OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE DURING THE DARK AGES

ABSTRACT

This period extends from about 450 to 1066 A.D. The sources of Old English literature, as we know it, are rooted in their Teutonic origins and were evolved by the spirit that drove the times. In addition to reflecting the violence of the age, however, Old English literature also provides insight into the hearts and souls of a culture that had a strong attachment to nature; where loyalty and honor were more important than life. And for a culture that did not believe in the immortality of the human soul. Beowulf is the oldest and longest known poem of the Old English period. The passionate struggle between Beowulf and the sea monster Grendel is a reflection of the struggle between man and the forces of nature.

INTRODUCTION

The Medieval Times encompass one of the most turbulent periods in the History of England and scatter the Medieval History books and other historical documents. Middle Ages embraced two quite different periods of literary history, the Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) and the Middle English, sharply divided from each other by the Norman duke William´s conquest of the island in 1066. Both English culture and the English language changed radically in the years following this event, and English literature was given a new spirit. (The Norton Anthology of English Literature) Old English was the West Germanic language spoken in the area now known as England between the 5th and 11th centuries. Anglo-Saxon was first written with a version of the Runic alphabet known as Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Frisian runes. This alphabet was an extended version of Elder Futhark with between 26 and 33 letters. Anglo-Saxon runes were used probably from the 5th century AD until about the 10th century. All these qualities of form and spirit of literature in this Era are exemplified in the epic poem Beowulf. Beginning and ending with the funeral of a great king, and composed against a background of impending disaster, it describes the exploits of a Scandinavian cultural hero, Beowulf, in destroying the monster Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. In these sequences Beowulf is shown not only as a glorious hero but also as a savior of the people. The Old Germanic virtue of mutual loyalty between leader and followers is evoked effectively and touchingly in the aged Beowulf's sacrifice of his life and in the reproaches heaped on the retainers who desert him in this climactic battle. The extraordinary artistry with which fragments of other heroic tales are incorporated to illumine the main action, and with which the whole plot is reduced to symmetry, has only recently been fully recognized.
The events described in the poem are said to take place between the late 5th and 7th century. The poem deals with legends and does not separate between fictional elements and real historic events. The spelling in this manuscript will seem inconsistent, even random. Heroes originate in the mists of time and myth; "the original hero in early literature was probably based on the king who died for his people, the warrior who defeated the tribe's enemies. These men were celebrated in song and story and presented again to the people so that they could participate in their magic" (Bloomfield, p. 30). Beowulf opens by demonstrating the power of those kings. Scyld Scefing, who was so strong to have taken the many mead benches, was offered much gold to keep the peace, because no other tribe dared face him. Sheer might was a major peacekeeper in such troubled times. Beowulf, for example, is replete with homiletic and elegiac moments, as when the poet comments on the burial mound of the dead hero:
Original Text:
“Forleton eorla gestreon eorþan healdan, gold on greote, þær hit nu gen lifaþ eldum swa unnyt swa hit æror wæs” (3166–8).
Translation:
[“They let the earth hold the wealth of noblemen, the gold in the dust, where it now still remains, as useless to men as it ever had been before”]

CONCLUSION

The Linguistic and Literary Contexts of Beowulf, demonstrates the kinship of the Anglo-Saxon poem with the versification and literature of other early branches of the Germanic language group. An Anglo-Saxon poet who was writing an epic based on the book of Genesis was able to insert into his work the episodes of the fall of the angels and the fall of man that he adapted with relatively minor changes from an Old Saxon poem thought to have been lost until a fragment from it was found late in the nineteenth century in the Vatican Library. Germanic mythology and legend preserved in Old Icelandic literature centuries later than Beowulf provide us with better insights into stories known to the poet than anything in ancient Greek and Roman epic poetry.

REFERENCES

Baker, P. S. Introduction to Old English, 3rd ed. (2012). Article retrieved on February 23, 2013, from http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/resources/IOE/index.html
Beowulf Manuscript Online. Article retrieved on February 23, 2013, from http://historymedren.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=historymedren&cdn=education&tm=7&f=21&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a4.1.html
Beowulf. Harvard iSites Article. Article retrieved on February 23, 2013, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&ved=0CDAQFjAAOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fisites.harvard.edu%2Ffs%2Fdocs%2Ficb.topic1176225.files%2FBeowulf%2520Text.doc&ei=qXgpUZrlKIvq8gSk74HQCg&usg=AFQjCNHrgbsflopI-xBA8awe2EJbVk3vmA&bvm=bv.42768644,d.eWU
Bloomfield, M. W. (1975). The Concept of the Hero in the Early Middle Ages. State University of New York Press; 1st edition.
History of English Literature. Article retrieved on February 23, 2013, from http://www.angelfire.com/darkside/sjhscult/notes/unit2/eng_lit.htm
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Article Retrieved on February 23, 2013, from http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/topic_1/welcome.htm