E n g l a n d

1. E n g l a n d • “Mum, there’s all this poo, but where are all the sheep?”

2. (Why not?) I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself. ~James Baldwin

3. England: Mystical Lands Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. ~Benjamin Disraeli

4. Pre-Roman Period • The island we know as England was occupied by a race of people called the Celts. One of the tribes was called the Brythons or Britons (where we get the term Britain) • The Celts were Pagans and their religion was know as “animism”, a Latin word for “spirit.” Celts saw spirits everywhere • Druids were their priests; their role was to go between the gods and the people

5. Military—strong armed forces (“legions”) • Pushed Celts into Wales and Ireland • Prevented Vikings from raiding for several hundred years: C. Warren Hollister writes, “Rome’s greatest gift to Britain was peace” (15). Infrastructure • Government (fell apart when they left) • Walls, villas, public baths (some remains still exist) Language and Writing • Official language = Latin • Practice of recording history led to earliest English “literature” being documentary Religion • Christianity beginning to take hold, especially after St. Augustine converts King Aethelbert The Roman Occupation55 B.C. to 410 A.D.

6. Anglo-Saxon Period Year 410: Roman Britain attacked from three fronts: • The Irish from west • The Picts from north • Germanic-speaking peoples from east, including the Angles, Saxons and Jutes

7. Duration: 600 years, from 410 to 1066 Own religious beliefs; St. Augustine --> Christianity in 597 Familiar legends: Lady Godiva King Arthur Heptarchy = Seven Kingdoms Kent Essex (East Saxon) Sussex (South Saxon) East Anglia Northumbria Mercia Wessex (West Saxon) The Anglo-Saxons

8. The Britons attempt resistance --> driven to refuge in Cornwall Celtic culture and established druid priest class fazed out Vikings - a.k.a. Danes - invaded in 790s William, duke of Normandy, led his people in final successful invasion of Britain: Norman Conquest. Christmas Day, 1066 Viking Invasions!

9. > Lots of ongoing tribal feuds and wars led to . . . > Lots of intermingling of similar but different Germanic languages . . . interrupted by . . . > MORE Viking invasions, which gave way to . . . > Some political unification (Alfred) . . . . . . Which led to . . . OLD ENGLISH, the earliest form of our language!! What Happens Next?

10. The English Language “Not only does the English Language borrow words from other languages, it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, and goes through their pockets.” ~Eddy Peters

11. English = A Melting Pot of Indo-European Languages • Celtic (from 1700 or 400 B.C. to 55 B.C.) + • Latin (from 55 B. C. to 410 A. D.) + • German (from 410 A.D. to 1066 A.D.) + • French (from 1066 A.D. to 1485 A.D.) = OLD ENGLISH and MIDDLE ENGLISH VERY DIFFICULT LANGUAGE, BUT ONE PERFECT FOR LIMITLESS AND BEAUTIFUL EXPRESSION

12. A Way of Looking at the History of English

13. Beowulf • Written in Old English before the tenth century A.D. • Oldest surviving epic in British literature • Beowulf exists in only one manuscript. This copy survived both the wholesale destruction of religious artifacts during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII and a disastrous fire which destroyed the library of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631).

14. Beowulf • Story of a Scandinavian (Geat) “thane” (warrior or knight) who comes to help a neighboring tribe, the Danes, who are being attacked by a monster. • We study English history to understand the context of Beowulf, and we study Beowulf to understand the world which was Old England. • According to Venerable Bede (an early English historian who lived in the eighth century), the Britons called the Romans for help when the Picts and Scots were attacking them (B.C.). Hundreds of years later, the Britons called the Saxons to help them when the Romans couldn’t. The Saxons came “from parts beyond the sea” (qtd. in Pyles and Algeo 96). • This journey of Germanic peoples to England “from parts beyond the sea” is the prototypical story for the first millennium of England’s history. It formulates much of their cultural mindset and clearly influences their stories. Be sure to consider how it plays a role in Beowulf.

15. Author unknown Written in unrhymed, four-beat alliterative metre of Old English poetry The hero Beowulf enters three battles - Grendel, the beast’s mother, and a fire-dragon Epic poetry --> mead halls, sung by scops (oral poets) Stock epithet: adjectives that describe a person’s unique traits Kenning: poetic synonyms, I.e. “sin-stained demon” in place of a name Other entertainment: riddles Beowulf:What distinguishes an epic?

16. Of Epic Proportions… Essential Supplies: Mead: fermented honey and water Harp/lyre: six-stringed instrument Treasure: ring-hoard, or interlocking sets of treasure for a nation • The hero, generally male, establishes a reputation in courageous deeds • Actions of hero determine fate of a nation • Poet uses formal diction and tone • Timeless values such as honor are embedded in the journeys and setting Source: http://www.heorot.dk

17. ALLITERATION: A figure of speech in which consonants, especially at the beginning of words, or stressed syllables, are repeated. I.e. Coleridge's description of the sacred river Alph in his poem, Kubla Khan: "Five miles meandering with a mazy motion."] Poetic Elements

18. CAESURA: (Latin: "a cutting") A break or pause in a line of poetry, dictated, usually, by the natural rhythm of the language…In [Old English] verse the caesura was used…to indicate the half line. KENNING: The term derives from the use of the Old Norse verb kenna 'to know, recognize’. Introduces descriptive color and suggests associations. Old English kennings: a) helmberend—"helmet bearer" = "warrior" b) beadoleoma—"battle light" = "flashing sword" Serves as metaphor or riddle in miniature. Poetic Elements

19. Bibliography • Abrams, M. H., and Stephen Greenblatt, Eds. Introduction. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, seventh ed., vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000. 1-22, 29-32. • Anderson, Robert, et al. Eds. Elements of Literature, Sixth Course, Literature of Britain. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1993. 2-42. • Burrow, J. A. “Old and Middle English Literature, c. 700-1485.” The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature. Ed. Pat Rogers. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987. • Grant, Neil. Kings and Queens. Glasgow: Harper Collins, 1999. • Hollister, C. Warren. The Making of England, 55 B.C. to 1399. 6th ed. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1988 • Pyles, Thomas and John Algeo. The Origins and Development of the English Language. 4th Ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993. • Articles on “Norman Invasion,” “Roman Occupation of Britain,” “King Alfred,” “King Aethelbert,” “Vikings,” and “Battle of Hastings”. Dates of access: August 10-20, 2006.