Time of Old English (500-1100 AD) – Historical Background
Before the Romans
• Britain inhabited by several Celtic tribes
55/54 BC • expedition of Julius Caesar during his war against the Gauls (first
contact between Rome and Britain)
no conquest of Britain but begin of trading relationships
between Britain and Rome
Roman Britain (43-410 CE)
• Motives for the invasion:
Claudius as new Roman emperor: needed to secure and
strengthen his position by showing military success
Access to Britain’s natural resources
Britain as strategic location for further military campaigns
and trade
43 AD • Roman Conquest: Roman troops were sent to Britain by Claudius
and face resistance from local tribes
43-47 AD • Roman troops expanded their control over southeastern Britain
47 AD • Establishment of Britain as Roman province (Exploration of mineral
resources)
Establishment of client kings in former tribes + allies (south)
vs. revolts (north)
fights between indigenous tribes and Romans over the next
decades
Romanization of Britain: cultural, social and economic
changes in Britain (e.g., religion, language and
infrastructure), leaving Roman imprints
Romans named country and people Britain/Britons (Romans
needed distinction; natives don´t use the name) 1
312-337 AD • Emperor Constantine’s legacy brings Christianity to the Empire,
including Britain
337 AD • Death of Constantine
barbarian invasion (Picts, Scots, Franks, Saxons), weakening
power of Romans
408/409 AD • Heavy barbarian invasions leading the establishment of several local
leaders
End of Roman legacy in Britain
Enslaved celts came back to the middle of Britain
1 Romans needed distinction; natives don‘t use the name
1
,Anglo-Saxon England (5th – 11th century)
5th/6th century • Anglo-Saxon tribes settled in Britain (Saxons, Angles and Jutes)
(first mentioned Celts were enslaved or fled to the coast
in 410 AD, large Establishment of several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms with their
numbers from own royal dynasties and hierarchical social structures
430 AD
(monarch on top of social structure)
onwards)
Power struggles: territorial competition between Anglo-
Saxon tribes/kingdoms + conflict with Britons
brought Germanic languages that evolved into Old English
new social values: Loyalty, courage, and service for the
king (Warrior aristocracy), Kinship (dependance of family
from one man)
religious changes: Pagan believes transition to Christianity
(missionaries converted kingdoms to Christianity)
597 AD • Missionaries (e.g. Augustine of Canterbury) spread Christianity,
leading to establishment of churches and monasteries
664: Synod of Whitby (efforts to achieve ecclesiastical
unity and resolve differences between Roman and Celtic
Christianity)
672: Synod at Hertford (Establishment of basic canons for
a church government)
from 750 AD: parochial system2 (community centred
around a local church) → emergence of towns
th th
7 -8 century • British land was divided into seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms3
power struggles: expansional efforts, frequent power
shifts, conflicts, and feuds
politic strategies: kingly magnificence (Display of wealth
and power to demonstrate authority and prestige),
military aristocracy4
Britons: retreat to western and northern parts of Britain
(Wales, Cornwall), establishing distinct Celtic kingdoms
→ persistence of Celtic culture and Celtic Christianity
787 AD: • Begin of Viking invasion (followed by several in 835, 865, 871)
Burned down monasteries (centers of education and
power)
Established permanent settlements in (north)eastern
England bringing their own culture and tradition to
England (=Danelaw)
took hostages, jewels, etc. (England had to pay to get it
back)
2 Parish (local church community) organisation and structure: centered around a local church, center of local
community, led by a parish priest (overseen by bishop, and higher authorities), sometimes had legal and
administrative responsabilities → sense of community within a geographical area
3 Kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex, Kent
4 Social class/power based on military role → distinguishing elite class due to status as warrior and land
ownership → central aspect: duty to the king as basis for social role
2
, By 867: Nearly all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (excepts Wessex)
are conquered by the Vikings
878 AD • King Alfred of Wessex defeats the Vikings and establishes
boundary between Danelaw and Wessex
Victory over Danish King Guthrum in battle of Ethandun
led to Peace Treaty
Norwegian settlements in North-West, Danish settlements
in North-East/East and Anglo-Saxon settlements in South-
West/South
899-970s • Unification of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
Alfreds successors military campaigns against the Vikings
bring expansion of Wessex`s territories and the
strengthening of royal authority
→ 973 AD: Regularis Concordia (one rule for all English
houses)
978-1016 AD • Hugh Danish raids and internal problems cause threat to English
unity
1016 AD • Danish King Canute rules over England, Denmark and Norway
1020s: England was divided into 4 earldoms
(Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex)
Powershifts between Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings
1066: successor Edward the Confessor had no heir
→ Harold Godwinson becomes king (Anglo-Saxon)
Time of Old English (500-1100 AD) – Literary History
Language • Old English as primary language spoken and written in England
and Dialects Germanic roots with Latin and Celtic influences
Four major dialects: West Saxon, Mercian, Northumbrian,
Kentish
Most literary works and manuscripts were written in West
Saxon due to the influence of King Alfred (Danelaw & Anglo-
Saxon kingdom → boost for Anglo-Saxon culture)
Mainly vernacular language and for legal documents
involving the local population
• Latin as standard language for legal, royal, or religious documents
Language of authority, scholarship, and international
communication
Strongly influenced place names and Christian words
• Only very few Celtic words (few religious, poetical, place names)
→ Multilingual and multicultural society with different speech
communities
Orality, Oral • Before Anglo-Saxon Era: Use of written literature are influenced by
Performance Roman culture and administrative practices; written and oral
& Literacy tradition & Celtic and Latin existed simultaneously
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, • Most people were illiterate: early medieval literature transmitted
orally or performed
Affected creation:
▪ written to be performed (e.g. interjections in
Beowulf “listen”)
▪ For crowds, not for reading in solitude
▪ Poetic meter so that the story was easy to remember
• Revival of literacy and learning under king Alfred: encouraged
education in English rather than Latin
Increase of Anglo-Saxon culture and manuscript production
Translation of major Latin works into West Saxon
Manuscripts • Manuscripts mainly produced in monasteries for the elite
&Circulation Very expensive and work/time intensive
of literature Four major manuscripts with anthologies or mix of poetry
and prose
Old English • Consists of long lines divided into half-lines by pauses or caesura
Poetry • One or both stressed syllables of the first half-line is/are linked with
the first syllable of the second half-line by alliteration
• Kenning: poetic imagery (e.g. “the whale road” for “sea”) → helped
the scope to remember the lines
• Important forms:
Riddles, mnemonic poems, Old English elegies
Religious poems: influence of Christianization, paraphrase
biblical books of Genesis, Exodus, Daniel or Life of Saints
Heroic poetry:
▪ Deals with the affair and actions of brave
men/heroes
▪ dramatized by monologue/dialogue
▪ interspersed with flashbacks, repetitive summaries,
or the Finnsburg Episode
▪ interjections translating to “listen”
Old English • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (an annual account of events begun in
Prose the time of king Alfred) and Bede’s Latin History of 731 AD are a
continuous source of early English history
• Homolies and church sermons (= beides Reden/Predigten) by Aelfric
of Eynsham and Wulfstan of York
Allegory • A story, a poem, or a picture within the story that can be interpreted
to reveal a hidden meaning, typically moral or political
• Character, place, event is used to deliver a broader message about
real-world issues and occurrences
• Used to illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in a way
that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers, readers or listener
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