History of Old English Literature

7/26/2019 History of Old English Literature

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A. History of Old English Literature

Old English literature(sometimes referred to as Anglo-Saxon literature) encompasses

literature written in Old English(also called Anglo-Saxon) in Anglo-Saxon England from the 7th

century to the decades after theNorman Conuestof !"##$ %C&dmon's ymn% composed in the 7th

century according to *ede is often considered the oldest extant poem in English whereas the later

poem The Graveis one of the final poems written in Old English and presents a transitional text

+etween Old and ,iddle English$i.ewise thePeterborough Chroniclecontinues until the !/th

century$

0he poemBeowulf which often +egins the traditional canon of English literatureis the most

famous wor. of Old English literature$ 0heAnglo-Saxon Chroniclehas also pro1en significant for

historical study preser1ing a chronology of early English history$ Alexander Souternames the

commentary on2aul's epistles +y2elagius%the earliest extant wor. +y a *ritish author%3n descending order of uantity Old English literature consists of4 sermons and saints' li1es

+i+lical translations5 translated atin wor.s of the early Church 6athers5 Anglo-Saxon chronicles and

narrati1e history wor.s5 lawswillsand other legal wor.s5 practical wor.s on grammarmedicine

geography5 andpoetry$ 3n all there are o1er "" sur1i1ing manuscriptsfrom the period of which

a+out !89 are considered %ma:or%$

B. Scholarship

Old English literature has gone through different periods of research5 in the !9th and early /"th

centuries the focus was on the ;ermanic and pagan roots that scholars thought they could detect in

Old English literature$ ater on account of the wor. of *ernard 6$ upp


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C. Extant manuscripts

A large num+er of manuscripts remain from the Anglo-

Saxon period with most written during its last ="" years (9th

to !!th centuries) in +oth atinand the1ernacular$0here

were considera+le losses of manuscripts as a result of the

>issolution of the ,onasteriesin the !#th century$ Scholarly

study of the language +egan in the reign of ?ueen Eli@a+eth

3 when ,atthew 2ar.er and others o+tained whate1er

manuscripts they could$ Old English manuscripts ha1e +een

highly pri@ed +y collectors since the !#th century +oth for

their historic 1alue and for their aesthetic +eauty of uniformly spaced letters and decorati1e

elements$

0here are four ma:or poetic manuscripts4

0he unius manuscript also .nown as the man hunt is an illustrated collection of

poems on +i+lical narrati1es$

0he Exeter *oo. is an anthology located in the Exeter Cathedralsince it was donated

there in the !!th century$

0he Bercelli *oo. contains +oth poetry and prose5 it is not .nown how it came to +e

in Bercelli$

0he *eowulf ,anuscript (*ritish i+rary Cotton Bitellius A$ x1) sometimes called

theNowell Codexcontains prose and poetry typically dealing with monstrousthemes includingBeowulf$

Se1en ma:or scriptoriaproduced a good deal of Old English manuscripts4inchester Exeter

orcesterA+ingdon>urham and two Canter+uryhouses Christ Churchand St$

Augustine's A++ey5regional dialects include4Northum+rian,ercianDentishest Saxon

(the last +eing the main dialect)$ Some Old English sur1i1es onparchmentstonestructures

and other ornate o+:ects$

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernacularhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernacularhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernacularhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasterieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_illuminated_Anglo-Saxon_manuscriptshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_illuminated_Anglo-Saxon_manuscriptshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junius_manuscripthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Bookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Cathedralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vercelli_Bookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vercellihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowell_Codexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowell_Codexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptoriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abingdon,_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abingdon,_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durhamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durhamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Martin's_Church,_Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Augustine's_Abbeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Augustine's_Abbeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northumbrian_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northumbrian_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercian_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercian_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentish_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Saxon_(Anglo-Saxon_dialect)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Saxon_(Anglo-Saxon_dialect)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Saxon_(Anglo-Saxon_dialect)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernacularhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasterieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_illuminated_Anglo-Saxon_manuscriptshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_illuminated_Anglo-Saxon_manuscriptshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junius_manuscripthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Bookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Cathedralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vercelli_Bookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vercellihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowell_Codexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptoriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcesterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abingdon,_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durhamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Martin's_Church,_Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterburyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Augustine's_Abbeyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northumbrian_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercian_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentish_(Anglo-Saxon)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Saxon_(Anglo-Saxon_dialect)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone


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D. Old English oetry

All this poetry was composed in effecti1ely the same meter$ 0he metrical unit is the

rhythmic phrase (half-line) usually of two stresses lin.ed into pairs +y alliteration$ End-

rhyme is hardly e1er used and the meter is not sylla+le-counting$ Although it is theoretically

1ery different from most later poetry it feels in most respects natural and immediate to a

modern ear when spo.en aloud$

Some poems recount or refer to inherited heroic legend$ ,uch else is religious$ Some of

this is %pu+lic% poetry fairly o+1iously intended to edify its audience5 other religious poems

seem rather to +e pri1ate and personal meditations on the human condition$ A few poems deal

with e1ents of recent history whether as propaganda or memorial$ Some such as the iddles

seem to +e primarily intended for entertainment although they come from a learned atin

tradition$ Not all sur1i1ing Old English poetry is particularly good$ Some poems 1ersified

saints' li1es or 1ersified translations of +oo.s of the *i+le ha1e little or no present-day

interest other than for specialists$ *ut some poems still spea. 1ery directly to modern readers

for instance %0he anderer% and %0he Seafarer% often paired and often translated$ 0hey gi1e

an intense sense of weary longing in the midst of transience desolation and dar.ness

transmuted into a hungry uest for enlightenment$

E. Old English rose

0he amount of sur1i1ing Old English prose is much greater than the amount of poetry$ Of the

sur1i1ing prose the ma:ority consists of sermons and translations of religious wor.s that were

composed in atin$ 0he di1ision of early medie1al written prose wor.s into categories of %Christian%

and %secular% as +elow is for con1enience's sa.e only for literacy in Anglo-Saxon England was

largely the pro1ince of mon.s nuns and ecclesiastics (or of those laypeople to whom they had taught

the s.ills of reading and writing atin andFor Old English)$ Old English prose first appears in the 9th

century and continues to +e recorded through the !/th century as the last generation of scri+es

trained as +oys in the standardised est Saxon +efore the Conuest died as old men$

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1. Christian prose

0he most widely .nown secular author of Old English was Ding Alfred the ;reat(89G899) who

translated se1eral +oo.s many of them religious from atin into Old English$ Alfred wanting to

restore English culture lamented the poor state of atin education4

So general was [educational] deca in !ngland that there were ver few on this side of the

"u#ber who could$$$translate a letter fro# %atin into !nglish& and ' believe there were not

#an beond the "u#ber(

)Pastoral Care* introduction

Alfred proposed that students +e educated in Old English and those who excelled should go

on to learn atin$ Alfred's cultural program produced the following translations4 ;regory the

;reat'sThe Pastoral Care a manual for priests on how to conduct their duties5 TheConsolation of Philoso+h+y *oethius5 and The Solilo,uiesof Saint Augustine$ Alfred the

;reat was also responsi+le for a translation of fifty 2salmsinto Old English$

Other important Old English translations include4"istoriae adversu# +aganos+y Orosius a

companion piece for St$ Augustine's The Cit of God5theialoguesof ;regory the ;reat5

and *ede's!cclesiastical "istor of the !nglish Peo+le$

Hlfric of Eynsham wrote in the late !"th and early !!th century$ e was the greatest and

most prolific writer of Anglo-Saxon sermons which were copied and adapted for use well

into the !=th century$ e translated the first six +oo.s of the *i+le (.ld !nglish "exateuch)

and glossed and translated other parts of the *i+le$ is%ives of Saintsin theulius

manuscriptcontains Se1en Sleepers of EphesusSaint ,ary of EgyptSaint Eustace and

Saint Euphrosyne$ Hlfric also wrote an Old English wor. on time-rec.oning and pastoral

letters$

3n the same category as Aelfric and a contemporary was ulfstan 33 arch+ishop of Ior.$

is sermonswere highly stylistic$ is +est .nown wor. is Ser#o %u+i ad Anglosin which he

+lames the sins of the English for the Bi.ing in1asions$ e wrote a num+er of clerical legal

texts'nstitutes of Politand Canons of !dgar$

One of the earliest Old English texts in prose is the/artrolog information a+out saints and

martyrs according to their anni1ersaries and feasts in the church calendar$ 3t has sur1i1ed in

six fragments$ 3t is +elie1ed to date from the 9th century +y an anonymous ,ercianauthor$

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0he oldest collections of church sermons is theBlic0ling ho#ilies found in a !"th-century

manuscript$

0here are a num+er of saint's li1es prose wor.s5 +eyond those written +y Aelfric are the prose

life of Saint ;uthlac (Bercelli *oo.) the life ofSaint ,argaretand the life of Saint Chad$

0here are four li1es in the ulius manuscript4 Se1en Sleepers of Ephesus Saint ,ary of

Egypt Saint Eustaceand Saint Euphrosyne$

0he essex ;ospelsare a full translation of the four gospels into a est Saxon dialect of Old

English produced a+out 99"$ 0he .ld !nglish Gos+el of 1icode#usmanuscripts date from

the !!th century A>$ Other translations include %$$$the Gos+el of Pseudo-/atthew2indicta

salvatoris2ision of Saint Pauland theA+ocal+se of Tho#as%$

One of the largest +odies of Old English text is found in the legal texts collected and sa1ed +y

the religious houses$ 0hese include many .inds of texts4 records of donations +y no+les5

wills5 documents of emancipation5 lists of +oo.s and relics5 court cases5 guild rules$ All of

these texts pro1ide 1alua+le insights into the social history of Anglo-Saxon times +ut are also

of literary 1alue$ 6or example some of the court case narrati1es are interesting for their use

of rhetoric$

!. Secular prose

0heAnglo-Saxon Chroniclewas pro+a+ly started in the time of Ding Alfred the ;reat and

continued for o1er ="" years as a historical record of Anglo-Saxon history$

A single example of a Classical romancehas sur1i1ed it is a fragment of the story of

A+ollonius of Tre from the !!th century$

A mon. who was writing in Old English at the same time as Aelfric and ulfstan was

*yrhtferth of amsey whose +oo.s"andbocand/anualwere studies of mathematics and

rhetoric$

Aelfric wrote two neo-scientific wor.s"exa#eronand'nterrogationes Sigewulfi dealing

with the stories of Creation$ e also wrote a grammar and glossary in Old English called

%atin later used +y students interested in learning Old 6rench+ecause it had +een glossed in

Old 6rench$

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blickling_homilieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blickling_homilieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_the_Virginhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_the_Virginhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Chadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sleepers_of_Ephesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary_of_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary_of_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Eustacehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Euphrosyne&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wessex_Gospelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_Gospel_of_Nicodemushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Pseudo-Matthewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vindicta_salvatoris&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vindicta_salvatoris&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vindicta_salvatoris&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_of_Saint_Paulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_of_Saint_Paulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Thomashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_(heroic_literature)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_(heroic_literature)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonius_of_Tyrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byrhtferth_of_Ramseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Handboc&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manual_(prose)&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexameronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interrogationes_Sigewulfi&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Latin_(prose)&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Frenchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blickling_homilieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_the_Virginhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Chadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sleepers_of_Ephesushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary_of_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary_of_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Eustacehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Euphrosyne&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wessex_Gospelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_Gospel_of_Nicodemushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Pseudo-Matthewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vindicta_salvatoris&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vindicta_salvatoris&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_of_Saint_Paulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Thomashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_(heroic_literature)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonius_of_Tyrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byrhtferth_of_Ramseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Handboc&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manual_(prose)&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexameronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interrogationes_Sigewulfi&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Latin_(prose)&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_French


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0here are many sur1i1ing rules and calculations for finding feast days and ta+les on

calculating the tides and the season of the moon$

3n the Nowell Codex is the text of The 3onders of the !astwhich includes a remar.a+le map

of the world and other illustrations$ Also contained in Nowell isAlexander4s %etter to

Aristotle$ *ecause this is the same manuscript that containsBeowulf some scholars speculate

it may ha1e +een a collection of materials on exotic places and creatures$

0here are a num+er of interesting medical wor.s$ 0here is a translation of Apuleius's

"erbariu#with stri.ing illustrations found together with/edicina de 5uadru+edibus$ A

second collection of texts isBald4s %eechboo0a !"th-century +oo. containing her+al and

e1en some surgical cures$ A third collection .nown as the%acnunga includes many charmsand incantations$

Anglo-Saxon legal texts are a large and important part of the o1erall corpus$ *y the !/th

century they had +een arranged into two large collections (see Textus 6offensis)$ 0hey include

laws of the .ings +eginning with those of Aethel+ert of Dentand texts dealing with specific

cases and places in the country$ An interesting example is Gerefawhich outlines the duties of

a ree1eon a large manor estate$ 0here is also a large 1olume of legal documents related to

religious houses$

". #eception of Old English

Old English literature did not disappear in !"## with the Norman Conuest$ ,any

sermons and wor.s continued to +e read and used in part or whole up through the !th

century and were further catalogued and organised$ >uring the eformation whenmonastic

li+raries were dispersed the manuscripts were collected +y antiuariansand scholars$ 0hese

included aurence Nowell,atthew 2ar.ero+ert *ruce Cottonandumfrey anley$ 3n

the !7th century there +egan a tradition of Old English literature dictionaries and references$

0he first was illiam Somner'sictionariu# Saxonico-%atino-Anglicu#(!#J9)$

exicographeroseph *osworth+egan a dictionary in the !9th century which was completed

+y 0homas Northcote 0ollerin !898 calledAn Anglo-Saxon ictionar which was updated

+y Alistair Camp+ellin !97/$

*ecause Old English was one of the first 1ernacular languages to +e written down

nineteenth-century scholars searching for the roots of European %national culture% (see

6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander%27s_Letter_to_Aristotle&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander%27s_Letter_to_Aristotle&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander%27s_Letter_to_Aristotle&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apuleiushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apuleiushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbariumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medicina_de_Quadrupedibus&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald's_Leechbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald's_Leechbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacnungahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell_(paranormal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incantationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Roffensishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aethelbert_of_Kenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aethelbert_of_Kenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerefa&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeve_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasterieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasterieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasterieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiquarianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Nowellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Nowellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Parkerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Parkerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bruce_Cottonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bruce_Cottonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humfrey_Wanleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humfrey_Wanleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Somnerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Somnerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexicographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bosworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bosworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Northcote_Tollerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bosworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Campbell_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander%27s_Letter_to_Aristotle&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander%27s_Letter_to_Aristotle&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apuleiushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbariumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medicina_de_Quadrupedibus&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald's_Leechbookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacnungahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spell_(paranormal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incantationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Roffensishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aethelbert_of_Kenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerefa&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reeve_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasterieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Monasterieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiquarianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Nowellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Parkerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bruce_Cottonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humfrey_Wanleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Somnerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexicographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bosworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Northcote_Tollerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bosworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Campbell_(poet)


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omantic Nationalism) too. special interest in studying Anglo-Saxon literature and Old

English +ecame a regular part of uni1ersity curriculum$ Since 33 there has +een

increasing interest in the manuscripts themsel1esKNeil Der apaleographer pu+lished the

ground+rea.ing Catalogue of /anuscri+ts Containing Anglo-Saxonin !9J7 and +y !98"

nearly all Anglo-Saxon manuscript texts were in print$$$$ 0ol.ienis credited with creating

a mo1ement to loo. at Old English as a su+:ect of literary theoryin his seminal lecture

Beowulf7 The /onsters and the Critics(!9=#)$

Old English literature has had some influence on modern literature and nota+le poets ha1e

translated and incorporated Old English poetry$ ell-.nown early translations include

illiam ,orris's translation ofBeowulfand E@ra 2ound's translation of The Seafarer$ 0he

influence of the poetry can +e seen in modern poets0$ S$ Eliot E@ra 2ound and $ $ Auden$

0ol.ien adapted the su+:ect matter and terminology of heroic poetry for wor.s li.e The

"obbitand The %ord of the 6ings and ohn ;ardnerwroteGrendel which tells the story of

*eowulf's opponent from his own perspecti1e$

,ore recently other nota+le poets such as 2aul ,uldoonSeamus eaney>enise e1erto1

and L$ A$ 6anthorpeha1e all shown an interest in Old English poetry$ 3n !987 >enise

e1erto1 pu+lished a translation of Caedmon's ymnunder her title %Caedmon% in the

collectionBreathing the 3ater$ 0his was then followed +y Seamus eaney's 1ersion of the

poem %hit+y-sur-,oyola% in his The S+irit %evel(!99#) 2aul ,uldoon's %Caedmon's

ymn% in his/o Sand and Gravel(/""/) and L$ A$ 6anthorpe's %Caedmon's Song% in her

5ueuing for the Sun(/""=)$ 0hese translations differ greatly from one another :ust as

Seamus eaney'sBeowulf(!999) de1iates from earlier similar pro:ects$ eaney uses 3rish

diction acrossBeowulfto +ring what he calls a %special +ody and force% to the poem

foregrounding his own Llster heritage %in order to render (the poem) e1er more 'willa+le

forwardFagain and again and again$'%

7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_Nationalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Kerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.R.R._Tolkienhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.R.R._Tolkienhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_and_the_Criticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_and_the_Criticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morrishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morrishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Poundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Poundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Audenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Audenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Ringshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gardner_(American_writer)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gardner_(American_writer)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel_(novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel_(novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Muldoonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Muldoonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Levertovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U._A._Fanthorpehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedmon's_Hymnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_Nationalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Kerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.R.R._Tolkienhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_and_the_Criticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morrishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Poundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Audenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Ringshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gardner_(American_writer)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel_(novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Muldoonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Levertovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U._A._Fanthorpehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedmon's_Hymn

Documents

History of Old English Literature