Expanding your Knowledge 2

UNIT I
OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE
This unit gives you an idea on how literature emerges during the 5th Century. Further, well-
known writers of this era, together with their canon works or oeuvres, are introduced in this unit.
This will help you identify and analyze the differences of the canon literary pieces to the
contemporary ones. Credits are due given to Encyclopedia Britannica for being the main source on
this unit. Most of the lessons incorporated herein are credited to Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

Objectives: Anglo-Saxon Literature

At the end of this unit, I It pertains to the literature during the Old English
am able to:
a. list and evaluate the well- (c.650–c. 1100) which dated back from 450-1066, the year of
known literary pieces in the the Norman French conquest of England. The Germanic tribes
Anglo-Saxon Literature; from Europe who overran England in the 5th century, after
b. explain the various lexis and
the Roman withdrawal, brought with them the Old English, or
terms used in any oral,
written,or literary expression; Anglo-Saxon, language, which is the basis of Modern English.
c. be familiarized with the The Old English language, also called Anglo-Saxon, is
different writers during the the language spoken and written in England before 1100; this
Anglo-Saxon Period;
d. recall the different important is the ancestor of Middle English and Modern English. Scholars
events during the period; and place Old English in the Anglo-Frisian group of West Germanic
e. appreciate the contributions of languages. Four dialects of the Old English language are
the writers in this era. known: Northumbrian in northern England and southeastern
Scotland; Mercian in central England; Kentish in
southeastern England; and West Saxon in southern and southwestern England. Mercian and
Northumbrian are often classed together as the Anglian dialects. Most extant Old English writings
are in the West Saxon dialect; the first great period of literary activity occurred during the reign of
King Alfred the Great in the 9th century.
During this time, poems are handed down from generation to generation through oral
traditions. The Anglo-Saxon bards, called “scops”, recited the poems with the accompaniment of the
harp. Scops are skilled storytellers who honored members of the society, specifically; they sang the
heroic deeds of the members. They are also regarded as equals to warriors. The recited poems are
often bold and strong, but also mournful and elegiac in spirit, this poetry emphasizes the sorrow
and ultimate futility of life and the helplessness of humans before the power of fate. Almost all this
poetry is composed without rhyme, in a characteristic line, or verse, of four stressed syllables
alternating with an indeterminate number of unstressed ones.
Anglo-Saxon Literature includes genres such as the following: epic poetry, hagiography,
sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles. The verses are highly alliterative in
nature with frequent pauses called “caesura” in each line, or the use of syllables beginning with
similar sounds in two or three of the stresses in each line.
They also make elaborate metaphors known as “kennings.” Kennings use compound
poetic phrases to substitute for the name of a person or thing. These are the concise compound or
figurative phrase replacing a common noun, especially in Old Germanic, Old Norse, and Old English
poetry. A kenning is commonly a simple stock compound such as “whale-path” or “swan road” for
“sea,” “God’s beacon” for “sun,” or “ring-giver” for “king.” Many kennings are allusions that become
unintelligible to later generations. A non-Germanic analogue is the Homeric epithet—e.g., “rosy-
fingered dawn.” See also skaldic poetry. The term is a derivative of the Old Norse kenna, “to
perceive,” “to know,” or “to name.”
 Examples of Kennings on Beowulf:

fighting gear; battle gear/armor; battle-sweat: blood

twilight-spoiler: dragon
warriors’ protector; ring-giver: lord/king
peace-bringer: queen
swan-road; whale road; seabird’s baths: sea
bentnecked wood, foamy-necked: ship
battle-lightning: sword

Old English verse was originally delivered orally, a highly formalized method of
transmitting cultural and political history in an illiterate society. The heavy alliteration of the verse,
using words that begin with similar sounds, may have made it easier to remember. Heroic themes
of honor, valor in battle, and fame among one’s descendants are often featured in these poems, but
there is also a sorrowful tradition that focuses on the concept of the exile. “The Wanderer,” one of
the most beautiful Old English poems, recalls a sense of the harshness of life and the sadness of the
human experience. (Please do visit the link provided to read “The Wanderer” -
https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/the-wanderer).
Anglo-Saxon poetry survives almost entirely in four manuscripts: Caedmon’s Hymn,
Vercelli Book, Exeter Book, and Nowell’s Codex. Beowulf is the oldest surviving Germanic epic
and the longest Old English poem (Visit the link provided to read the story of Beowulf and to be
able to answer the proceeding activity - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beowulf). Other great
works include The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Battle of Maldon, and the Dream of the Rood. The
poetry is alliterative; one of its features is the kenning, a metaphorical phrase used in place of a
common noun (e.g., “swan road” for “sea”). Notable prose includes the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a
historical record begun about the time of King Alfred’s reign (871–899) and continuing for more
than three centuries.

Representative Writers/Works
The following links will direct you to the pages that will provide you biography and the
works of the Old English writers. Do not forget to read to be able to answer the activities.

a. Venerable Bede (https://britannica.com/biography/Saint-Bede-the-Venerable)

b. Alfred the Great (https://britannica.com/biography/Alfred-king-of-Wessex)
c. Caedmon (https://britannica.com/biography/Caedmon)
d. Cynewulf (https://britannica.com/biography/Cynewulf-English-poet)