ANGLO SAXON AND MEDIEVAL PERIOD

Introduction to British Literature

Conquest of Britain

Beginning as far back as 800 B.c.Britons and Gaels invaded British Isles firstRomans, led by Julius Caesar, came next and

their rule lasted more than 300 yearsAnglo-Saxon invaders came from what is

presently GermanyAll of these invasions led to making Great

Britain was it was (and its literature reflective of these diverse groups)

Coming of Christianity

Romans introduced Christianity to BritainContinued with the establishment of

monasteries from the 4th through the 6th centuries

The Church promoted peace and helped unify the English people during these times of war and invasions

Danish Invasion

Viking invaders plundered monasteries and destroyed religious objects as a result of their own rising populations in Norway and Denmark

King Alfred the Great tried to fight off the encroachment

The outcome left England divided but named Alfred a great hero in his attempts to preserve England as it was before the Danish invasion

Norman Conquest

Descendents of the Vikings who invaded France and southern England

William of Normandy suppressed Anglo-Saxon nobility and controlled government and business by conducting it in French

Led to remaking England into a feudal system

Feudalism

By definition, the exchange of property for personal service

Land all belonged to the kingBarons—land-owners with special privileges Knights—professional soldiersManors—small parcels of landSerfs—peasant s who worked at the manors

Henry II and Thomas Becket

Henry became one of England’s ables kings after Norman rule fell

Appointed his friend, Thomas Becket, as archbishop of Canterbury

Becket went against Henry and sided with the pope in a legal matter

Henry’s supporters misunderstood his wrath and murdered Becket

Becket’s tomb became a shrine at Canterbury

Anglo-Saxon Period

T he Old English Period or the Anglo-Saxon Period refers to the literature produced from the invasion of Celtic England by Germanic tribes in the first half of the fifth century to the conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror.

Medieval

The Middle English Period consists of the literature produced in the four and a half centuries between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and about 1500, when the standard literary language, derived from the dialect of the London area, became recognizable as "modern English."

Anglo Saxon Period (449-1066)

Most of the storytelling in this time period was of the oral tradition.  There are few written manuscripts that still survive.  The major themes of this time were praise of heroes who triumph in battle religious/moral instruction.  The predominant genre in this time period was epic

poetry.

Anglo-Saxon Poetry

Heroic Poetry—recounts achievements of warriorsElegiac Poetry—laments the loss of loved ones or

the pastRepresentative Works

Beowulf (epic, or long heroic poem) The Wanderer (famous elegiac poem)

Anglo-Saxon Prose

All important prose writing was composed in Latin prior to the reign of Alfred the Great

Prose: The Venerable Bede’s History of the English Church and Its People

Medieval Period (1066-1485)

This was the time of knights and their ladies

The chivalric code of honor was very important to literature of this time, and romances became popular. 

Religion was still a major reason for literature, as well, and plays that instructed the illiterate masses in moral codes, called morality plays, were produced. 

One of the major genres of this period was the folk ballad.

Poem: Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

Romances, Lyrics, and Ballads

Medieval Romances described adventures of knights such as Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory

Poets strummed harp-like instruments called lyres as they recited their work; lyric poetry evolved from this Secular Lyrics—about nature and love Religious lyrics—about God

Ballads—folk songs that tell a story such as Robin Hood