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Historical and social background :

In the Neolithic period, Britain was settled by pre-Celtic Tribes later known as the Iberians.

Around 700 BC new invaders from central Europe, called Celts reached Britain. Two centuries

later a second wave of Celts arrived, later called Britons.

The Celts were:

1. artisans Farmers and fishers

2. pagans

3. were organized according to a social system based on chieftains (capi tribù), warrior

aristocracy and freeman farmers, although the most important caste was presented by

Druids. (druido, pagano)

In 55 BC Britain was invaded by the Romans under Julius Caesar's rule but the proper

Conquest of the country took place in 43 Ad, under Emperor Claudius Reign.

In 410 AD the Romans were forced to leave the country to defend Rome against the Barbarian

invasions. Britain left defenseless, was invaded by North German tribes: the Angles, the Saxons

and the Jutes.

The Anglo-Saxons brought their own culture and social habits:

they abandoned the Roman towns to live in the moors or forests transformed into

cultivable lands.

they are organized according to a pyramid like social system. (At the top the king,

followed by aristocracy and warriors.)

They established strong pagan values. In 597 AD Pope Gregory I sent the Benedictine

monk Augustine to England to begin its conversion to Christianity.

In the late 8th century the Vikings or Danes from Scandinavia began their raids on England.

By the middle of the 9th century, the Vikings proper conquest of England has already started.

Only Wessex remained as Anglo-Saxon thanks to King Alfred the Great.

At the end of the 10th century the Vikings attacked England again and when Ethelred II died

their leader Canute controlled much of the country.

When Canute died, he was succeeded by his son Harthacknut. His brother, Edward the

Confessor succeeded him. Edward died in 1066, he left no successes and Harold of Wessex, the

Earl of East Anglia, was proclaimed King by the Witain.

1.1.2 Cultural and Literary Background

The most famous megalithic monument in Britain is Stonehenge on Salisbury plain, a great feat

of engineering work made up of huge stones placed in circles.

Stonehenge was probably used as a religious site to worship ancient gods or as an

astronomical observatory.

As a whole, Celtic Culture was based on a strong oral tradition transmitted by the Druids who

acted as scholars and used the runs, a system of symbols, for writing and for magical and

divination rites.

The Romans:

Introduced the Latin Alphabet and Celtic Runes fell into disuse

Reorganized the country by building roads and towns

Adopted their administrative and legal systems and the ofÏcial Roman, cults so the

Druid was weakened and eventually disappeared.

Old English was spoken by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants from about the 5th

century to the mid12th century. It underwent many transformations in its long life, being

influenced by Latin and Old Norse spoken by the Vikings.

At the beginning, it was written in the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, but it progressively shifted to

Latin although it maintained some symbols from the runes.

When the Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded England 410 AD they brought with them a new

language: the Anglo-Saxon or Old English.

The beginning of English Literature is associated with the Anglo-Saxons.

The most relevant features of Anglo-Saxon Literature are:

It was oral and anonymous

It was formed through a long process of collective memorization

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It included different genres such as epic and elegiac poetry, sermons, Bible translations,

legal works, chronicles and riddles (indovinelli).

Anglo-Saxon poetry was based on alliteration and stress, not rhyme and meter, and

used formulaic phrases called kennings and litotes.

.2 Anglo-Saxon Literature- Anglo -Saxon Prose Writing

The most important prose works of the Anglo-Saxon period included:



Translations into Anglo-Saxon: the books translated by King Alfred The Anglo-Saxon

Chronicle



Prose works by authors associated with the Benedictine reform such as Wulfstan

(Archbishop of York). Wulfstan’s most important work in his sermon Sermo Lupi ad

Anglos.

Anglo-Saxon Epic Poetry: Beowulf

By far the most important epic poem in English history is Beowulf, a long narrative poem

(3182lines) contained in the Nowell Manuscript which was composed by an unknown Anglo-

Saxon poet around 700 A.D.

Themes-: The most relevant features of Beowulf are:

It revolves around the deeds of the title character who embodies the manners and

values of the Germanic heroic code such as bravery, loyalty, courtesy, pride, honour,

importance of family.

It includes some Christian elements such as allusions to the Old Testament, use of such

words as “Father”, “Lord” and creator

It gives prominence to nature

Language: Beowulf shows all the features of Old English verse. In fact

it is an alliterative poem

it is poor in similes but rich in kennings (metaphorical circumlocutions used)

its tone is solemn

.2.1 Anglo-Saxon Lyric Poetry: the Elegies

Anglo-Saxon Lyric poetry is represented by six pagan elegies which are preserved in the Exeter

Book

1. Deor’s Lament

2. The wife’s Lament

3. The Seafarer

4. The husband’s message

5. The wanderer

6. The ruin

All the elegies:

Have a melancholic atmosphere and general tone of lamentation

Are pervaded by a sense of fate

Describe, as in Beowulf, a hierarchical society

The main themes of the pagan elegies are:

Exile and banishment

Loneliness and suffering caused by the departure of a loved one

Looking back at happier times, now lost

1.2.2 Anglo-Saxon Religious Poetry

Caedmon: His only surviving work is his Hymn, the nine -line alliterative vernacular praise

poem in honour of God which he supposedly learned to sign in his initial dream.

Cynewolf: His production includes 4 major poems. The fates of the Apostles, Elene, Juliana and

Christ II.

While Christ II is a description of a devotional subject, the others all deal with the death and or

suffering of the central characters due to their religious values.

1.3The Middle Ages- Historical and Social Background

In 1066 Duke William of Normandy conquered England after the Battle of Hastings, where

Harold of Wessex was killed. The Norman Conquest marked the beginning of the Middle Ages a

period full of historical and social changes.

William of Normandy

Introduced the feudal system in England (gave power to the barons with their knights)

Carried out a survey of his pieces of land

Separated the fields of ecclesiastical and civil justice

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Plot

Beowulf falls into two parts. It opens in Denmark, where King Hrothgar has a splendid mead hall known as Heorot, a place of celebration and much merriment. However, the joyous noise angers Grendel, an evil monster living in a nearby swamp. For 12 years the creature terrorizes Heorot with nightly visits in which he carries off Hrothgar’s warriors and devours them.

After learning of the Danes’ trouble, young Beowulf, a prince of the Geats in what is now southern Sweden, arrives with a small band of retainers and offers to rid Heorot of its monster. Hrothgar is astonished at the little-known hero’s daring but welcomes him. After an evening of feasting, much courtesy, and some discourtesy—at one point, one of Hrothgar’s men insults Beowulf—the king retires, leaving Beowulf in charge. During the night, Grendel comes from the moors, rips open the heavy doors, and devours one of the sleeping Geats. He then grapples with Beowulf, who refuses to use a weapon. Beowulf grips one of Grendel’s hands with such force that the monster finally wrenches himself free only when his arm is torn off at the shoulder. Mortally wounded, Grendel returns to his swamp and dies. Beowulf then displays the monster’s arm in Heorot for all to see.

The next day is one of rejoicing in Heorot, and a feast is thrown in Beowulf’s honour. However, as the warriors sleep that night, Grendel’s mother, another swamp monster, comes to avenge her son’s death, and she kills one of Hrothgar’s men. In the morning Beowulf dives into her mere (lake) to search for her, and she attacks him. They struggle in her dry cave at the mere’s bottom, and Beowulf finally kills her with a sword. In the cave, Beowulf discovers Grendel’s corpse, whose head he cuts off and takes back to Heorot. The Danes rejoice once more. Hrothgar makes a farewell speech about the character of the true hero, and Beowulf, enriched with honours and princely gifts, returns home to King Hygelac of the Geats.

The second part passes rapidly over Hygelac’s subsequent death in a battle (of historical record), the death of his son, and Beowulf’s succession to the kingship and his peaceful rule of 50 years. However, the tranquility ends when a fire-breathing dragon becomes enraged after a man steals from its treasure-filled lair. The creature begins ravaging Geatland, and the brave but aging Beowulf decides to engage it, despite knowing that he will likely die. The fight is long and terrible—a painful contrast to the battles of his youth. Painful too is the desertion of all his retainers except for his young kinsman Wiglaf, who comes to his aid. They ultimately kill the venomous dragon, but Beowulf is mortally wounded from a bite in the neck. Before he dies, he names Wiglaf his successor. Beowulf is cremated on a funeral pyre, and his remains are buried in a barrow built by the sea. As his people mourn his death, they also express the fear that, without Beowulf, Geatland will be invaded by nearby tribes.