Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture and Historical Background - Prof. Gómez Roman, Apuntes de Idioma Inglés

¡Descarga Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture and Historical Background - Prof. Gómez Roman y más Apuntes en PDF de Idioma Inglés solo en Docsity! ANGLOSAXON LITERARY CULTURE THE ANGLOSAXON PERIOD: Defining the boundaries: 449(?) Adventus Saxonum (Bede vs. archeological evidence) 1066: The Norman conquest. The Chronology of Anglo-saxon England: • Migration of tribes to England, 500-600. • Conversion to Christianity 600-700 • Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon culture 700- 800. • Viking invasions and destruction of Anglo-Saxon culture 800 – 900 • Reform and rebuilding of Anglo-Saxon culture, 900 – 1000. • Collapse with the Normal conquest, 1066. The Languages of Anglo-Saxon Literature: • OE not a monolithic language, but a group of dialects: Kentish, Northumbrian, Mercian, West-Saxon. • Latin: Bede, Aldhelm, Tatwine, Eusebius, Boniface. • [Welsh: Y Goddodin (Book of Aneirin); Taliesin] • [Gaelic: elegies and poems in praise of St Columba] The Corpus of Old English Literature: • Most distinctive works: Poetry, BL MS Cotton Vitellius A.xv (Bewulf and Judith) Oxford Bodleian Lib. MS Junius II (Genesis B) Exeter Cathedral Library 3501. Vercelli, Bib Capitolare CXVII ( Dream of the Rood) (pieces copied in miscellaneous ms: Caedmon’s Hymn, Battle of Maldon, Chronicle poems, Waldere fragments) • But largest production written in prose: homiletic, hagiographical, historical ( the OE Bede) The Anglo-Saxon England: Historical context The Adventus Saxonum: Sources • Gildas, De ecxidio et conquestu Britanniae ( c AD 547) • Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum (completed 731) • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (begun under King Alfred, late 9th century) • Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae (12th century) Invasion or Migration?: • Legendary origins: Vortigern invites the Germanic tribes to fight the Picts. • Bede identifies three tribes: Angles, Saxons and Jutes; names Hengist and Horsa. • Other sources: Jordanes Frisian also. Settlement: • Jutes: Kent and Isle of Wight; founder of royal house:AEsc • Saxons: East, South and West Saxon (Wessex); legendary kings: Cerdic and Cynric. • Angles: East and Mid-Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria; legendary king: Wuffa. The Heptarchy: • 7th c. Northumbrian hegemony; under king Edwin. 616- 33 • 8th c. Mercian; kings AEthelbald and Offa (Bretwalda/overlord) • 9th c. Wessex; King Ecberht. Christianization: • Germanic religion: Polytheistic (Woden, Thor, Tíw) • 597, Christian mission sent by Pope Gregory, led by St Augustine. • Pyramidal conversion. • 563 Columba lands in Iona. The fusion of two cultures: • Pagan / Germanic / Oral. • Christian / Latin / Written. THE ANGLO-SAXON POETIC DICTION Old English poetic form: Old English poetry consists of an open series of lines, without stanzaic division. The manuscript text of OE poetry does not mark out poetic form/structure; texts are copied as prose. Poetic diction: variation: Aids oral composition. Double or multiple statement of an idea/concept within a sentence. Repetition of an element/concept within a sentence, using multiples designations for it: 9th ANGLOSAXON ENGLISH- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND THE VIKINGS: From late 8th century Viking raids. Vikings, Scandinavian people, merchants and pillagers. Etymology: ON “vik”, bay. Viking Age: 8th – 11th century overpopulation and expansion. THE VIKINGS IN BRITAIN: C.788 First Viking raids on Britain. 793, sacking and destruction of Lindisfarne. 790-830 spring raids on coast and sailing up the rivers (monasteries a favorite target) 835: first large scale Danish invasion. “A great fleet” MICEL SCYP-HERE. Lead by Ragnar Lodbrok and sons. They establish a landing in Kent. Beginnings of Danish occupation. KING ALFRED (871-899) Grandson of Egbert, son of AEthelwulf, sent to Rome in his childhood. 871: succeeds brother AEthelred I as king of Wessex. Spent most of his life fighting the Vikings. 876: the Danes occupy most of Mercia and Northumbria. 878: Danes under Guthrum invades Wessex. Alfred takes refuge in the Isle of Athelney. ALFRED’S VICTORY 878: Victory at Eddington: Guthrum is baptized. Treaty of Wedmore, England divided in two, Alfred made overlord. Only Wessex remained entirely independent, the rest of England came to be known as the Danelaw, shared by Angles and Danes (recognized as permanent colonists). 886: Alfred captures and rebuilt London; recognized now by Saxons and Danes alike as king of all England. THE DANELAW: ALFRED “THE GREAT”: Summoned a council of “wise men” (witan) for affairs of State. Made provision for permanent fleet of warship. Reformed the law. Dom-boc “Doombook” : compilation of Anglo-Saxon laws written in OE, based on Germanic customs, but also introducing new ideas: wergeld, (monetary compensation) to preclude feuds. Launched an ambitious program of educational reform; revived schools and monasteries following the model of Charlemagne’s Palace School. REVIVAL OF LEARNING: The king commissions translation of important Latin works into OE: Bede’s HE; de consolatione philosophiae of Boethius; St Augustine soliloquies. He translated some texts himself: Orosisus Historia adversus paganos, St Gregory’s Cura Pastoralis. Nationalistic aim: attempt to reeducated his people and reinforce sense of national identity. Alfred instigated compilation of AS chronicle (891) written in the form of annals, in the vernacular. Composite work: 9 mss survive. Alfred’s impulse of learning gave impulse to the creation of a West- Saxon literary koiné. 10th ASE, ENGLAND AFTER ALFRED THE LEGACY OF ALFRED: Edward “the Elder” (899-924), second king to be styled Anglorum Saxonum Rex. Faced renew Danish attacks and civil war, supported by his sister AEtheltlaed, “ the Lady of the Mercians”. Secures control of the country South of the Humber, but a semi-independent Danish kingdom is established at York (Jorvik). Athelstan (924-39), united all England under his rule: won control of York, submitted the Welsh and campaigned against the Scots. Signal victory at Brunanburh (937) against coalition of Scandinavians, Irish and Scots. Styled Rex totius Britanniae. EDGAR “THE PEACEABLE” Norse attacks renewed under Athelstan’s successor; lasting peace not achieved until Edgar (959-75). Supported monastic reform advocated by Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury: Benedictine revival (flourishing of monastic culture). Coronation at Bath (973); introduces the anointing of the monarch and stablishes the basis for the coronation service of English kings. After his death Danish raids are renewed until the whole country falls under Danish dominion. AETHELRED “THE UNREADY” AEthelred II (978-1016) unread, “ill-advised”. Married Emma sister to Duke of Normandy. Danish raids and settlement renewed (as Christianity is imposed in Denmark and Norway) 991, Battle of Maldon. Aethelred is forced to pay “Danegeld”. 994: norseman attack with 94 ships; raids renewed each summer. 1002: Aethelred orders “St Brice’s day massacre” 1003-1004: Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark retaliates: ravages Wessex and East Anglia, 1005: Kent and south of England. 1013: Danish conquest. Sweyn proclaims himself king of England. AEthlered and Emma flee to Normandy. CNUT Sweyn dies in 1014, and AEthelred returns but he dies 1016. His son Edmund Ironside proclaims king, but Danish council chooses Sweyn’s son Cnut. 1016 Edmund dies, Cnut secures crown. Cnut consolidates his position marrying Emma and acting as rightful king, not conqueror: issuing laws and founding monasteries.