Warm Up:
Anglo-Saxon Riddles
Solve the riddle:
 Riddley, riddley, riddley rout, What does a person
hold when they go out?
Manuscripts
 The use of Old English is recorded on
various manuscripts.
 Most Anglo-Saxon manuscripts were
written on vellum (Fell in Old English),
which is made of calf skin.
 It was stretched, scraped smooth, whitened
with chalk, cut into sheets, ruled with a stylus,
and folded into quires of eight leaves (four
sheets), or sixteen pages. The quires were
sewn together and bound.
Nowell Codex
 A scroll is a roll of parchment
that is continuous, while a
codex is a number of sheets
stacked and bound by fixing
one edge with a cover.
 In the 15th century, Laurence
Nowell owned the codex
that contained the Beowulf
manuscript (written around
year 1000).
 Then, Sir Robert Cotton took
ownership, where the
manuscript was heavily
damaged in a fire in 1731.
Old English Alphabet
• What is different from the Old English to
the Modern English alphabet?
• Why would the letters of the alphabet
change over time?
• How might the Modern English alphabet
evolve?
• What impacts this change?
The
“Thought” or “Think”
“ah” to “ay” to “ee”
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) 6001100
A Sample: Can you guess what this is?
 g fæder, þu þe on heofonum eardast,
geweorðad wuldres dreame. Sy þinum weorcum
halgad
noma niþþa bearnum; þu eart nergend wera.
Cyme þin rice wide, ond þin rædfæst willa
aræred under rodores hrofe, eac þon on rumre
foldan.
Syle us to dæge domfæstne blæd,
hlaf userne, helpend wera,
þone singalan, soðfæst meotod.
Ne læt usic costunga cnyssan to swiðe,
ac þu us freodom gief, folca waldend,
from yfla gewham, a to widan feore.
Middle English
1100-1500
A Sample: Can You Guess What This Is?
 Oure fader that art in heuenis halowid be thi name ...
Poul, the seruaunt of Jhesu Crist, clepid an apostle,
departid in to the gospel of God; which he hadde
bihote tofore bi his profetis in holi scripturis of his
sone, which is maad to hym of the seed of Dauid bi
the flesch, and he was bifor ordeyned the sone of
God in vertu, bi the spirit of halewyng of the
ayenrisyng of deed men, of Jhesu Crist oure Lord, bi
whom we han resseyued grace and the office of
apostle, to obeie to the feith in alle folkis for his
name, among whiche ye ben also clepid of Jhesu
Crist, to alle that ben at Rome, derlyngis of God, and
clepid hooli, grace to you, and pees of God oure
fadir, and of the Lord Jhesu Crist.
Modern English
1500-present
Sample: Can You Guess What This Is?
 Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth as it
is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. And forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive them that
trespass against us. And lead us not
into temptation. But deliver us from
evil. Amen.
DICTION
The Importance of
Word Choice
 In your teams, you will have four
minutes to act out a short skit,
representing your welcome.
 Show me a “hearty welcome!”
 Show me a “cordial reception.”
The origins of these words reveal their
connotations.
How Did the English
Language Evolve?
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/howdid-english-evolve-kategardoqui
Warm Up: Solving Riddles
Runs smoother than any
rhyme, Loves to fall but cannot
climb.
WHAT AM I?
First to answer correctly earns an extra day pass.
EDITING TASKS – Round One
 STEP ONE: Read and annotate the essay by correcting any
typos or mistakes. Read carefully and closely.
 STEP TWO: Provide the requested feedback.
 STEP THREE: Read it at least twice for editing purposes.
Remember to think about these questions:





Did they show us a scene from their life?
Is the hook attention-grabbing?
Is the closing memorable?
Did they use punctuation correctly?
Does a clear theme emerge from the essay?
EDITING TASKS – Round Two
 STEP ONE: Read and annotate the essay by correcting any
typos or mistakes. Read carefully and closely.
 STEP TWO: Provide the requested feedback.
 STEP THREE: Read it at least twice for editing purposes.
Remember to think about these questions:





Did they show us a scene from their life?
Is the hook attention-grabbing?
Is the closing memorable?
Did they use punctuation correctly?
Does a clear theme emerge from the essay?
EDITING TASKS – Last Round!
 STEP ONE: Read and annotate the essay by correcting any
typos or mistakes. Read carefully and closely.
 STEP TWO: Provide the requested feedback.
 STEP THREE: Read it at least twice for editing purposes.
Remember to think about these questions:





Did they show us a scene from their life?
Is the hook attention-grabbing?
Is the closing memorable?
Did they use punctuation correctly?
Does a clear theme emerge from the essay?
The Exeter Book
 It is a tenth-century codex
of Anglo-Saxon poetry.
The anthology was
donated to the library of
Exeter Cathedral by
Bishop Leofric in 1072.
 The first 8 pages are lost.
 However, it is the largest
collection of Old English
literature in existence.
Old English Riddles
 Riddles tend to be metaphorical and are similar to
kennings. Riddles either describe an object, challenging
the reader to identify what it is, or describe themselves
anthropomorphically (adding human-like characteristics).
 In the Exeter Book, there are almost one hundred riddles
(or “enigmata”). These riddles employ double-entendre
(on-tawhn-druh), where one answer is suggested but
another is meant, teasing the reader.
 Riddle 66
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMrVhkq0954
What am I?
Anglo-Saxon Riddle
Annotation
 In battle I rage against wave and wind, Strive
against storm, dive down seeking A strange
homeland, shrouded by the sea. In the grip of war, I
am strong when still; In battle-rush, rolled and
ripped In flight. Conspiring wind and wave Would
steal my treasure, strip my hold, But I seize glory
with a guardian tail As the clutch of stones stands
hard Against my strength. Can you guess my name?
Anglo-Saxon Riddles
 In your teams, try to solve the
Anglo-Saxon riddles.
Beowulf: It’s Epic!
 Before the tenth century in OLD
ENGLISH
 Adventures of a great Scandinavian
warrior of the sixth century.
 Oldest surviving epic in British
literature.
 Beowulf exists in only one
manuscript.
 It is now in the British History
Museum.
 BUT - It’s NOT about British people
and events!
Beowulf: Genre
 It’s an EPIC (long)
 It’s a POEM (not prose)
 It’s an EPIC POEM
 It’s an ELEGY (nostalgic poem often
sad)
 HEROic style (long, formal, heroic
figure determines the fate of the
tribe)
 Takes place in Norway and Denmark
 Elements of German and Norse
history, folk tales and mythology
 Pagan tale transSCRIBEd by a
Christian.
Beowulf: Two Parts
 Part One: Young
Beowulf's fights with
the water monster
(Grendel) and with its
mother.
 Part Two: Beowulf in
his old age battles with
a dragon.
Beowulf: Characteristics
 Depicts HEROIC CODE OF
HONOR: strength, courage,
bravery, loyalty, respect.
 Not read widely until the 1800s
 Not respected until the 1930s
 Did not affect Shakespeare or
any of the other respected
British writers before the
twentieth century.
 J.R.R. Tolkien loved it, wrote
about it, and eventually he was
inspired by it: The Lord of the
Rings
Beowulf: Structure
 Strongly alliterative,
(Alliterative verse)
 Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers
 Each line is divided into
two halves. Break in
each line is called a
caesura.
Lade ne letton
Leoht eastsn com
 Uses the rhetorical
device called a
“kenning” which is
giving one thing another
name: ship = sea rider
Kennings
 Use a twist of words, figure
of speech, magic poetic
phrase or a newly created
compound phrase to refer
to a person, object, place,
action or idea in a
metaphorical way.
 The use of imagery and
references to substitute the
proper, formal name of the
subject.
EXAMPLES:






Battle-Sweat
Sky-candle
Whale-road
Sea-House
Bone-Den
Earth-Walker
Scop (Skop)
 A Medieval bard who
recited or sang long epic
poems that preserved
the customs of the
culture.
A bard is a person who wrote and
recited epic or heroic poems.
An epic poem is a long narrative
poem that tells of a hero’s deeds.
Caesura (Cae-Zar-UH)
 A long pause …
From Beowulf:
“So. The SpearDanes // in days
gone by.”
“A cub in the yard,
// a comfort sent.”
Alliteration
 Repetition of a
consonant sound in
the initial position of
the word.
From Beowulf: “We
have heard of those
princes’ // heroic
campaigns.”
Epithet (Ep-uh-thet)
 An adjective or phrase
applied to a noun to
accentuate a certain
characteristic.
 “Glorified Nickname”
 Beowulf is described as
“mighty and canny.”
 Grendel is described as
“stealthy and swift” and
“God-cursed.”
Aphorism
 A concise, pointed,
epigrammatic
statement that reveals
a truth or principle.
 From Beowulf:
“Behavior that’s
admired is the path to
power among people
everywhere.”
Foreshadow
 A hint of what is to
come.
 In Beowulf, we are
frequently given insight
into coming events,
often with
foreshawdowing.
From Beowulf: “He was sad
at heart…sensing his
death.”
Flashback
 Narrative digression.
Agon (AH-gone)
 A conflict between the
protagonist and an
antagonist.
 Like agony!
 Beowulf vs. Grendel
 Beowulf vs. Grendel’s
mother
 Beowulf vs. the dragon