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Lecture One

Chapter One discusses the introduction of writing in Medieval England by monks, who brought Latin and new vocabulary, as well as various skills and education through monasteries. It highlights 'Beowulf' as the only complete Anglo-Saxon heroic epic, detailing the hero's battles against monsters and his eventual demise. The chapter also emphasizes the contributions of King Alfred the Great in translating works and compiling The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, enriching Anglo-Saxon culture through Christianity.

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3 views12 pages

Lecture One

Chapter One discusses the introduction of writing in Medieval England by monks, who brought Latin and new vocabulary, as well as various skills and education through monasteries. It highlights 'Beowulf' as the only complete Anglo-Saxon heroic epic, detailing the hero's battles against monsters and his eventual demise. The chapter also emphasizes the contributions of King Alfred the Great in translating works and compiling The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, enriching Anglo-Saxon culture through Christianity.

Uploaded by

yossefm7ma
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter One

THE LITERATURE OF
MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
• Monks introduce writing

• In 597 St Augustine was sent from Rome to


preach to the pagans of southern England; Irish
missionaries began to work in the northern
areas. .
• The priests were the only literate people in the
country; their organization was a European one.
• They brought with them its international
language, Latin, at the same time creating a
large new vocabulary in English for church
matters.
• They introduced agricultural, engineering and
medical skills as well as philosophical learning
of the now vanished civilizations of Greece and
Rome.
• They founded monasteries which became
centers of education.
• They wrote and copied books.
• Beowulf
• The greatest literary work that has survived is an
epic poem of about 3000 lines called Beowulf.
• It was probably composed in the eighth century
and written down some 300 years later.
• It is the story of the heroic deeds of Germanic
warriors in the fifth and sixth centuries.
• The hero comes to the court of a Danish king
and frees him from a terrible monster called
Grendel, and then from Grendel's mother, an
even more ferocious (violent) beast.
• The second half deals with Beowulf's old age,
when he is king and must defend his country
against a fearsome dragon, which he manages
to destroy, but dies in the process.
• Alliteration is the basis of the verse: having a
clear pattern of words beginning with the same
sound was a great help for memorizing.
• Beowulf is the only complete Anglo-Saxon heroic
epic we know; there are small fragments of two
other poems (Finn and Waldhere) which may
have been of similar length.
• Stories about monsters, horror and magic have
remained popular to this day, but the dangerous
quality of life in those times must have made
them seem quite realistic.
• Most of the country was covered by dark forest
and inhabited by wild animals.
• Religious and historical writing

• There is a good deal of religious verse: the


monks used the popular pagan genre to instruct
and win converts.
• One re-telling of the story from Bible about the
fall of Lucifer and creation of hell must have
been admired by listeners.
• The outstanding lay scholar of the period is KING
ALFRED THE GREAT (ca.849-899).
• He learnt Greek and Latin as a middle-aged man in
order to translate important works into English,
often adding passages of his own to explain or
comment.
• Such an interest in culture was rare indeed in a
military man.
• He drew up laws for his kingdom.
• He commissioned (ordered) the monasteries to
keep records: the monks compiled a prose work
known as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is a
sort of national history, recording important
events, the lives of famous abbots as well as
storms, fires, famines and invasions.
• Anglo-Saxon culture was greatly enriched
through its assimilation (intense understanding)
of Christianity.
• The churchmen were the main writers of
literature, sometimes recording the works
produced by lay people (regular people who are
not a member of the clergy).
• There was narrative verse, which is either heroic
or religious in nature, as well as religious,
historical and legal prose.

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