covered with gold and jewels, but at other times covered with blood. Wulf and Eadwacer is spoken by a woman married to Eadwacer but bearing the child of her lover Wulf. Widsith is a poem showing and ideal scop or gleeman. It explains the hero’s professional experience and success in composing songs and reciting them before the great lords. Widsith, meaning far traveler, is an idealized scop who boasts of the faraway places he has seen and mighty princes he has served. Battle of Brunanburgh: King Athelstan of England and his brother Edmund fight and win a battle against the invading force of Scots and Vikings. The poem celebrates the occasion. Battle of Maldon: A poem about the battle that was fought and lost in 991 near Maldon. The hero is Byrhtnoth, The Earl of Essex, fighting the Viking invaders. Beowulf: It is the most famous and the longest surviving epic poem in English. It was composed by an unknown poet in early 8th century. It records the great deeds of the heroic warrior Beowulf in his youth and maturity. The main protagonist, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands and Grendel's mother with a sword of a giant that he found in her lair. OLD ENGLISH POETS Although Cædmon is the first English poet whose words survive at all, the first known English poet is Aldhelm. Cædmon: We learn about him from Bede’s history. He was originally ignorant of "the art of song" but learned to compose one night in the course of a dream, according to the 8th-century monk Bede. He later became a monk and an accomplished and inspirational poet. Cædmon’s only known surviving work is Cædmon's Hymn. Caedmon’s “Hymn”—the first poem in English recorded in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. It is the first vernacular poem in English. Alliterative verse. Uses compound words or kennings. (The oldest surviving text is Cædmon's Hymn) Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and Satan may also be written by Cædmon. They are called as Caedmonian poems. Cynewulf: An unknown cleric of the 9th century is the only Old English poet to sign his poems. Like Caedmon, Cynewulf also underwent a sudden change. First, he was a man of pleasure. Thanks to the vision of the cross that he had, he changed from worldly to religious themes. Cynewulf´s four poems, all religious in tone, celebrate the lives of the saints and other similar topics. Christ II- deals with the Incarnation, the Descent into Hell, the Ascension, and the Last Judgment. Elene- an account of finding the true cross, according to the legend, by Helena, the mother of Constantine. Juliana- a tale of Christian martyrdom. The Fates of the Apostles- In this poem Cynewulf records briefly the life, works and the death of each of the twelve apostles. Some unsigned poems, such as the Dream of the Rood, the Physiologus , and the Phoenix may be composed by Cynewulf. LITERARY ELEMENTS: . Riddle (Bilmece): A riddle is a type of poetry that describes something without actually naming what it is, leaving the reader to guess. Those riddles that survive are found in the Exeter Book. Litotes is a figure of speech in which understatement is employed for rhetorical effect, principally via double negatives. For example, rather than saying that something is attractive (or even very attractive), one might merely say it is "not unattractive”. Litotes is a form of understatement, always deliberate and with the intention of emphasis. However, the interpretation of negation may depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be said in such a way as to mean anything from "mediocre" to "excellent". Litotes: As a means of saying: "[...] no ordinary city." "[...] a very impressive city." "That [sword] was not useless / to the warrior now." (Beowulf lines 1575–1576) "The warrior has a use for the sword now." "He was not unfamiliar with the works of Dickens." "He was acquainted with the works of Dickens." "She is not as young as she was." "She's old." "He's no oil painting." "He's ugly." "Not unlike..." "Like..." "You are not wrong." "You are correct." .