Name: Aira Nicole T.

Ancog Subject: EL 115 Survey of English and American

Literature
Adviser: Ms. Dana May Galido Date of Submission: September 23, 2020

Task 2: Research on the tribes that beset Great Britain as a result of the European invasion and their
contributions to the English Literature in particular and the world in general.

Invasions in Great Britain

Introduction

The Great Britain became one of the favorite subjects of invasion. As a result of
these conquests is the mixture of culture that brought massive change to the island. Great
Britain had experienced 5 vast invasions beginning from 400 BC till the 11 th century. As
people look back, these invasions are truly painful but if we are to look on its brighter side
these conquests lead to the growth of English literature that most of us still enjoy today.

Timeline of Invasion

400 BC 54 BC 5th Century BC 871 1016

Celtic Invasion Roman Invasion

Anglo-Saxon Invasion Vikings Invasion Norman Invasion

The Celtic Invasion

The first invasion took place in 400 BC when Celts armed with ironed weapons
conquered Kent and Southern England. The Celts spread across the north and imposed
their language on the natives. Celts were ancient people who lived in Central and Western
Europe and moved to Great Britain during the Iron Age. They were people with very powerful
traditions handed from one generation to another through word of mouth. As mentioned,
they’d imposed their languages to the natives and these languages were of two forms,
Gaelic and Brythonic. At present, only 3 languages have survived. The Welsh, which is the
official language of Wales, Irish Gaelic in Republic of Ireland and Scots Gaelic in the hills
and islands of West Scotland.

Celts’ Influence on English and World Literature

According to the book The Stylus (1921) tracing the influence of Celts to English
literature can be observed from the two periods, the early formative period of English
literature when Celtic blood was fused with Teutonic elements of the English people and the
modern period in which the Celtics race learned to adopt the English language.

The ancient Celts exerted a direct influence on English literature by their union with
the Saxon, Norse and Norman in which the English nation has evolved. It was said that even
the English retained its Teutonic spirit, the literature is still permeated with the Celtic spirit of
sentiment, buoyancy, spirituality, and sweet melancholy. The claims had said that it would
be impossible to study the English literature without studying the contributions of Celts first.
Professor Morely have said that the production of Oisin’s dialogues and St. Patrick and even
the productions of William Shakespeare of the Germanic England would be impossible
without the ancient contact of Great Britain with the Celts.

Professor Morely emphasized that the writings of Shakespeare were massively

inspired by the literary characteristics of Celts, its imagination, emotions and style. The
poems of John Keats and Spenser are also characterized with Celtic influence.

The Roman Invasion

In AD43, the full might of the Roman army landed on the beaches of Kent. Over the
next year, Romans battled inland, storming through hill forts and chopping down anyone who
stood in their way. The Romans wanted Britain’s precious metals. However, they weren’t
just a destructive force. They had built new forts, new settlements and roads. They spread
their culture, language and laws. (BBC, 2020)

Romans’ Influence on English and World Literature

As the Romans shared their culture, language and laws, it is not also impossible that
their literature would spread too in the regions of Great Britain. A number of Shakespeare’s
plays for example were borrowed from Roman history.(Zappia, 2017) Some of them are
Titus Adronicus in 1594, Romeo and Juliet in 1597, Julius Caesar in 1599 and Antonios and
Cleopatra in 1607. (Kotsori, 2018) Moreover, many of Shakespeare’s plays are based on
classical history. In his narrative poem, The Rape of Lucretia in 1594 was inspired by Ovid’s
work. Shakespeare studied Plutarch and heavily used

On the other hand, the talented poet Virgil who’s a Roman himself had an enormous
impact on English literature. The Aeneid inspired Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene
which he referred to the Roman god of the sea, Neptune and John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
Christopher Marlowe on the on the other hand incorporated his masterpiece Doctor Faustus
from the Roman mythology, Diana and Acteon.
 The Romans in today’s literature is still making an enormous impact. The English
writer, PG. Wodehouse filled his books with Latin references in the early 20 th century. Ovid’s
influence is strong in T.S. Elliot’s The Wasteland and few of Latin are present in Elliot’s epic
poem. J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series had featured an abundance of
Latin names and Roman mythological references, including the werewolf Remus Lupin,
whose alias is Romulus, Fawkes the phoenix and the names Minerva, Luna and Bellatrix.

The Anglo-Saxon Invasion

The Anglo-Saxon invasion was in the 5th century BC when the Teutonic tribes started
to enslave England. Their names were the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. The Angles
and Saxons advanced from east to west along the Roman roads, slaughtering and enslaving
the Britons, sacking and burning Roman towns and villas. Anglo-Saxons almost destroyed
every trace of civilization of the Romans and established their kingdoms. One of the most
powerful Kingdom, they’d built was Northumbria, when King Edwin advanced the frontier to
the north and built his stronghold of Edinburgh. It was in this kingdom that English art and
letters flowered for the first time: sculptured crosses were created and the Latin History of
Bede was written in English.

The Anglo-Saxon’s Contribution to English and World Literature

The Anglo-Saxons’ invasion towards Great Britain in the past remained to be useful
today in particular to language and literature. The conquest brought by the Anglo-Saxons
cause the birth of the modern English. (Encarta, 2009) The Anglo-Saxons also brought
specific poetic tradition that became surprisingly constant not until six centuries later when
the Norman French invaders came to intrude.

Among the popular contribution of Anglo-Saxons both to the English literature and
the world are Caedmon’s Hymn written on 7 th century and is considered as the oldest
surviving poem in English. The poem Beowulf, which often begins the traditional canon of
English literature written sometime between the 8th century and the late 10th century.
Beginning and ending with the funeral of a great king, and composed against a background
of impending disaster, it describes the exploits of a Scandinavian cultural hero, Beowulf, in
destroying the monster Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. In these
sequences Beowulf is shown not only as a glorious hero but as a saviour of the people.
The Vikings’ Invasion

Nordic peoples—Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians—who raided and settled in large

areas of Eastern and Western Europe during a period of Scandinavian expansion from about
800 to 1100. The Vikings were working in both land and sea for fishing. They attacked later
on and settled to Britain. This has been the custom of the Vikings by which bands of them
put out to the sea, seeking out richer lands, bringing home gold, silver and jewels.

The Vikings’ Influence to English and World Literature

Snorri Sturluson, an Icelandic writer produced a number of works; Poetic Edda,

Prose Edda, books about Norse Mythology and heroes, the Heimskringla, a book about the
Kings of Norway. These literary pieces were written in vernacular, the language of Iceland
which was unusual during that time because Latin was rampant.

Sagas are stories, somewhat like historical fiction. While many of the characters and
event are real, saga writers took poetic licence in describing them. The subjects are tales of
men’s deeds, battles, journeys, feuds and fights. It could also be Christian or pagan, realistic
or fantastic, tales of giants or heroes or even regular people. (“Viking Literature: Stories,
Sagas and Myths”, 2020)

At present, the influence of Norse literature is still alive and kicking. From films to
comics, the Norse mythology is still flourishing, not just in the English regions but the world.

The following are few of the productions that are Norse inspired:

American Comics

1. Marvel Universe specifically in the characters of Thor, Loki, Odin, Frejya, Brunnhilde
or Valkyrie and the Valkyrior, Heimdall, Hela, Balder, Sif and Fenris.
2. Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Season of Mists and The Kindly Ones
3. Gods of Asgard by Erik Evensen
4. Hammer of Gods by Michael Avon Oeming and Mark Wheatley
5. The graphic novel series Norse Myths: A Viking Graphic Novel Series by Louise
Simonson

European comics

1. Valhalla, a Danish book series

2. Thorgal and Atlantean
Manga, anime and manhwa

1. Matantei Loki Ragnarok

2. Ragnarok, manhwa series
3. Vinland Saga
4. History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi
5. Oh! My Goddess!
6. Attack on Titan
7. Sword Art Online
8. High School DxD
9. Saint Seiya: Poseidon and the Asgardians

The Norman Invasion

The Norman conquest of England was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of
England by an army of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French soldiers, all led by the Duke of
Normandy later styled William the Conqueror.

William's claim to the English throne derived from his familial relationship with the
childless Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor, who may have encouraged William's
hopes for the throne. Edward died in January 1066 and was succeeded by his brother-in-law
Harold Godwinson. The Norwegian king Harald Hardrada invaded northern England in
September 1066 and was victorious at the Battle of Fulford, but Godwinson's army defeated
and killed Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. Within days, William
landed in southern England. Harold marched south to oppose him, leaving a significant
portion of his army in the north. Harold's army confronted William's invaders on 14 October
at the Battle of Hastings; William's force defeated Harold, who was killed in the engagement.

Although William's main rivals were gone, he still faced rebellions over the following
years and was not secure on his throne until after 1072. The lands of the resisting English
elite were confiscated; some of the elite fled into exile. To control his new kingdom, William
granted lands to his followers and built castles commanding military strongpoints throughout
the land with the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of
England and parts of Wales being completed by 1086. Other effects of the conquest
included the court and government, the introduction of the Norman language as the
language of the elites, and changes in the composition of the upper classes, as William
enfeoffed lands to be held directly from the king. More gradual changes affected the
agricultural classes and village life: the main change appears to have been the formal
elimination of slavery, which may or may not have been linked to the invasion. There was
little alteration in the structure of government, as the new Norman administrators took over
many of the forms of Anglo-Saxon government.

The Norman’s Influence on English and World Literature

The Norman Conquest contributed to the expansion of English culture and literature.
First, there was the enrichment of English Language and Literature by the direct cultural and
literary influence of Rome which the Norman had brought. Secondly, there was the immense
enlargement of Scholarship and learning as a result of the contact with the scholars of
Europe. Thirdly, literary themes and expressions were greatly multiplied by the Norman
inclusion of French themes and modes of expression.

The English writers, under the French impact, attempted every form of literature
known to the continent - Romances, Story- telling in verse, Chronicles, Allegories, homilies
and legends. They sought to imitate the best that was in the French works - their clarity and
logical reasoning, their variety of color and shade, their fullness of details and Romantic
interest in live and women. In English poetry, the rhymed verse of French replaced the
Anglo-Saxon alliterative tradition.

There had grown a kind of Anglo Norman literature which consisted of Chronicles in
rhymes. The revival of English literature was heard through religious works. The earliest of
those religious works was poemamorate or Moral 'Ode' which was written about 1170 Ad.
Among those religious works ,there was a fine prose piece , 'Ancene Riwle' which might be
taken as the best example of the prose of the time. The life of Saint Brendon and The Life of
Saint Doustan were the two other popular works of the Age.

But the most remarkable work was 'The Ows And The Nightingale " written about
1280 AD by Seullar. Founded on the symbolic poetry of France, it was an Allegory of youth
and wisdom. All those inspiration from French Literature made a conspicuous deviation from
the old literature of the Anglo-Saxon and demonstrated the extend of the impact of Norman
Conquest on English Life, Literature and Language. But the awareness of the old Anglo-
Saxon root was never lost and ultimately the English language ousted French but it was
altogether a much changed language under the French influence after Norman Conquest.
(“Impacts Of Norman Conquest On English Literature, 2020)
References:

The Stylus.1921. Celtic Influence on English Literature. Retrieved from

https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&d=stylus19210601-01.2.11&e=-------en-20--1--txt-
txIN------ - Retrieved on September 23, 2020

BBC.2020.How the Romans conquered Britain? Retrieved from

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqtf34j/articles/z9j4kqt Retrieved on September
26, 2020

Zappia, S. 2017. What Effects Did the Romans Have on English Literature? Retrieved from
https://penandthepad.com/effect-did-romans-english-literature-8468363.html
Retrieved on September 23, 2020

Kotsori, I.S. 2018. Influence of Roman History on Shakespeare’s Works Retrieved from
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Encarta, 2009. Anglo-Saxon England. Retrieved from 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All
rights reserved Retrieved on September 21, 2020

“Viking Literature: Stories, Sagas and Myths”, 2020. Viking Literature: Stories, Sagas and
Myths Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?
sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.historyonthene t.co m/viking-literature-stories-
sagas-and-
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“Impacts Of Norman Conquest On English Literature”, 2020. Impacts Of Norman Conquest

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