Mavzu: British literature

Old English literature: c. 658–1100[edit]

Main article: Old English literature

First page facsimile of Beowulf

Old English literature, or Anglo-Saxon literature, encompasses the surviving literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England, from the settlement of the Saxons and other Germanic tribes in England (Jutes and the Angles) around 450, until "soon after the Norman Conquest" in 1066; that is, c. 1100–50.^[8] These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others.^[9] In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period.^[9]

Oral tradition was very strong in early English culture and most literary works were written to be performed.^[10][11] Epic poems were thus very popular, and some, including Beowulf, have survived to the present day. Beowulf is the most famous work in Old English and has achieved national epic status in England, despite being set in Scandinavia.

Nearly all Anglo-Saxon authors are anonymous: twelve are known by name from medieval sources, but only four of those are known by their vernacular works with any certainty: Cædmon, Bede, Alfred the Great, and Cynewulf. Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known.^[12] Cædmon's only known surviving work is Cædmon's Hymn, which probably dates from the late 7th century.

Chronicles contained a range of historical and literary accounts, and a notable example is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.^[13] The poem Battle of Maldon also deals with history. This is the name given to a work, of uncertain date, celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which the Anglo-Saxons failed to prevent a Viking invasion.^[14]

Classical antiquity was not forgotten in Anglo-Saxon England, and several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts. The longest is King Alfred's (849–99) translation of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy.^[15]