Introdction - to - Anglo-saxon - and - Norman[1]

Anglo-Saxon literature （449-1066）

Historical background 1. Anglo-Saxon Conquest

From 449 AD, after the Romans withdrew, the Jutes, Angles and Saxons began to invade Britain and finally conquered the British Isles. The Anglo-Saxons brought to England the Germanic language and culture. 2. The conversion

In 597 the Pope of Rome sent Augustine to England to convert the AS and within a century all England was christianized. The conversion is the second important event because it brought a new life, a new culture and a new civilization to England.

The Anglo-Saxon literature

Pagan and Christian; the pagan lit refers to the songs, legends which the AS brought from their original home.scops, This kind of poetry is bold and strong,

mournful and elegiac in spirit; in alliterative verse; Christian lit refers to the writings developed under the teachings of the monks. Alliteration

The Song of Beowulf

The national epic of the A_S people.

The story: how Beowulf, the Swedish prince, a noble, brave and powerful young man, first helps the Danish king get rid of a terrible sea monster named Grendel, and 50 years later how he saves his own people by fighting a fire dragon and sacrifices his life.

The poem presents a vivid picture of how the primitive people wage heroic struggles against the hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader. Their life was hard and they had to fight with wild beasts and against the forces of nature. The chief significance is the portrayal of a great national hero in the grand epic style. A true hero, a warrior of great prowess, a king generous with his treasures, a ruler who defends and protects his people at the cost of his own life. Noble qualities are praised: bravery, wisdom, generosity, prowess and selflessness. It reflects a heroic age. Epic (Heroic Peotry): usually a long narrative poem telling about the great deeds of a great hero or the history of a nation; majestic both in theme and style. It usually deals with legendary or historical events of national or universal significance, involving action of broad sweep and grandeur.

Alliteration: A repeated initial consonant to successive accented words; (Certain accented words in a line begin with the same consonant sound); The most striking feature of Beowulf in its poetic form is the use of alliteration.

Questions:

1. Who Christianized the English people? 2 . Tell the story of Beowulf

3. Say something about the theme and characterization of Beowulf. 4. What are the general features of Anglo-Saxon poetry?

Anglo-Norman period (1066-1350)

(King Alfred the Great,

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)

Historical background

Norman conquest(1066) and its effects: 1. Feudalism firmly established;

(Rulers and serfs; Norman nobility and clergy vs ordinary AS) 2.The Rome-backed Catholic church dominating;

3. Tri-lingual society for almost 200 years; old English developed into Middle English.

Literature; The Normans brought a new language and new civilization, the Mediterranean civilization which includes Greek culture, Roman law, and the Christian religion. The new culture and new language gave rise to a new literature which is a combination of French and AS elements. Compared with Old English literature, Middle English literature deals with a wider range of subjects and in a greater diversity of styles, tones and genres. It strongly reflects the principles of the medieval Christian doctrine.

1. Romance—the most popular literary form in this period; a tale (in verse or prose) that deals with knightly adventures or other heroic deeds. The hero is usually a knight (a page or a squire),chivalrous.

Characteristics of the romance-- mysteries, fantasies, romantic love, and standardized characterization; loose structure, simple and straightforward language; set in an idealized world, containing unlikely or supernatural happenings, reflecting a chivalric age.

Le Morte D’Arthur (i.e. the Death of King Arthur) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight—the best of the medieval romances; written in the 14th C; author unknown. Sir Gawain is the nephew of King Arthur and the most eminent of the knights of round table. It relates the very fantastic adventures of Gawain, the challenges, risks, the temptations, the trials he goes through. It is an account of a symbolic trial of the medieval courtly virtues. He undergoes a series of moral tests: the tests of faith, courage, purity and proves his nobility. 2. Popular literature

Piers the Plowman by Langland; A Classic of popular lit during this period; It gives a realistic picture of feudal, medieval England in the form of a dream vision; The exaltation of the toiling peasants, the exposure of the corruption of the ruling classes, the sympathy for the poor and the downtrodden are all best exemplified through the use of symbolism and in the allegorical form. 3. Oral Literature—The Ballads

The most important department of English folk lit is the ballad. A ballad is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas, with the second and the fourth lines rhymed. The subjects of ballads are various in kind: (historical,legendary,fantastical,lyrical and humourous.)

Border ballads: a number of ballads narrating incidents happening on the English border,esp.those bloody battles fought on the border of England and Scotland. Of all the ballads, the ballads of Robin Hood is of paramount importance.

Summary: The AS brought Germanic language and culture; the Normans brought the Mediterranean civilization. The cultural influences of the two conquests provided the source for the rise and growth of English literature. Beowulf and Sir Gawain are the two most important works of literature in the old and medieval English literature.

Questions:

1. How did the Norman Conquest affect the life and literature of the English people? 2. What are the chief characteristics of the romance? 3. Tell the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight