Early British Literature

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Early British Literature

• The Celts and the Anglo-Saxons

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Old Irish Literature
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Irish Literature

• Ireland has the oldest vernacular tradition of
  literature in Europe with written texts dating
  from the 6th c.
• Old Irish before 900
• Middle Irish 900-1350
• Late Middle/Early Modern Irish 1350-1650
• Modern Irish and Scots 1650-present

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Old Irish Literature

• The oldest writings are poems written in the
  margins of 6th c. continental manuscripts short
  lyrics on religious or nature themes.
• The early literature has survived in Middle and
  Late Middle Irish manuscripts miscellaneous
  collections of prose and verse containing legend
  history bardic and lyric poetry and medical
  legal and religious texts from several periods

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Major Irish Medieval MSS.

• The Book of the Dun Cow (before 1106) contains
  tales of the Ulster Cycle and Fenian legends
• The Book of Leinster (before 1160) contains
  heroic legends
• The Yellow Book of Lecan The Great Book of
  LecanThe Lebor Brecc and the Book of Lismore
  (late 14th or early 15th c.)
• The Royal Irish Academy alone has more than 1300
  mss. mostly religious historical and legal
  treatises

Leabhar na hUidre Book of the Dun Cow p.73
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Tain Bo Cuailinge The Cattle Raid of Cooley from
The Book of the Dun Cow
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Filí (Old Irish) File (Mod. Irish)

• The filí (filíd pl.) in the earliest times
  combined the functions of magician lawgiver
  judge counselor to the chief and poet.
• Later but still at a very early time the
  offices seem to have been divided Brehons
  devoted themselves to the study of law and the
  giving of legal decisions Druids
  claimed the supernatural functions and priestly
  offices Filíd were principally poets
  and philosophers
• The division seems to have already existed in
  Ireland at the time of St Patrick who was in
  constant opposition with the druids.
• Filíd underwent years of training to compose in
  verse the laws genealogies legends and
  traditions.

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Bards

• In Old Irish culture the bards were the
  performers of the filíds poems
• They were record keepers and lineage holders for
  the bards could determine a kings legitimacy.
• To satirize a king was to declare his access to
  the throne suspect.
• The role of the bard was historian and social
  commentator. They glorified heroes while
  insulting cowards and villains.
• They were both the newspaper and the opinion
  page.

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MACSWEENEY DINES AS BARD RECITES The work of
the file or poet was recited to the accompaniment
of a stringed instrument. . . .The reacaire or
reciter bard was a subordinate employee of the
composer who sat by the chieftain (his patron)
enjoying his own composition. Declan Kiberd
Irish Literature and Irish History in The
Oxford Illustrated History of Irieland ed. R. F.
Foster (1989)
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Welsh Literature

• Although the earliest Welsh manuscripts date from
  the 12th c. the earliest poetry comes from the
  6th c.
• Before 1100 Y Cynfeirdd (The earliest poets)
  or Yr Hengerdd (The old poetry)
• The core tradition was praise poetry and the
  reliance on patronage from kings princes and
  nobles.
• The other aspect of the tradition was the
  professionalism of the poets sustained by a Guild
  of Poets or Order of Bards with a rule book
  emphasizing the making of poetry as a craft.
  Under its rules poets undertook an apprenticeship
  of nine years to become fully qualified.

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Welsh Poets

• Nennius Historia Britonum list poets active
  during the reign of King Ida (547-59)At that
  time Talhaiarn Tataguen was famed for poetry
  and Neirin Aneirin and Taliesin and
  Bluchbard and Cian who is called Guenith Guaut
  were all famous at the same time in British that
  is Brythonic or Welsh poetry.
• Poems by Taliesin and Aneirin are believed to
  have survived in the Book of Taliesin and Y
  Gododdin Aneirins epic of a battle between the
  Celts and the Saxons.

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RomanBritain1st-5th c.
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5th Century Celtic Disarray

• 408 Devastating attacks by Picts Scots and
  Saxons led Britain to declare independence from
  Rome in 410.
• 440-450 Civil war and famine in Britain.
  Country divided along factional lines
• 445 Vortigen authorized use of Saxon
  mercenaries against Scots and Picts
• 450 adventus Saxonum Hengest arrived with 3
  ships of warriors. Saxons increased settlements.

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Anglo-Saxon Literature
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The Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England
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Anglo-Saxon Royal Genealogy
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(No Transcript)
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House of Wessex
Wessex West Saxons
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England as a Nation

• Bede may have been the first writer to articulate
  the idea of the English as one people in 732 in
  his History of the English Church and People.
• Viking Invasions
• Destroyed kingdoms of Northumbria and East Angles
  in the 860s
• Wessex emerged as the power that defeated the
  Vikings under Alfred the Great
• 878 Alfred defeated the Vikings at Edington
• At his death in 899 Alfred was the most powerful
  regional king in England

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Wessex Dynasty

• Edward the Elder (r. 899-924) succeeded his
  father Alfred and conquered the Midlands and East
  Anglia.
• His son Athelstan (r. 924-40) brought the
  Scots the Welsh the Cumbrians and the Cornish
  under English rule by 928 he became King of all
  England and Emperor of the World of Britain.

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House of Wessex
E or A Æ
Coin from King Edgars reign
Canute of Denmark 1016-1035
Ælgifu
Harthacanute Harold I 1040-42
1036-40
Alfred1035-36
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Genres Prose

• Sermons most popular of prose genres
• Translations of Latin religious works and
  Biblical works
• Saints Lives
• Legal texts wills records deeds laws etc.
• Scientific and Medical texts
• Chronicles historical writing Anglo Saxon
  Chronicle

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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

• Collection of annals (yearly history) narrating
  the history of the Anglo-Saxon settlement in
  Britain.
• First continuous history written by Europeans in
  their own language.
• Probably begun during the reign of King Alfred in
  the 9th c.
• After completion of the original chronicle
  copies were sent to monasteries and updated
  yearly.
• Nine surviving MSS.

The initial page of the Peterborough Chronicle
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Known A-S Prose Writers

• King Alfred (849-99) attributed with translating
  a variety of Latin works such as Gregorys
  Pastoral Care Augustines Soliloquies and
  Boethiuss Consolation of Philosophy.
• Aelfric abbot of Eynsham (955-1020) known as
  Grammaticus greatest writer of A-S sermons
  saints lives and Biblical glosses and
  translations.
• Wulfstan II archbishop of York (10th c.) author
  of highly stylistic sermons and clerical legal
  texts.

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Genres Poetry

• Thula alliterative lists of names or tribes
• Gnomic verse proverbs traditional wisdom
• Spells invoke natural and supernatural powers
• Riddles what am I
• Religious poetry retellings of Old Testament
  stories saints lives Dream of the Rood
• Adaptations of classical philosophical texts
  e.g. Boethius Consolation of Philosophy
• Wisdom poetry lyrical meditative elegiac
  The Wanderer The Wifes Lament etc.
• Heroic court poetry celebration of historical
  events related by scops Beowulf etc.

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Manuscripts with Anglo-Saxon Poetry

• Exeter Book Codex Exoniensis 10th c. ms.
• Largest existing collection of Old English poetry
• donated to the library of the Exeter Cathedral by
  Leofric the first bishop of Exeter
• Contains The Wanderer The Seafarer The
  Wifes Lament Widsith The Ruin Deor
  etc.
• Junius MS. begun c. 1000 ce
• Anthology of religious poetry Genesis Exodus
  Daniel Christ and Satan
• Illustrated only about one-third of
  illustrations completed
• Bodleian Library Oxford University

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Junius MS Angel Guarding the Gates of Paradise
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Manuscripts with Anglo-Saxon Poetry

• Vercelli Book 10th c. ms.
• Cathedral Library Vercelli Italy
• Contains 23 prose sermons a life of St. Guthlac
  and six poems including The Dream of the Rood
• Nowell Codex Cotton Vitellius A xv late
  10th-12th c. mss.
• British Librarys Cotton Collection
• Composite of two mss. Bound together in the 17th
  c. damaged in an 18th c. fire in the Cotton
  Library
• 1st Codex (12th c) Old English prose Alfreds
  translation of Augustines Soliloquies the
  Gospel of Nicodemus Solomon and Saturn and a
  fragment of a life of Saint Quentin.
• 2nd Codex (10th c) Beowulf Judith and 3 prose
  works

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First page of Beowulf from the Cotton Vitellius
MS.
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Beowulf Prologue
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What are those weird-looking letters
Omniglot
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Poetry

• Thula
• Alliterative lists of names and tribes
• Oral mnemonic device
• Found extensively in Widsith
• Technique also found in Old Testament

• Gnomic Verse
• Proverbs traditional wisdom
• Hit becwæÞ It is said
• As the sea is smooth when storms are at rest So
  people are quiet when peace is proclaimed.
  (Exeter Book)

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Riddles
The Anchor

• I war with the wind with the waves I wrestle I
  must battle with both when the bottom I seek My
  strange habitation by surges oer-roofed. I am
  strong in the strife while still I remain As
  soon as I stir they are stronger than I. They
  wrench and they wrest till I run from my foes
  What was put in my keeping they carry away. If
  my back be not broken I baffle them still. The
  rocks are my helpers when hard I am pressed
  Grimly I grip them. Guess what Im called.

The Exeter Book
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Spells and Charms
Charm for a Swarm of Bees Take earth with your
right hand and throw it under your right foot
saying Ive got it     Ive found itLo
earth     masters all creatures it masters
evil     it masters deceit it masters
humanitys     greedy tongue. Throw light soil
over them the bees as they swarm saying Sit
wise women     settle on earth never in fear
    fly to the woods. Please be mindful     of
my welfare as all men are     of food and land.
Trans. Karl Young
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Known A-S Poets

• Cædmon herdsman attached to the Whitby monastery
  during the abbacy of St. Hilda (657681). Author
  of Hymn oldest A-S poem
• The Venerable Bede (c. 672-735) Benedictine monk
  at Jarrow author of the Historia Ecclesiastica
  The History of the Church of England and Bedes
  Death Song
• Cynewulf (fl. ca. 750) author of four poems
  Christian narratives Elene Christ II Juliana
  and The Fates of the Apostles.
• King Alfred (849-99)

Depiction of Cædmon carved on a stone memorial
cross on the grounds of St Marys Church in Whitby
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Bedes Death Song
Fore ðæm nedfere nænig wiorðeðonc snottora ðon
him ðearf siæto ymbhycgenne ær his hiniongehwæt
his gastæ godes oððe yflesæfter deað dæge doemed
wiorðe.
Facing that enforced journey no man can beMore
prudent than he has good call to beIf he
consider before his going henceWhat for his
spirit of good hap or of evilAfter his day of
death shall be determined.
Beda Venerabilis from an medieval manuscript
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Anglo-Saxon Poetic Conventions

• Elegiac mood the transitoriness of life
• Ubi sunt Where are they
• Heroic mode active loyal to kinship group
  boastful
• The inevitability of Wyrd fate
• Figures of speech
• Kennings two words as metaphor for one
  hron-rade whale-road sea hord-cofan
  word-hoard mind thoughts
• Litotes ironic understatement -- That sword
  was not useless / to the warrior now. (Beowulf)
• Variation parallel appositive phrases see
  Cædmons Hymn
• Alliterative verse alliteration is used as the
  principal device to unify lines of poetry

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Beowulf Prologue Alliteration
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Wisdom Poetry

• Lyrical expressions of feelings meditations on
  life
• Emphasis on transitoriness of fame glory
  kinship life itself ubi sunt theme
• Boethian in exploration of fickle
  fortuneBoethius author of The Consolation of
  Philosophy
• Most found in Exeter Book The Ruin The
  Wanderer The Seafarer The Wifes Lament
  The Husbands Message
• King Alfred author of Lays of Boethius

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Heroic Court Poetry

• Narrative oral compositions handed down from
  generation to generation
• Interactive warriors in the audience were given
  their turns to boast to proclaim their
  self-worth in a stylized solo declamation which
  all recognized as a beot or gilph (boast).
• Celebrations or commemorations of cultural heroes
  and historic events
• Sung at court feasts which also included mead
  drinking gift giving harp playing and
  displaying of trophies

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Anglo-Saxon Heroic Poems

• Beowulf (c. 700-1000)
• Fragments The Fight at Finnsburh and Waldere
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle contains various heroic
  poems inserted throughout.
• 937 The Battle of Brunanburh celebrates the
  victory of King Athelstan over the Scots and
  Norse.
• Five shorter poems capture of the Five Boroughs
  (942) coronation of King Edgar (973) death of
  King Edgar (975) death of Prince Alfred (1036)
  and death of King Edward the Confessor (1065).

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The Scop

• Court singer
• Historian
• Genealogist
• Teacher
• Composer
• Critic
• Warrior
• Reporter

• The Anglo-Saxon scop was a professional or
  semi-professional tribal poet who celebrated
  cultural values by singing epics on occasions of
  great ceremony and festivity. He was a man of
  repute the equal of thanes.
• Anglo-Saxon Scops