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1.1. Introduction to the period

43 - ca. 450. Britannia. Colony of Rome ca. 450. Anglo-Saxon invasión

597. St. Augustine visits King Ethelbert of Kent
598. Viking invasión 848 - 899. King Alfred
599. Norman invasión

*** Oíd English / Anglo-Saxon: some comments on the terminology:**

Oíd English - Middle English - Modern English

Anglo-Saxon - Anglo-Norman

I. The Anglo-Saxon invasions and Germanic society. Who were they and how did they live?

ca. 450 Earlier inhabitants: Britons (Romanised, Christianised Celts) Invaders: Angles, Saxons and Jutes (Pagan)

• Migratory groups. Warrior society
• Family based - "tribal" organisation
• King (chieftain), lord, retainers The hall

597. Beginm'ng of Anglo-Saxon conversión to Christianity.

North. Celtic monks (also coming from Ireland) South: Benedictines (Led by St. Augustine). King Ethelbert of Kent. lst English Christian king.

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Literatura Inglesa I The heroic world in Oíd English poetry Dr. Margarita Carretero González

*** Christianity and paganism**

• Conflict. Difficult reconciliation. Type of hero (feud, revenge, pagan immortality...)

Literacy:

• Monastic and cathedral schools. Preservation of culture. Winchester.
• Emphasis on the written word.
  • Runic alphabet & Román letters. (Latín: language of education).
  • Men of Letters o Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherbourne (ca. 639-709) o Alcuin (ca. 735 - 804). Charlemagne's court o Bede (673 - 735). Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum ( The Ecdesiastical History ofthe English People, 731)
  • Attempts to transíate into English St. Jerome's 4th Century Latin translation of the Bible (Vulgate)
  • Oral tradition. Religious (sermons, homilies...) but also secular (heroic poetry)

*** From 793. Viking invasions.** Destruction of monasteries.

*** 848-99. Alfred, King of Wessex.** Cultural revival. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

*** 10th century Revival ofthe monasteries.** From this period survive the 4 most important manuscripts:

• Junius manuscript
• Beowulf manuscript
• Vercelli book
• Exeter book.

II. The Anglo-Saxon legacy. What has reached us?

arbitrary (passing of time, accidental destruction...)

intentional: different types of censorship

Ceedmon's Hymn, earliest surviving record.

• Oíd English poetic diction and prosody

• Alliteration & caesuras.
• Formulaic phrases and repetition of parallel syntactic structures.
• Variation: parallel and appositive expressions (lord, warrior, spear, shield...) synecdoche and metonymy
• Kennings: Didactic intention. Models of imitation.

Literatura Inglesa I The heroic world in Oíd English poetry Dr. Margarita Carretero González

- Religious poetry: Scriptural sources and Latin saints' Uves

Exeter Book

Juliano

Junius Manuscript (ca. 1000)

Génesis Exodus Daniel Christ and Satán

Vercelli Book

Andreas Cynewulf s The Fates of the Apostles Elene The Dream ofthe Rood

The Beowulf Manuscript

Judith

1.3. The epic

"An epic is a long narrative poem, on a grand scale, about the deeds of warriors and héroes. It is a polygonal, 'heroic' story incorporating myth, legend, folk tale and history. Epics are often of national significance in the sense that they embody the history and aspirations of a nation in a lofty or grandiose manner. Basically, there are two kinds of epic: (a) primary - also known as oral or primitive; (b) secondary - also known as literary. The first belongs to the oral tradition and is thus composed orally and recited; only much later, in some cases, is it written down. The second in written down at the start. In category (a) we may place, for example, Gilgamesh, Iliad and Odyssey, Beowulf, the lays of the Eider Edda and the epic cycles or narodne pesme of the South Slavs. In category (b) we may put VirgirsAeneid, Lucan's Pharsalia, the anonymous Song of Roland, Camoén's Os Lusiadas, Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata, Milton's Paradise Lost and Victor Hugo's La Légende des siécles." (J.A. Cuddon, The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1992:284)

Literatura Inglesa I. Kennings

Kennings

In poetry, there is often the use of many words that may seem a bit strange to the average reader. These words are often more complex than what is actually meant, but are used to enhance the reading and make it more enjoyable to the reader. Other words would make the poem less smooth, and that is why such complexity arises. These words shape a type of metaphor, which is referred to as a kenning.

A kenning is a metaphorical circumlocution, signifying a person or thing by a characteristic or quality. It is used quite often in Anglo Saxon poetry and is used at great length in Beowulf. The language of Beowulf has use of four-beat alliterative line and this allows the use of a variety of kennings.

The use of kennings had such an effect on poetry that many phrases often became clichés. For example, there are many kennings that are used over and over in the story Beowulf. Some examples are: "mail-shirt" for armor, "dwelling place" for residence and "mail armor" for helmet. On the other hand, when the kenning was used with originality, it served the purpose of a metaphor and often had great variety and complexity.

There are many examples of kennings in Beowulf and they are used with great variety throughout the story. Some more examples include: "helmet bearers" for warriors, "earth- hall" for burial mound or barrow, "stone-cliffs" for rocks, wall, cliffs of stone, "stout- hearted" for bravery and "shield-warrior" for fighter behind the shield. Many of these words appear in other readings of Anglo Saxon poetry.

Kennings may seem to be a bit complex to the average reader, but when they are at work, they enhance the reading and make it more enjoyable. They also help stimulate the mind, opening up whole new worlds of knowledge never before explored. Kennings are a powerful tool, and when used properly, they can help turn a literary work from ordinary to extraordinary.

Other examples:

KENNING Light-of-battle Fighting-gear, battle-gear Battle-sweat

MEANING

Sword Body armor Blood

Works Cited

Abrams, M.H. "The Norton Anthology of English Literatee, Sixth Edition, Volume One." New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1993. Skill, Elaine Strong. "Cliffs Notes on Beowulf." Lincoln: Cliffs Notes Incorporated, 1990.

Prof. Dr. Pilar Villar Argáiz

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