Latin literature

Bog'liq
old english

Latin literature in Britain

Latin literature in Britain
Chroniclers such as Bede, with his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, and Gildas were figures in the development of indigenous Latin literature, mostly ecclesiastical, in the centuries following the withdrawal of the Roman Empire.

Old English literature (Anglo-Saxon literature )
The earliest form of English literature developed after the settlement of the Saxons and other Germanic tribes in England after the withdrawal of the Romans and is known as Old English or Anglo-Saxon. The most famous work in Old English is the epic poem Beowulf. The only surviving manuscript is the Cotton manuscript. The precise date of the manuscript is debated, but most estimates place it close to the year 1000.(The oldest surviving text in English is Cædmon's Hymn)

Late medieval literature in England
Latin literature circulated among the educated classes.
Following the Norman Conquest, the development of Anglo-Norman literature in the Anglo-Norman realm introduced literary trends from Continental Europe.
*Geoffrey Chaucer, father of English literature
In the later medieval period a new form of English now known as Middle English evolved.

This is the earliest form which is comprehensible to modern readers and listeners, albeit not easily.
The most significant Middle English author was the poet Geoffrey Chaucer who was active in the late 14th century. His main works were The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde.

I. Historical background
The Celts or the Britons
The Roman Conquest
The English (Anglo-Saxon) Conquest
The influence of Anglo-Saxons’ religious beliefs and Christianity on English literature
II. Literature in this period
Representatives
Literary masterwork in this period: Beowulf

The Celts or the Britons:
1.The earliest settlers of the British Isles ;
2.About 600 B.C. About 400 B.C., a branch of Celts, the Brythons (Bretons/Britons);
3.The island got its name Britain, the land of Britons

The Roman conquest
About 55B.C, Britain was invaded by Julius Caesar, the great Roman conqueror
In 43 A.D. Claudius, another Roman conqueror conquered it and stayed there till the beginning of the 5th century.
The English (Anglo-Saxon) Conquest
About 450 A.D., the tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes (later known simply as Anglo-Saxons) migrated from the continent, established many small kingdoms.
By the 7th century, there were 3 larger kingdoms

3. They themselves into a united kingdom called To settle down constant wars, the kingdoms England, or, the land of Angles, because the Angles were the most numerous of the three.
4.These three tribes mixed into a whole people called English. And the language they used was called Anglo-Saxon, or, Old English.
The influence of Anglo-Saxons’ religious beliefs and Christianity on English literature
1. The Anglo-Saxons were heathen people (pagan). They believed in the old mythology of Northern Europe.

2.The Anglo-Saxons were heathen people (pagan). Pagan poetry and pagan spirit remained dominant in the poetic scene.
3.Form of literature is orally passed on.
4.In 597, Pope Gregory the Great sent St. Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons.
5. England was Christianized. With the fast spread of Christian influence and classic learning, heathen poetry was slowly and steadily maneuvered out of the scene.
6. The earliest English books were written down by monks in monasteries. They wrote down works passed on orally, they tinged them with some Christian color.

There was a highlight in the development of the Anglo-Saxon literature, the Northumbrian School. Its centre was the monasteries and abbeys (Anglo-Saxon literature) in the kingdom of Northumbria.
Representatives
The Venerable Bede (673-735) A monk wrote in Latin and his work The Ecclesiastical History of England earned him for the title of “father of English history”
Caedmon (670 AD_. ) He turned the stories in the Bible into verse form. The title of the work is Paraphrase, for which he is called “Father of English Song”. His other nine-line poem is called Hymn.

Literary masterwork in this period: Beowulf
Brief introduction of the epic: It probably existed in its oral form as early as the 6th century and was written down in the 7th or 8th century, though the manuscript of it now extant dated back to the 10th century. It contains altogether 3182 lines and the story in it based on partly historical and partly legendary materials. The story takes place in Scandinavia rather than in England.
The literary style: It is an Epic, or the Heroic.
*An epic (a term) is a long narrative poem, composed in an elevated style, dealing with the trials and achievements of a great hero or heroes. The epic celebrates virtues of national, military, religious, cultural, political, or historical significance.

3. The literary position: It is the national epic of Anglo-Saxons and the English people.
4. Poetic features (device)
This poem is a mixture of paganism and Christian element.
The use of alliteration
The use of assonance
The use of kenning
5. Language used: Anglo-Saxon or Old English, very different from modern English

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