Group 7

O'real Dhea Pertiwi 09

Aghni Qolba' Abidah F. 10
Rosalinda Indah 16
 Poetry
Written in a single metre
A four-stress line with a caesura (a syntactical break) between the second
and third stresses
Alliteration connecting the two parts of the line
Six-stress lines are used to break up the pattern on occasion
 The Major Manuscript
The Junius or
The Exeter Book
“Caedmon”
Manuscript

The Beowulf
Manuscript or
The Vercelli Book
“Nowell Codex”
 Problems of Dating
It is difficult to date Old English poems
Few poems can be dated as precisely as Caedmon's because of the lack of such evidence, and
"Hymn," which may be dated to the late 7th century. the scholarly agreement that most were
King Alfred’s compositions fall into the late 9th
century. written in the Midlands and North in the
Bede composed his “Death Song” within 50 days of his 8th and 9th centuries lost way to
death on May 25, 735. ambiguity. Many scholars now believe that
Historical poems such as “The Battle of Brunanburh”
(after 937) and The Battle of Maldon (after 991) are "The Wanderer," Beowulf, and other
fixed by the dates of the events they commemorate. poetry thought to have been composed in
A translation of one of Aldhelm’s riddles is found not the 8th century were actually written in
only in the Exeter Book but also in an early 9th-century
manuscript at Leiden, Neth. the 9th century or later.
A part of “The Dream of the Rood” can be dated by an
excerpt carved on the 8th-century Ruthwell Cross (in
Dumfriesshire, Scot.)

 Religious Verse
Cynewulf's best works such as:
The Fates of the Apostles
The Ascension
Julian
Elene

His theme is the continuing evangelical mission from the time of Christ
to the triumph of Christianity under Constantine. Several poems with
Christ as their topic are included in the “Cynewulf group”, the most
famous of which is “The Dream of the Rood.”
 Elegiac Verse
Old English poetry that laments the loss of worldly goods, glory, or
human connection are referred to as elegy.
"The Wanderer" is told by a man who has lost his lord and kinsmen,
and whose travels lead him to the conviction that only heaven
provides stability.
"The voyage" metaphor of "The Seafarer" is similar, but it more
overtly depicts the speaker's spiritual yearnings.
Three elegies— “The Husband's Message”, “The Wife's Lament”,
and “Wulf and Eadwacer”—describe what appears to be a standard
situation: the separation of husband and wife due to the husband's
banishment.
 Heroic Verse
"The Battles of Beowulf", Beowulf narrates a prince of
the Geats (a tribe in what is now southern Sweden),
against the monstrous Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a
fire-breathing dragon.
“The Battle of Brunanburh”, a panegyric
commemorating King Athelstan's victory over a
combination of Norsemen and Scots in 937, is the most
notable of several poems dealing with English history
preserved in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
"The Battle of Maldon", which narrated Aldorman
Byrhtnoth's and much of his army's defeat at the hands
of Viking invaders in 991.
The first English prose work, the legal code of King
Ethelbert I of Kent, was produced just a few years
after St. Augustine of Canterbury arrived in England
(597).

More laws, wills, and characters can be found in

other 7th and 8th-century literature, which is
Prose
equally practical in nature.

Early Translation into ENglish
In the late 9th century, King Alfred,
keen to improve the quality of English
learning, undertook a strict initiative to
translate into English "those writings
that are vital for all men to know."
Alfred personally translated:
St. Gregory I the Great's Pastoral Care
Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy
St. Augustine of Hippo's Soliloquies
the first 50 Psalms.
Alfred is thought to have influenced
anonymous academics to translate:
- Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis
Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the
English People)
- Paulus Orosius' Historiarum adversum
paganos libri vii (Seven Books of History
against the Pagans).
All of these writings are considerably
shortened.
In the late-9th-century, Danish wars were
significantly more detailed. Those covering
the period from Ethelred II's reign to the
Norman Conquest in 1066 (when The Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle was available in various
forms) have several passages of excellent
writing.
Actually, the early 10th century isn't known for its
literary work. Some of the sermons in the Vercelli
Book and the Blickling Manuscript according to
Early Translat
Scheide Library, Princeton University, may date ion into
from that period. ENglish
Late 10th and 11th Century Prose
P o p u lar w ri te rs in th is p e ri o d :
Aelfric
Wulfstan
Byrhtferth of Ramsey
 rm n a m e d T h e B en e d ic ti n e
There was a refo
m id - to la te -1 0 th ce n tu ry .
Reform in the era
e s ta b li s h o rd e r a n d d is c ip li ne
They tried to
o rg a n iz a ti o n th at h a d b e c o m e
in a monastic
ia te d w it h p ro s e li te ra tu re
loose, is assoc
from that era.
of St. Be ne dict wa s tra ns lated
The Rule
ld , bish op o f W inch e ster and
by Ethelwo
one of the reformers.

pil, Ae lfric, a m onk at C ern e

But his pu
b bo t o f Eyn s ha m , w as the
and later a
st an d m o s t pro lific w rite r of the
greate
period.
 of this perio d fr om W u lf sta n work:
Works
vil an d ecc le sia s tical leg a l
wrote a ci
orks of this per io d fr om A elfr ic work:
W codes
es o f 4 0 ho m ilies ea ch (C atholic
three cycl a variety of sermons:
2 vo l., a n d th e Li ve s o f th e Saints) ("W u lf's
Homili es , o Lu pi a d A ng lo s
example: Serm
a Latin grammar
d n a tu ra l h isto ry Address to the English")
a trea tise o n ti m e a n
pastoral letters
p eriod from
several translations Works th
of is
st p ublis h ed an Old
An un kn o w n gl o ss a ri Byrhtferth of Ramsey work:
a tio n of A el fr ic's La tin Co lloquy
English tran sl some Latin works
Enchiridion
r
a calendar textbook known fo
its artistic style
 nymous writings, and some were
o
Moreover, a huge number of an
of great quality, such as
homilies
saints' biographies
dialogues
translations of works:
- the Gospels,
r of Old Testament books,
- a numbe
- liturgical materials
- Penitential handbooks
- monastery norms
c e (derived from a Greek word
- Apollonius of Tyre's roman
nsla ted from La tin original)
but tra
Notable Old English Writers
Famous Old English Author, an Anglo-Saxon
Significant
theologian, and historian is perhaps the period's
most influential and prolific writer, and his timing of
historical events from Christ's birth has been
Figures and
Texts
widely accepted in the West for centuries. On the
other hand, Cynewulf is only known as such because
of an acrostic. There is no other biographical
information available. However, both of their
writings, as well as those of the other writers
included in this section, give a wealth of
information.
 , m os t likel y Ey ns ha m , Ox fo rd sh ire , En gland)
Aelfric (c. 955–c. 1025
os e w rit er w ho w as w id el y re ga rded as
Aelfric was an Anglo-Saxon pr
wro te bo th to tr ain th e m on ks an d to entertain
the best of his era. He
e kn ow ledg e of th e m on as tic re su rg en ce of
them. and to disseminate th
99 0 o 92 , he w ro te th e Ca th olic Homilies,
the tenth century. From –t
rm on s ba se d on th e Ch ur ch Fa th er s. He
which contained orthodox se
gr am m ar , he nc e his ni ckna m e Gr am m aticus, as
was the author of Latin
th e He pt at eu ch (a ve rn ac ul ar ve rsion of
well as Lives of the Saints and
ion of th e fir st se ve n bo ok s of th e Bible), as
the Bible). language vers
well as letters and various treatises.

Caedmon (fl. 658–680)

ristia n po et in Old En glish . His fra gm en ted ode to creation is a sign of
Caedmon was the earliest Ch
po eti c tra dit ion be ing ad ap ted to the exp ression of Christian
the aristocratic-heroic Anglo-Saxon
te he rds ma n, ret rea ted fro m co mp an y on e night in humiliation because
ideas. Caedmon, an illitera
de ma nd ma de of ea ch vis ito r to sin g, according to Bede's
he couldn't comply with the
le, als o, in a dre am a str an ge r appro ac hed and told him to
Ecclesiastical History of the English Peop
ev ery thi ng ," an d the he rds ma n fou nd him self saying "verses he'd
sing about "the beginning of
ok e, he told the far m ba iliff ab ou t his dream, and he was
never heard before." When Caedmon aw
so me in the po et’ s No rth um brian dia lec t, some in other Old English
led to jail by him. scripts,
patte rn for alm os t the wh ole art of An glo -Saxon verse.
dialects—set the
 e g a m e C y n e w u lf (f l. Th e 9 th -
Cynewulf is a character in th
o r M e rc ia [n o w in E n g la n d ])
century ad, Northumbria
m e is a ls o s p e lle d C y n w u lf o r
Cynewulf, whose na
e a u th o r o f fo u r O ld E n g li sh
Cynewulf is thought to be th
om th e la te 10 th ce n tu ry . Th e
poems found in manuscripts fr
E le n e a n d Th e F a te s o f the
Vercelli The book contains
B o o k h a s Ju li a n a a n d Th e
Apostles, while the Exeter
co n d h a lf o f a tr il o g y ca ll e d C hrist
Ascension (which is the se
and is a ls o k no w n a s C h ri s t II ).

Saint Bede the Venerable (b. 672/673, traditionally Monkton in Jarrow,

Northumbria [now England]—d. May 25, 735, Jarrow; canonized 1899; feast
day May 25) was a The Northumbrian monk who lived in Jarrow, Northumbria
[now England]
Saint Bede the Venerable was an Anglo-Saxon theologian, historian, and
chronologist best known for his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, an
important source for the history of the Anglo-Saxon tribes' conversion to
Christianity. Bede's reputation was built mostly on his scripture
interpretations during his lifetime and during the Middle Ages, copies of which
could be found in many of Western Europe's monastic libraries.
 Notable Old English Texts: Significant
a. Old English Texts of Note
b. Chronicle of the Anglo-Saxons
c. The Brunanburh Battled. Beowulf
Figures and
e. Deor
f. The Rood's Dream
g. Exeter Book Texts
h. The Message from the Husband
i. Manuscript of Junius
j. Book by Vercelli
Old English Text of Note
O ld E n glis h lite ra tu re is B e o wulf.
The greatest monument of l
ulf a n d th e m o n ste r Gre n de
The tale of the prince Beow
rs to d a y; a n E ng lis h tr a n s la tion
continues to fascinate read e
m e a w o rl d w id e b lo ck b us ter
eca
by Irish poet Seamus Heaney b
O th e r te xt s , su ch a s in pro s e and
at the turn of the century.
lly sig nifica n t fo r co m pre he n ding
inverse, are equ a
riod in w h ich th ey w ere p ro d u ced.
the time pe

Chronicle of the Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a chronological narrative of events in Anglo-Saxon
and Norman England, is a collection of seven surviving interconnected
manuscript texts that serves as the major source for the country's early
history. The story was initially put together during King Alfred's reign (871–
899), using materials such as Bede's Ecclesiastical History, genealogies,
regnal and bishop lists, and a few other sources.
The Brunanburh Battle
The poem "The Battle of Brunanburh" has 73 lines and is included in
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under the year 937. It is related to the
success of the Saxon king Athelstan over the allied Norse, Scots,
and Strathclyde Briton invaders led by Olaf Guthfrithson, king of
Dublin and claimant to the throne of York, as previously reported.
The poem is most likely a panegyric written in honor of Athelstan's
victory. It depicts the Norsemen slinking back to Dublin in their
ships while their dead sons are devoured by crows and wolves, and
it tallies the dead kings and earls on the battlefield. According to
the poem, this was the greatest fight England had ever seen. The
Battle of Maldon was fought in the English county of Essex.

Beowulf
, is Ol d En glish lit er at ur e's pin na cle ac hie vement and the
Beowulf, the heroic poem
lar ve rn ac ula r ep ic. It re lat es wi th oc curre nces in the
first European vernacular-
gh t to ha ve be en wr itt en be tw ee n 70 0 an d 750. It
early sixth century and is th ou
sc rip t (Co tto n Vit ell ius A XV ) fro m ar ou nd 1000. It
is preserved in a single manu
5 that it wa s pu blish ed . It wa s re na me d after the Scandinavian
wasn't until 181
os e ac co mp lis hm en ts an d ch ar ac te r pr ov ide the unifying theme.
hero Beowulf, wh
no pr oo f of a his to ric al Be ow ulf, se veral of the poem's
Although there is
acters, locat ion s, an d ev en ts ca n be va lid at ed historically.
char
 Deor
na rr at or of "D eo r, " a 42 -l in e Old
Deor, a scop (minstrel), is the
on e of on ly tw o ex ta nt O ld En gl ish poems
English epic poem that is
et e "W ul f an d Ea dw ac er " is th e other.)
with a refrain. (The incompl
ur t by an ot he r m in st re l an d lost
Deor, who was replaced at his co
fa vo r, co m plai ns in th e po em , which is
his estates and his lord's
t." D eo r re co un ts fi ve in cide nt s of the
also known as "Deor's Lamen
fr om a Ge rm an ic le ge nd in th e
sufferings of various individuals
irre gu la r st an za s. "T ha t tr ou bl e passed;
poem, which is written in
de s ea ch st an za . So m e ac ad em ics
so can this," the refrain conc lu
is on ly a pr et ex t fo r in tr od uc ing heroic
feel that the lament
traditions and that Deor

The Rood's Dream

a Ro od w ho ha s a dr ea m . Th e Dr ea m of th e Rood
This is a story about
th e fir st dr ea m po et ry , an d on e of th e finest
is an Old English lyric,
glish lang ua ge , cr ed ited to Ca ed m on or
religious lyrics in the En
long er . A love ly tr ee — th e ro od , or cr oss,
Cynewulf at one time but no
died is se en by an un nam ed po et in a drea m.
on which Christ —
Exeter book
ed by Exe te r U n iver si ty P re ss . Th e
This is a book publish
t co llec tion of O ld En gl is h poe tr y still
Exeter Book is the bigges
w a s co pie d a ro un d 9 75 a nd
in existence. The manuscript
ra l by B ish op Le of ri c (d . 10 72 ). It
entrusted to Exeter Cathed
e re lig io us p oe tr y: th e C h rist , w hich is
starts with three larg
tw o ve rs es by St . G ut h lac; the
divided into three parts;
za rius "; an d th e a lleg oric a l P h oe nix.
fragmentary"A

The Message from the Husband

he Hu sb an d's Me ss ag e," an Ol d En gli sh po em that is one of
The Exeter Book contains "T
m th e An glo -S ax on pe rio d. It is no table fo r its ingenious
the few surviving love lyrics fro
y. Th e sp ea ke r is a wo od en stick on wh ich is
shape as well as its emotional inten sit
ssag e fro m an ex iled hu sb an d to his wi fe . The staff explains
carved in runic letters a me
th e wa te r, ne ve r im ag ini ng it wo uld on e da y have the
how it began as a sapling beside
ma n etch ed a hid de n me ss ag e on it. Th e husband's message
ability to speak, until a
to de pa rt du e to a qu ar re l, bu t th at he ha s now amassed
describes how he was forced
h and powe r in a new pla ce an d mi ss es his wife. It exhorts
wealt
Manuscript of Junius y 10 0 0 O ld En glish
collection of ap pr ox im at el
Th e Juni us M anus cript is a
is hop Ja m es U ss he r of A rmagh gave to
Archb
scripture paraphrases that ed at the Bodleian
in 165 1 an d is cu rr en tl y ho us
the scholar Franciscus Junius s G en es is, Exodus,
Oxford. It incl ud es th e po em
Library at the University of C ae dm on because
hich were in itia lly cr ed it ed to
Daniel, Christ, and Satan, w de 's Ec cl esiastical
the subjec ts lis te d in Be
they approximately match rs e by C aedmon.
nverted into ve rn ac ul ar ve
H isto ry as ha ving be en co
r th e firs t tim e in 16 55. The
dm on 's Pa ra ph ra se w as published fo
Cae an us cript, though
n as th e C ae dm on M
manuscript is also know dm on because the
ubt on th e at tr ib ut io n to C ae
investigations have cast do es an d by multiple
compose d at va ri ou s ti m
poems appear to have been
ine poem.
authors. Genesis is a 2,936-l

Book by Vercelli
de x Ve rc ellen sis ) is a lat e- 10 th -ce ntur y Old English
The Vercelli Book (Latin: Co
es the po em An dr ea s, tw o Cy ne wu lf po em s, "The Dream of the
manuscript. It includ
Sa ve d So ul to the Bo dy ," an d a fra gm en t of homiletic
Rood," a "Address of the
lies an d th e Ve rcell i Gu thlac , a wr itt en life of St.
poetry, as well as 23 prose homi
cove red in 182 2 in the ca th ed ra l lib rary of Vercelli, in
Guthlac. The book was dis
northwestern Italy.