Literature of the Middle Ages

Anglo-Saxon Period

Anglo-Saxon or Old English was the earliest form of the English language. It is difficult to give definite dates for the rise and development of languages as it does not change suddenly. During the first 5 centuries of our era Britain was inhabited by people called celts. The celts migrated to Britain from central and western Europe In the middle of the 5^th century England was invaded by the Germanic tribes of Angles (conquered the north), Saxons (the south) and Jutes (southeast). At the very end of the 5^th century they settled in Britain and began to call themselves English. The Anglo-Saxons were comparatively well-developed. They were brave, poetic, artistic people and had a highly developed feeling for beauty.

The first masterpiece of English literature is the epic poem “The Song of Beowulf”. It is a story of 3183 lines, which describes the historical past of the land from which the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came. There is general agreement that the West –Saxon dialect in which “Beowulf” now exists is not that in which it was originally composed. ”Beowulf” was made into a poem somewhere about the 7^th century. The author is unknown. The poem is about Hrothgar-King of Danes and about a brave young man Beowulf from southern Sweden. The king is in trouble and Beowulf goes to help him. The great hall called Heorot is visited at night by terrible creature Grendel, which lives in a lake and comes to kill and eat Hrothgar`s men. One night Beowulf waits for this thing, attacks him and in a fierce fight puts his arm off. Grendel manages to escape in the lake and dies there. Then its mother comes to the castle in search of revenge and the attacks begin again, but Beowulf kills her. In later days Beowulf, now the king of his people, has to defend his country against the fire-breathing creature. He kills the monster, but is badly wounded in the fight and dies. The poem ends with thorough description of Beowulf`s funeral fire. This work gives us an interesting picture of life in those days. It tells us of fiers fights and brave deeds, of the speeches of the leader and the suffering of his men. It describes their life in the castle, the terrible creatures they had to fight, their ships and their travels. They had a hard life and on sea and on land. They didn`t enjoy it much, but they bore it.

Each half line has 2 main beats. There is no rhyme, instead each half line is joined to the other by alliteration (2 or more words beginning with the same sound). Alliteration makes poetry musical and gives it rhyme In “Beowulf” things are described indirectly and in combinations of words.Although “Beowulf” mentions real historical events, names some concrete nationalities (Danes, Swiss) some kings, that really ruled, those people in former times, all that is nevertheless mythological understanding of history. It doesn`t separate real facts from fairy tales. The image of Beowulf who has miraculous characteristics, who defends his people, who subdues hostile forces of Nature stands for a moral ideal of a heroic person of the early middle ages. At the same time in this epic some biblical personages are mentioned, f.e. Cain, Avel, and some legends: the creation of the world, the Flood. In this epic we can also find a lot of perceptions in the spirit of Christianity