The Germanic tribes had a literature, but it was not written down. The stories and poems they made up were repeated and remembered. The Germanic tribes were fond of poetry. Their poems did not remain unchanged. Poets improved them in form and sometimes they changed them to make them more interesting.
At that time there were professional poets too, who went from one place to another or had positions at the courts of kings. They sang songs in which they enlarged and magnified the deeds and events, which the songs were describing. They even sometimes added super natural qualities to a hero.
Most of those early poems were based on historic facts but historic elements were obscured by poetic and mythical additions.
At first all the Germanic tribes were pagans, but then in the 7th century the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity by missionaries who came from the continent. So in the 7th century the Anglo-Saxons became Christians and began composing religious works.
Vocabulary
add [aed] v addition [s'dijbn] n adopt [g'dDpt] v Christian ['knstjan] n Christianity Lkristi'asnrti] n compose [ksm'psuz] v , convert [kan'v3:t] v ( ) establish [is'taeblij] v ;
magnify ['msegmfai] v
missionary ['/]
monk []
mythical ['011] ,
obscure [sb'skjus] v
position [pa'zifsn] n
quality ['kwoliti] n
supenatural [,sju:p3'naetfr3l]
Beowulf
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Beowulf f beiawulf] is the most important poem of the Anglo-Saxon period. Though the Angles brought Beowulf with them to England, it has nothing to do with it. The epic is not even about the Anglo-Saxons, but about the Scandinavians when they lived on the continent in the 3rd or 4th century.
The story of Beowulf was written down in the 10th century by an unknown author, and the manuscripts is now kept in the British Museum. Its social interest lies in the vivid description of the life of that period, of the manners and customs of the people at that time, of the relations among the members of the society and in the portrayal of their towns, ships and feasts.
| Aglo-Saxon warriors |
The scene takes place among the Jutes, who lived on the Scandinavian peninsula at the time. Their neighboms were the Danes. The Jutes and the Danes were good sailors. Their ships sailed round the coast of the peninsula and to far-off lands.
The poem describes the warriors in battle and at peace, during their feasts and amusements. The main hero, Beowulf, is a strong, courageous, unselfish, proud and honest man. He defends his people against the unfriendly forces of nature and becomes the most beloved and kindest king on the earth as the theme of the poem is the straggle of good against evil. Beowulf fights not for his glory, he fights for the benefit of his people.
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Although Beowulf was a Jute and his home is Jutland we say that The Song of Beowulf is an English poem. The social conditions it depicted are English. Both the form and the spirit of the poem are English. The poem is a true piece of English literature. The poem is composed with great skill. The author used many vivid
words and descriptive phrases. It is not only the subj ect of the poem that interests us but also its style. Beowulf is one of the early masterpieces of the Anglo-Saxon or Old English language. The poem is famous for its metaphors. For instance, the poet calls the sea "the swan's road", the body "the bone-house", a warrior "a heroin-battle", etc.
The Story
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The epic consists of two parts. The first part
tells us how Beowulf freed the Danes from two
monsters. Hrothgar [' hroGga:], King of the
Danes, in his old age had built near the sea a hall
called Heorot. He and his men gathered there
for feasts. One night as they were all sleeping a
frightful monster called Grendel broke into the
hall, killed thirty of the sleeping warriors, and
carried off their bodies to devour them in his lair
under the sea. The horrible half-human crea
ture came night after night. Fear and death
reigned in the great hall. For twelve winters
Grendel's horrible raids continued. At last
the rumour of Grendel and his horrible deeds
crossed over the sea and reached Beowulf
who was a man of immense strength and Aglo-Saxon warrior
courage. When he heard the story, Beowulf decided to fight the monster and free the Danes. With fourteen companions he crossed the sea. This is how his voyage is described in the poem:
The foamy-necked floater fanned by the breeze
Likest a bird glided the waters
Till twenty and four hours hereafter
The twist-stemmed vessel had travelled such distance,
That the sailing-men saw the sloping embankments,
The sea-cliffs gleaming, precipitous mountains.
The Danes receive Beowulf and his companions with great hospitality, they make a feast in Heorot at which the queen passes the mead cup to the warriors with her own hand. But as night approaches the fear of Grendel is again upon the Danes. They all withdraw after the king has warned Beowulf of the frightful danger of sleeping in the hall. Beowulf stays in the hall with his warriors, saying proudly that since weapons cannot harm the monster, he will wrestle with him bare-handed. Here is the description of Grendel's approach to Heorot:
Forth from the fens, from the misty moorlands, Grendel came gliding God's wrath be bore Came under clouds, until he saw clearly, Glittering with gold plates, the mead hall of men. Down fell the door, though fastened with fire bands; Open it sprang at the stroke of his paw. Swollen with rage burst in the bale-bringer; Flamed in his eyes a fierce light, likest fire.
Breaking into the hall, Grendel seizes one of the sleepers and devours him. Then he approaches Beowulf and stretches out a claw, only to find it clutched in a grip of steel. A sudden terror strikes the monster's heart. He roars, struggles, tries to free his arm; but Beowulf leaps to his feet and grapples his enemy barehanded. After a desperate struggle Beowulf manages to tear off the monster's arm; Grendel escapes shrieking across the moor, and plunges into the sea to die.
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Beowulf hangs the huge arm with its terrible claws over the king's seat; the Danes rejoice in Beowulf's victory. When night falls, a great feast is spread in Heorot. Beowulf receives rich presents, everybody is happy. The Danes once more go to sleep in the great hall. At midnight comes another monster, mother of Grendel, who wants to revenge her son. She seizes the king's best friend and councillor and rushes away with him over the fens. The old king is broken-hearted, but Beowulf tries to console him:
Sorrow not, wise man. It is better for each
That his friend he avenge than that he mourn much.
Each of us shall the end await
Of worldly life: let he who may gain
Honour ere1 death.
Then Beowulf prepares for a new fight. He plunges into the horrible place, while his companions wait for him on the shore. After a terrible fight at the bottom of the sea in the cave where the monsters live, Beowulf kills the she-monster with a magic sword which he finds in the cave. The hero returns to Heorot, where the Danes are already mourning for him, thinking him dead. Triumphantly Beowulf returns to his native land.
In the last part of the poem there is another great fight. Beowulf is now an old man; he has reigned for fifty years, beloved by all his people. He has overcome every enemy but one, a fire dragon keeping watch over an enormous treasure hidden among the mountains. Again Beowulf goes to fight for his people. But he is old and his end is near. In a fierce battle the dragon is killed, but the fire has entered Beowulf's lungs.
He sends Wiglaf, the only of his warriors who had the courage to stand by him in his last fight, to the dragon's cave for the treasures. Beowulf dies, leaving the treasures to the people.
Vocabulary
| companion ['] compose ['] v console [ksn'sgul] v contents ['kontgnts] n councillor ['kaunsita] n courageous [ka'reid^as] , creature ['kritjb] n ; deed [di:d] n ; |
avenge [a'vencfo] v
bale [beil] n ;
band [bsnd] n
bare-handed ['beg'haendid]
( ) bear [] v (bore; borne) benefit ['benifit] n , breeze [bri:z] n () claw [klo:] n ; clutch [kktj] v
ere [] .
depict [di 'pikt] v ,
descriptive [dis 'knptivj ;
desperate ['despant] ;
devour [di'vaua] v
dragon ['draegan] n
embankment [im'bcerjkmsnt] n
enormous [I'noimas] ,
epic ['epik] n
evil [i:vl] n
fan [fsen] v , , ( )
fasten ['fa:sn] v ;
fear []
feast [first] n ;
fen [fen] ,
floater f'flauta] n ,
foamy ['fbumi]
frightful ['fraitful] ,
gleam [gli:m] v ;
glide [glaid] v
glitter ['gilts] v ,
grapple ['graepl] v ,
grip [grip] n
harm [ha:m] v ,
hospitality Lhnspi'taeliti] n
immense [i 'mens] ,
lair [1] ;
leap [li:p] v (leapt, leaped) ,
manuscript ['maenjusknpt] n
masterpiece ['ma:stapi:s] n
mead [mi:d] n ()
metaphor ['metafa] n
misty ['misti]
monster ['rrmnsta] n
moorland ['mualand] ,
mourn [mo:n] v ;
overcome [^'] v (overcame; overcome) ,
paw [po:] n nana
peninsula [pi'ninsjula] n
plunge ['pUnay v ;
portrayal [po:'treial] n ;
precipitous [pn' srpitas] n ;
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rage [reidj;] n ,
raid [reid] n
rejoice [n'djois] v
roar [ro:] v ,
rumour [':] ,
scene [si:n] n
shriek [fri:k] v ,
sloping ['slaupirj]
spirit ['spirit] n
stroke [strauk] n
subject ['sAbdpkt] n
swollen ['swaulan] ;
sword [so:d] n
theme [9i:m]
twist [twist] v ; twist-stemmed vessel
vivid ['vivid]
warn [wo:n] v
wrath [ro:9] n ,
wrestle ['rest] v
Questions and Tasks
1. When was poem Beowulf compiled?
2. What is the social interest of the poem?
3. What time does the poem tell us of?
4. Where is the scene of the poem set?
5. What does the poem tell us about the Jutes and the Danes?
6. What kind of man was the young knight of the Jutes Beowulf?
7. How is the poem composed?
8. What interests us besides the subject of the poem?
9. What is the poem famous for?
10. Retell the contents of Beowulf.
Anglo-Saxon Literature
(the 7th-11th centuries)
The culture of the early Britons changed greatly under the influence of Christianity. Christianity penetrated into the British Isles in the 3rd century. It was made the Roman national faith in the year 306 when Constantine the Great became emperor over the whole of the Roman Empire. The religion was called the Catholic Church (the word "Church" means "religion", "catholic" means "universal"). The Greek and Latin languages became the languages of the Church all over Europe.
At the end of the 4th century, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Britain was conquered by Germanic tribes. They were pagans. They persecuted the British Christians and put many of them to death or drove them away to Wales and Ireland.
At the end of the 6th century monks came from Rome to Britain again with the purpose to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. You know that in the 7th century the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity.
The part of England where the monks landed was Kent and the first church they built was in the town of Canterbury. Up to this day it is the English religious centre. Now that Roman civilization
poured into the country again, a second set of Latin words was introduced into the language of the Anglo-Saxons, because the religious books that the Roman monks had brought to England were all written in Latin and Greek. The monasteries where the art of reading and writing was practised became the centres of almost all the learning and education in the country. No wonder many poets and writers imitated those Latin books about the early Christians, and they also made up many stories of their own aboiit saints. Though the poets were English, they had to write in Latin. Notwithstanding this custom, a poet appeared in the 7th century by the name of Caedmon kaedman] who wrote in Anglo-Saxon. He was a shepherd, who started singing verses and became a poet. Later monks took him to a monastery where he made up religious poetry. He wrote a poem the Paraphrase ['pserafreiz]. It tells part of a Bible-story.
Another writer of this time was Bede [bi: d]. He described the country and the people of his time in his work The History of the English Church. His work was a fusion of historical truth and fantastic stories. It was the first history of England and Bede is regarded as "the father of English history".
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Another outstanding figure in En glish history and literature was Alfred the Great (849-901), the king of Wessex. Though he was a soldier he fought no wars except those in order to defend his country. He built a fleet of ships to beat the Danes who had again come to invade Wessex. He also made up a code of law. He tried to develop the culture of his people. He founded the first English public school for young men. He translated the Church-history of Bede from Latin into a language the people could understand, and a portion of the Bible as well. To him the English owe the famous Anglo- The Venerable writing the life of
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_,,.,,.,, St Cuthbert, the monk who spread
LhrOIUCle Which may be Christianity in the north of Britain
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| Questions and Tasks 1. When did Christianity penetrate the British Isles? 2. When was it made the Roman national faith? 3. What was the religion called? 4. What languages became the languages of the Church all over Europe? 5. Why did monks come from Rome to Britain at the end of the 6th century? 6. When were the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity? 7. Where did the monks land? 8. Where was the first church built? 9. Why did the monasteries become the centres of all the learning and education? 10. What language did the English poets have to write? 11. What representatives of Anglo-Saxon literature can you name? 12. What poem did Caedmon write? 13. Say about Bede and his work. 14. Speak about the contribution of king Alfred to the development of English literature and culture. |
Vocabulary
Catholic ['] a Christian ['knstjsn] n Christianity [.kristi'asniti] n code [koud] n contribution [,kcntrf bju:Jbn] n convert [kan'v3:t] v ( ) emperor ['] empire ['empara] n faith [feiG] fusion ['fjirjsn] imitate ['imiteit] v , influence ['mfluans] n introduce [,mtra'dju:s] v monastery ['rrronsstsri] n
notwithstanding [,rrotwi9'staendm] prep
owe [] v penetrate ['penitreit] v persecute ['p3:sikju:t] v ,
portion [':/] pour [:] v regard [n'ga:d] v saint [semt] n set [set] n shepherd ['Jepad] n universal [Ju:m'v3:sal] venerable ['vensrabl]
( )
THE DANISH CONQUEST AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS
When King Alfred died, fighting with the Danes soon began again. They occupied the north and east of England (Scotland and Ireland) and also sailed over the Channel and fought in France.
The land they conquered in the North of France was called Normandy and the people who lived there the Northmen. In the hundred years that were to follow they began to be called Normans.
The Danes who had occupied the North and East of England spoke a language only slightly different from the Anglo-Saxon dialects. The roots of the words were the same while the endings were different. Soon these languages merged with one another as they were spoken by all classes of society. The language of the Anglo-Saxons took many new words from Danish, particularly those regarding state affairs and shipbuilding. Such words as law, ship, fellow, husband, sky, ill are of Scandinavian origin. The Danes were in many ways more civilized than the English. The Danes were accustomed to chairs and benches while the English still sat on the floor. The Danes brought the game of chess to England which originally had come to them from the East.
Vocabulary
accustom [a'kAStam] v Northman [':8]
affair [] origin [']
civilized ['smlaizd] originally ['%11] adv
comment ['tomant] v regarding [n'ga:dm] prep ,
conquest ['kurjkwast]
dialect ['daislekt] root [ru:t] n
merge [: v , slightly ['slaitli] adv
Normandy ['rmnandi] n
"
Questions and Tasks
1. When did fighting with the Danes begin again?
2. What part of the country did they occupy?
3. What name was given to the land in the north of France?
4. What language did the Northmen speak?
5. What do you know about the language the Danes spoke?
6. Comment on the development of the English language influenced by the Danish invasion.
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The Norman Period
