Download Old English

Old English
(about 450-1100 A.D.)
The Language
and
the Literature
Three Periods
of
English Language Development
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Old English – 450-1150 A.D.
Middle English – 1150-1500 A.D.
Modern English – 1500-present
The Celts
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Came to England during the Bronze Age
Spoke Gaelic (Ireland) and Brythonic (Britain)
Druids were priests who memorized and recited
long heroic poems – oral tradition
Romans in England
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Julius Caesar invaded England and
succeeded in gaining minimal control of
the southeast in 55 BC
300+ years of Roman rule
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Established highways and roadways
Roman houses and baths, temples
Water and heating
Latin
Germanic Conquest
Anglo-Saxons
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Invasions began around 449
AD
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Jutes (from Jutland or
northern Denmark)
Angles (from southern
Denmark and northern
Germany)
Saxons (from southern
Germany)
Celtic Shut Out
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Celts/Britons “softened” by Roman rule
Romans withdrew by 410 AD
Jutes who took over area around London
Saxons settled in Sussex and Wessex
(southern coast and midland)
Angles settled along the east coast
Viking-Danes
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The Norse and the Danes
(Vikings) took to the seas
– rising population,
limited farmland
Plundered monasteries,
destroyed manuscripts,
stole sacred religious
objects
Destroyed communities
Killed villagers
Only Wessex was able to
fight back effectively
Alfred the Great
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Wessex throne in 871
United the clans, resisted the Danes
Truce: Saxons rule the south; Danes rule
the east and north (Danelaw)
Peace -- Danish words became part of
English vocabulary (i.e. law)
Norman Conquest
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William the Conqueror defeated the AngloSaxon, Harold in 1066 – The Battle of
Hastings
End of Old English Period and beginning
of Middle English Period
England (Anglo-Saxons) ruled by Normans
(French) but not eliminated
 Feudal system of government
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The Literature
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Some brought by the
Germanic conquerors
Oral tradition
Pagan
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Grim view of life
Several gods – Woden,
Fria, Tiu, Thor
Wednesday, Friday,
Tuesday, Thursday
Fate (wyrd)
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Reintroduction of
Christianity – 6th
century
Literary Performance
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Sung by scops
Ceremonial occasion
Possibly accompanied by a harp
Caesura (repetitive pauses)
Alliteration (repetitive sounds)
Kenning (compound noun)
Beowulf
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Considered the
greatest single work
of Old English
literature
3,000-line folk epic
Hero
Social conditions
Germanic
motives/ideals
Beowulf as a record
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Physical endurance
Unflinching courage
Sense of duty
Loyalty
Honor
“Sorrow not . . . Better is it
for every man that he
avenge his friend than
that he mourn greatly.
Each of us must abide the
end of this world’s life; let
him who may, work
mighty deeds ere he die,
for afterwards, when he
lies lifeless, that is best
for the warrior.”
Other Old English Literature
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War and exile
Sea and its
hardships/fascination
Ruined cities
Minstrel life
Christian subjects
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“Widsith”
“Deor”
“The Wanderer”
“The Seafarer”
“The Ruin”
“Battle of Brunanburh”
“Battle of Maldon”
“Juliana”
“Elene”
“Christ”
Verse Vs. Prose

Verse is
more easily
remembered
– oral
tradition
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Alfred the Great (871-899)
encouraged education
Had books translated from
Latin to English
Pastoral Care
Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of
the English People
The Consolation of Philosophy
Sermon to the English