Anglo-Saxon Literature.

The Pre-Renaissance period

The development of written literary tradition in European literature is closely connected with the
spread of Christian religion. It became the official religion of Rome in 306 and was brought to all
Roman colonies including Britain. Together with this religion early Christians brought the Latin
language, the official language of the church all over Europe.
In the 4th century the Germanic tribes of the Angles, the Saxons and the Gutes came to the
British Isles. They were pagans, and most of British Christians were either put to death or driven
away to Wales or Ireland. That's why the stories of Christian martyrs and saints were typical of
the literature of that time.
THE NORMAN CONQUEST. THE PRE-RENAISSANCE PERIOD IN ENGLAND.
At the end of the 6th century Roman monks came again to Britain in order to convert people to
Christianity. They landed in Kent and built their first church in Canterbury. Latin words entered
the language of the Anglo-Saxons because the religious books were written in Latin. The
monasteries became centers of learning and education. Poets and writers imitated Latin books
about the early Christians and saints. The names of old English poets were Caedmon (the 7th
century) and Cynewulf (the 8th century). The earlier prose writers were the Venerable Bede
(673-735), who wrote "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People" and the English king
Alfred the Great (871-901), who wrote "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle". After the death of Alfred
the Great fighting with the Danes began. Some of them settled in Scotland and Ireland, others
sailed across the English Channel and settled in France, in Normandy. That's why they were
called the Normans.
In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, (William the Conqueror) defeated the English in
Hastings and the English became an oppressed nation. The Norman-French language was spoken
at court and by the ruling class. But common people spoke the Anglo-Saxon dialects. So for over
two centuries communication in Britain went on in three languages: Latin (it was used in
monasteries and churches), French (it was the official language of the state) and Anglo-Saxon (it
was spoken by common people). About a century after the Norman Conquest the first English
universities were founded. A fully developed university had four faculties: Theology, Canon
Law, Medicine and Art. At the faculty of Arts students studied Latin Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic,
Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Music. In the middle of the 12th century Oxford
universities (1168) and Cambridge universities (1209) were founded.
During the Norman period feudal culture was at its height. The medieval poets came from France
together with the conquerors and brought tales in verse and lyrical poems about brave and gallant
knights and beautiful ladies. They were sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments such
as the lute. The name of this genre is a romance. A number of romances were based on Celtic
legends, especially those about king Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (all these
legends were collected and arranged in series of stories by sir Thomas Malory in the 15th
century). There are 21 books in this epic.
In the literature of townsfolk we find the fable and the fabliau. Fables were short stories with
animals for characters and having a moral. Fabliaux were funny metrical poems full of indecent
jokes about cunning humbugs, silly old merchants and their unfaithful wives. The literature of
the town did not idealise characters as romances did.
In the first half of the 14th century the Normans made London their residence and the capital of
the country. The London dialect gradually became the foundation of the national language. In
1337 the Hundred Years' War with France began. The poor priests wandered from village to

village and talked to the people at that time. They protested against rich bishops and churchmen
who were ignorant and could not teach people anything. Such poor priests were the poet William
Langland (1332-1400) and John Wycliff (1320-1384) who translated part of the Bible into
English.