Anglo-Saxon Literature
Origins of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
Began with the Celtic druids
Druids memorized and recited long heroic poems
about Celtic leaders and their deeds
Anglo-Saxon literature began as an oral
tradition.
Purpose: To pass along tribal history and values
to an audience that could not read
Origins Continued
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Anglo-Saxons brought a rudimentary alphabet
with them from Northern Europe – runes
Chiefly used for inscriptions.
Few Anglo-Saxons could read or write and,
like the Celts, depended on an oral tradition.
What’s Left of the Literature
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Very little survives
Monks copied down what was previously oral;
written in Latin
Alfred the Great – translated works back into
Old English or Anglo-Saxon
“Beowulf” survives as do fragments of other
epics; religious poems; and a small group of
dramatic poems (“Seafarer” is an example) and
riddles
Setting for Anglo-Saxon Literature
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Ceremonial occasions
Gathered in the the mead hall or castle
Performances were expected
Likely began with the telling of riddles
Scops – professional story tellers
Assistants – gleeman
Recite for hours, sometimes days
Accompanied by lyre or harp
Composition of Anglo-Saxon Poetry
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Set formulaic composition
Formal, rigid pattern of word stresses (4?)
Caesura – pause mid-line
Alliteration – of first part of each half
Repetition
Kennings – descriptive compound words
“sea stallions” = ships
Types of Poetry
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Lyric: to communicate personal thought and
feeling; usually shorter; “Seafarer”
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Epic: long narrative poem recording the
adventures of a hero; typically epics chronicle
the origins of a civilization and embody its
central values
“Beowulf”
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Purpose: to attain a degree of immortality
Remember, there is a strong belief in Wyrd,
human destiny controlled by fate; ultimate and
inescapable fate is death
However, a person who won fame by
performing heroic deeds might achieve a
degree of immortality through the recitation of
these deeds in poetry
Review of Epic Poetry
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Long narrative
Tells of the exploits of a larger than life hero
Embodies the ideals of the culture
Style: grave, and stately language befitting the
subject of the poetry
Anglo-Saxon Values
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Demonstrated by the Anglo-Saxon hero
Courage
Loyalty to king
Wisdom
Physical Strength
Boasting
Determination
Commitment to warfare/acceptance of violence
Origins of “Beowulf”
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Composed in Northumbira 700-750 in Old
English
Scops recited for 300 years before it was
written down
First great work of national literature
Only one original manuscript survives – in
British Museum of London – discovered in the
18th century
Composition of “Beowulf”
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3200 lines
Three parts: Beowulf vs. Grendel; Beowulf vs.
Grendel’s mother; and Beowulf vs. the Dragon
Distinctive features: two part line with caesura; 4
beats per line; alliteration; kennings
Anonymous author – Christian references and
references to Greek and Roman mythology
Concept of the hero
Conflict between good and evil
Setting for “Beowulf”
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Beowulf is a Geat (southern Sweden)
Starts from homeland to try to free Danish
King Hrothgar’s great banquet hall, Heorot, of
a monster, Grendel, that has been ravaging it
for 12 years.
The one verifiable historical event in the poem,
Hygelac’s death took place about 520. So,
nearly 500 years between that first event and
the poem’s first written form.