Old English literature

The Old English period extends from 450 - 1066 and is an era of pagan Germanic tribes Angles, Saxons and Jutes from continental Europe who overran England after the Roman withdrawal. They brought to Britain a specific poetic tradition of bards whose poetry was meant to be sung. Prose started to develop later than poetry and almost all poets were anonymous. Anglo-Saxons loved heroic poetry. A hero had to be strong, loyal to his lord, had to protect his honour and desirable death was to die in a battle in order to reach the warriors' heaven Valhalla. For barbaric tribes, old sick people were burden so young men preferred to die honourably in a battle rather than old in poverty. Anglo-Saxon culture was surprisingly rich for such violent tribes.

Manuscripts

There are four major manuscripts of Old English texts that survived till today:

Exeter Book is an anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry. It contains The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Lament of Deor, Wulf and Eadwacer, The Wife's Lament, The Husband's Message and riddles.

Nowell Codex is famous for containing Beowulf.

Junius manuscript is an illustrated collection of re-told poems on biblical narratives such as Genesis (about the Creation), Exodus (about Jews' flight from Egypt and crossing of the Red Sea) and Christ and Satan (about Lucifer's fall and Christ's harrowing of hell).

Vercelli Book contains both poetry and prose, featuring The Fates of the Apostles and Elene by Cynewulf.

Poetic means

Since poets of those times did not know rhyme, they were fond of alliteration = repetition of the same initial letter at the beginning of words on the same line. (Hastened the hardy one, henchmen with him) This was the most common poetic device, later replaced by rhyme but it did not disappeared completely.

Kenning is a metaphoric poetic description of a common object consisting of more than one word that originates from playing with one particular quality of the object (whale-road = sea, sky´s jewel = sun, destroyers of eagle´s hunger = warriors, onion of war = sword).

Heroic epic poetry

Beowulf is an Old English heroic poem of about 3000 lines set in Scandinavia. It was penned down between 7th-9th century but the subject matter comes from the 6th century. The poem is a mixture of pagan (monsters, dragons, pagan burial by burning) and Christian motives (Grendel is referred to as a child of Cain, Beowulf is presented as God's champion), its author was probably a monk who studied pagan mythology.

First battle: Grendel - The king of the Danes Hrothgar had the great mead hall called Heorot constructed which was the greatest building of its kind. However, lively celebrating warriors in the hall aggravated a troll-like monster Grendel. He attacks the hall and devours many warriors while they sleep but he does not touch the throne for it is described as being protected by the power of God. Meanwhile Beowulf, a young warrior from Geatland, hears of Hrothgar's troubles and leaves his homeland to help him. Beowulf and his men spend the night in Heorot. Beowulf bears no weapon because this would be an unfair advantage over the unarmed beast. After they fake sleep, Grendel enters the hall and attacks. Beowulf's retainers draw their swords but their blades cannot pierce Grendel's skin. Beowulf tears Grendel's arm from his body, Grendel runs to marshes and dies.

Second battle: Grendel's mother - The next night, after celebrating Grendel's defeat, Hrothgar and his men sleep in Heorot. Grendel's mother, angered by the punishment of her son, appears and kills Hrothgar's most trusted warrior in revenge. Beowulf tracks Grendel's mother to her lair under a lake. Beowulf prepares himself for battle; he is presented with a sword by a warrior who had doubted him and wishes to make amends. Beowulf dives into the lake and finding that the sword cannot harm his foe, discards the weapon. Beowulf grabs a magical sword from Grendel's mother's treasure and  beheads her. Travelling further into the lair, Beowulf discovers Grendel's dying body and severs its head. The blade of the magic sword melts like ice when it touches Grendel's toxic blood, until only the hilt is left. This hilt is the only treasure that Beowulf carries out of cavern. Beowulf then returns where the king gives him many gifts.

Third battle: Dragon - Beowulf returns home and eventually becomes the king of his own people. One day, fifty years after the battle with Grendel, a slave steals a golden cup from the lair of an unnamed dragon. When the dragon sees that the cup has been stolen, it leaves its cave in a rage, burning everything in sight. Beowulf and his warriors come to fight the dragon. His men, upon seeing the dragon, cowardly run away. However, one of the men Wiglaf comes to Beowulf's aid. The two slay the dragon but Beowulf is mortally wounded. Beowulf is buried by pagan burning ceremony in Geatland on a cliff overlooking the sea, where sailors are able to see his tumulus. Beowulf about a warrior's code: It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning for every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death.

The Battle of Maldon is a poem celebrating a real battle of British Maldon in 991 at which Anglo-Saxons failed to prevent a Viking invasion. It is told entirely from the perspective of the English. The poem begins with the English preparing for battle. A Viking messenger offers to Byrhtnoth peace if he will consent to pay tribute. Byrhtnoth refuses, telling the messenger that he will fight in defence of his land king. However, due to his overconfidence, Byrhtnoth gives the Vikings space to battle more freely, rather than keeping them in the more easily-defended place.

Individual episodes about fates of several warriors are depicted – notably that of Byrthtnoth who dies urging his soldiers forward and commending his soul to God: "I thank Thee, Lord of all peoples for all those joys that I on earth have known. Now, my Maker mild - I have most need that thou to my ghost should grant good. That my soul to Thee may journey, into thy kingdom." Not all the warriors are portrayed as heroic, one character evens flees the battle on Byrthtnoth's horse which causes panic among warriors because they think their commander Byrhtnoth flees.

Lyrical poetry

Lyrical poetry includes various subgenres. Elegy is a lament for the death of a particular person whereas hymn has a ceremonial character and celebrates the land, nation or a person. Ode is a long lyrical poem with a serious subject written in an elevated style that also celebrated something.

Love elegies:

The Wife’s Lament is about a woman in despair who laments for her lost or absent husband. She was exiled to live in the woods, probably because her husband committed some crime but she still loves him, although she wants her husband to feel miserable as well ("reminded constantly of our former happiness").

The Husband’s Message is similar in style and mood to the previous poem and can be possibly connected to it. It features a man who was forced to leave his homeland and wife due to an argument. Later on, he became wealthy so he carves a message onto wood and sends it to his wife, recounting the past years without her, reflecting on his past misfortunes, expressing love and wish to be united again with her. The message becomes the physical plank of wood itself, as well as the poem's written lyrics.

In Wulf and Eadwacer a woman is separated from her lover Wulf and this separation is seemingly maintained by a threat of killing Wulf if he dares to return. Crying out in her sorrow for her lover, she longs for him to take her in his arms. She then addresses Eadwacer who may be her captor and  identifies their 'whelp' (metaphorically implies child of Wulf). She describes this child as being taken off to the woods.

Melancholy elegies:

In The Lament of Deor, Deor laments his exile from luxurious life, the poet's sorrow at having lost his position. Deor reveals that he was once a great poet until he was displaced and sent wandering by a more skilful poet.

The Wanderer is a lament featuring wanderings on the sea of a lonely warrior who had lost his lord and companions in arms (possibly in the battle of Maldon). The winter season seems to match his sadness.

In The Seafarer an old sailor contemplates his life. It is structured as a dialogue between an old seaman and a young man to whom the sailor tells his story. Or perhaps the old man only talks to himself. He describes the hardships of life on the wintry sea (anxiety, cold-wetness, solitude) in contrast to life on land where men are surrounded by kinsmen and free from dangers. Later on, the speaker begins to describe his yearning for the sea. Time passes through the seasons from winter (it snowed from the north) to spring (groves assume blossoms) and to summer (the cuckoo urges).

The poem begins as a narrative of a man’s life at sea but becomes a praise of God. The sea is no longer mentioned; instead the speaker preaches about the path to heaven. He asserts that earthly happiness will not endure and men must oppose the devil with brave deeds and that earthly wealth cannot travel to the afterlife. Heaven can be reached by living a good, honourable life. "Foolish is he who his Lord dreads not, death comes to him unsolicited: happy is he who humbly lives, to him comes mercy from heaven; the Creator his mind strengthens, because he in his might believes."

Religious poetry

CÆDMON /ˈkædmən/ was an earliest poet whose name is known. Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People claims that Cædmon was an illiterate cow-herd who was able to recite a Christian song celebrating God after a miracle. A legend says that there was a festival where all people should sing a song which would worship God but Cædmon was too humble, thinking that he is unable to sing for God. Later on in a dream, an angel asked him to sing for God the beautiful poem of creation and so Caedmon’s Hymn was created. After that monks let him live in the monastery since they believed he was a messenger of God. The poem  was composed after the second half of the 7th century and is the oldest surviving Old English poem.

CYNEWULF /kynewulf/ was another poet known by his name. He wrote The Fates of the Apostles which is a martyology of the Twelve Apostles written in alliterative verse and Elene or Saint Helena Finds the True Cross which is about the search for the relics of the saints. Cynewulf was a contemporary of Cædmon but he was more complex.

Prose

VENERABLE BEDE /ˈbiːd/ (673-735) was a monk and the greatest figure of Anglo-Saxon prose, a versatile man interested in various fields of study. His Latin work Ecclesiastical History of the English People is probably the first historical work which covers the period from the Roman invasion till 731 when he completed it and speaks also about Cædmon and his visit of an angel. It presents critical evaluation of the sources but it includes also legendary tales.

ALFRED THE GREAT (9^th century) was not only a capable king who halted the invasion of Vikings but also a scholar. He unified England for the first time and wanted everyone to have access to education. He translated several works and commissioned The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. He also commissioned the translation of Pastoral Care featuring the responsibilities of the clergy and another very influential text The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius.

ÆLFRIC THE GRAMMARIAN (11^th century) was a Benedictine monk who translated parts of the Bible. He translated the Latin grammar into Old English.

WULFSTAN (11^th century) was an archbishop of York. In his work The Sermon of the Wulf to the English he blames the English for lack of moral discipline but he wrote it in Old English, not Latin. He was a councillor to the last Anglo-Saxon king before a Viking king ascended the throne. He is extremely melancholical about his previous king, although the new one adopted English ways.

Historians:

GILDAS was a 6th century Welsh monk, one of the first British historians.

NENNIUS is the supposed author of Historia Brittonum (9th century) with the first notion of King Arthur.