ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE & THE EPIC POEM

TIMELINE 2000 B.C.—Invaders from Iberian peninsula invaded cave dwelling

people Create a sophisticated society Stonehenge

600 B.C.—Celts reach the British Isles Built walled farms and hut villages Separate Celtic tribes each with own King fought each other

55 B.C.—Rome tries to conquer Britain Dominating Mediterranean world Julius Caesar

43 A.D—Rome conquers Britain Claudius 300 years Turned Britain into a prosperous colony

Meeting Halls, law courts, amphitheaters

TIMELINE 449—invasion of Germanic Tribes: Angles, Saxons, Jutes

take over southeastern part of England—call it “Angle-land” Tribal communities ruled by warrior Kings

596—missionaries attempt to convert Anglo-Saxons to Christianity

650—most of England is Christian 787—Danish invasion of England

Danes and Norsemen try to win Britain By 800, most of England had fallen to invaders

878 Alfred, Saxon king of Wessex led warriors to victory over the

Danes in Battle of Edington Son and grandson won back all of England from Danes

TIMELINE 1066—King Edward dies

Duke of Normandy laid claim to English throne British council appoints Harold II as King Duke of Normandy attacks and defeats Anglo-

Saxons (Battle of Hastings) Results in England’s first Norman King, William I

(William the Conqueror) Results in influence of French culture Feudalism/Chivalry

Feudalism—land was given to lords who supported the French king. These lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military duty

Chivalry Knights strove to be honorable, generous, brave, skillful in

battle, respectful to women, and helpful to the weak.

TIMELINE CONTINUED 1300s—Black death wipes out 1/3 of

England’s population 1455—War of the Roses: civil wars

between House of Lancaster and House of York in England

FOOD & FASHION 15th century noble women wore pointed headdresses Men wore hoods called liripipes with long pointed

backs

Rich people passed laws allowing common people and servants to only wear cheap cloth clothing

Social status determined what food you ate Wealthy—richer, fattening foods: red meat, gravy Common People—veggies, high fiber products Everyone ate bread

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Manuscripts decorated in bright colors

and real gold Knights provided sport and

entertainment by performing in tournaments

People enjoyed watching jugglers, storytellers, musicians

LITERATURE Songs and Poems

Few people could read Listed to songs, poems, stories, sermons Clergy and traveling minstrels created a great body of oral literature

Stained Glass Windows In cathedrals—presented Bible stories and moral lessons to educate

those who could not read Theology

Schools spread across Europe along with interest in reason and Greek philosophy

700 Possible composition of Beowulf—oldest known epic poem in English

892 Year by year diary of important World events

LANGUAGE Early stages—mostly spoken rather than written Latin was eventually written 1066—French influence

English people spoke and wrote in French 1476—William Caxton

Sets up a wooden printing press after traveling to Germany to learn about printing process

Many forms of English were being used in England He chose which form and began to print--

STANDARDIZATION

LANGUAGE CONTINUED Old English (450-1150)

Language of Celtic people and language of invading Germanic tribes

Only a few words today are Anglo-Saxon: to, and, for

French and Latin influence French was language of upper class: No

king of England spoke Old English as his native language between 1066-1300s

LANGUAGE CONTINUED Middle English (1150-1500)

During this time one part of England could not understand people in a different part

Characterized by simple grammar Fixed word order developed Addition of new words Standardization of language

EPIC POEM Definition

Long narrative poem on a great and serious subject and centered on a heroic or quasi-divine figure on whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race

EPIC CONVENTIONS Hero is of national importance; ideal man

of culture Setting is a vast scope; great geographical

distances Action consists of superhuman courage Supernatural forces intervene at times Style of writing is ceremonial Main characters have extended, formal

speeches

POETIC/LITERARY DEVICES IN EPIC POETRY Foil: someone or something that serves as a contrast to

the other Batman and The Joker

Alliteration: the repetition of an initial consonant sound in a poetic line “The sound of the harp, and the scop’s sweet song…” (line

60). Kenning: two words that employs figurative language in

place of a concrete single noun Whale-road= ocean

Epithet: a word or brief phrase often used to characterize a particular person, place, or thing Spear-Danes= Danish people

Caesura: a break in the middle of a poetic line “Fierce and furious, launched attack” (Line 81).