CHAPTER 1

Historical Context: Ancient times of Britain

The earliest inhabitants
In earlier ages, probably Britain was joined to the continent by a strip of land.
Between 3000 and 2000 BC, waves of immigrants settled in the country (Cornwall, Wales and Southern land).
They belonged to the Iberian Stock. A new race of Alpine stock from the Low Countries reached Britain
around 2000 BC, they were referred to as the Beaker folk, due to the characteristic cups found in their
graves. The construction of monuments in stone circles, of which Stonehenge (1000 BC), was probably due
to the fusion of the two peoples.
The Celtic tribes
During the Iron Age (ca 600 BC and 50 AD), a Celtic culture established itself throughout the British Isles. The
Celts were tribes of warriors. The Romans who fought against them, presented them as barbarians. They
brought the iron plough to the British Isles. The system of cultivation improved and Britain became a corn-
growing country. The basic unit of Celtic life was the clan, which was like today’s extended family. Clans
joined other clans to form tribes. They lived in huts made of timber with thatched roofs. Celts relied on the
oral transmission of culture, especially through the bards.
The Roman Rule
In 55 BC, Julius Caesar invaded Britain, but the real conquest of the country took place in the years 43-47
AD under Emperor Claudius. One of the first things the Romans did was involve the conquered tribes in the
administration of the province. The Romans encouraged the growth of towns near their army bases. They
turned towns into centres of vibrant commercial activity. During the Roman Rule an excellent network of
roads were built, joining the new towns together. They were amazingly well built and made troop
movement, and later the movement of commercial goods, much easier. The most important monument
built by the Romans in Britain was Hadrian’s Wall, constructed as a defensive fortification and customer
barrier from the east coast to the west coast between England and Scotland. In 407, the Roman Legions
were withdrawn and sent to face the increasing menace of Barbarian tribes.
The Anglo-Saxon Conquest
After the withdrawal of the Roman army from Britain, the Romanised Celts were left alone to fight against
peoples from Germany and Scandinavia who invaded the island in the 5th century and destroyed the Roman
towns. They were the Angles, Saxons and the Jutes. Angles gave Bretain its new name: England that is the
land of Angles. Anglo-Saxons were organized in family groups called clans, in which the most important social
bond was loyalty to the other members and to the lord of the tribe.
At the end of the 6th century, Pope Gregory I the great sent a monk, Augustine to bring Christianity back to
England. Augustine first went to Canterbury and became the first Archibishop of Canterbury. Soon
monasteries progressed and turned into important centers of communal life and culture.
During the 9th Century, the raids made by Danish Armies, commonly known as Vikings, became more
frequent and bold. They quickly conquered East Anglia, Northumbria, part of Mercia and nearly all of Wessex,
until Alfred, the Great of Wessex halted their advance in 878.
In 879 Mercia accepted Alfred’s lordship and a Kingdom of Anglo-Saxons was born. King Alfred the Great can
be considered as the greatest king of the period. He reorganized his reign with a series of wise reforms and
transformed his court into a refined centre of learning.
Alfred’s successors ruled wisely, but in the 10th Century the Danish invasions were renewed by Sewyn King
of Denmark and Norway.
The English line was restored with Edward the Confessor in 1042.

Literary Context: Anglo-Saxon Literature

The Old English Period (from the 6th century up to 1100) was characterized by struggles and continuous
invasions. In this nebulous and turbulent period, there was no local literary production, and what we find
was imported by the invaders, so the first examples belong to the Anglo-Saxon Literature. The chief glory of
this literature was poetry; the first poems dating back to the 6th century reflected the German heritage of
the conquerors, their pagan religion and warlike civilization. Anglo-Saxon poems dealt with heroic deeds
accomplished by warriors and were handed down orally. The Scopas (Anglo-Saxon poets) used to recite them
in the halls of worrior lords, as entertainment.
It was only after St.Augustine’s arrival and the conversion of Anglo-Saxons to Christianity that a written
tradition developed. Clerics assumed the task of preserving and spreading culture. It was due to the work of
clerks in monasteries that some examples of Anglo-Saxon poetry have survived, even if altered and deprived
of all that was in contrast with their religion.
The Anglo-Saxon language, belonging to Germanic languages, became dominant in Britain, except in Wales
and other mountainous areas, where the Celtic characters were preserved. It was known as Old English.
Poetry
Anglo-Saxon poetry expressed the ideals and concerns of the time: an age of battles and warriors. It exalts
heroism and bravery. The most important features of an epic poem are:
- A long narrative;
- Elevated style;
- Celebration of the deeds of a hero;
- Description of an aristocratic and military society;
- Type-scenes: the banquet, the battle, the voyage and the funeral
The most famous epic poem is Beowulf, contained in The Cotton Vitellius, and dated between 600 and
800 AD. It belonged to the oral tradition and was not written down until the 9th century probably by
monks. The author of the poem is unknown. Beowulf reflects a curious blend between heroic paganism
and the principles of the Christian faith. Wild scenes are softened and the hero reveals a nobility and
purity strongly Christian in character. It is almost impossible to distinguish to what extent it was due to
a period of transition between the different beliefs and what was due to the work of the monks who
wrote it down.
Summary of Beowulf: A monster called Grendel, every night attacks the palace of the Danish King
Hrothgar. Beowulf, nephew of the King of the Geats, fights Grendel and kills him. But soon he has to face
the monster’s mother, who wants to revenge her son’s death, and after a fierce struggle in a deep cave,
the hero succeeds in killing her too. Then Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and reigns peacefully for
fifty years, but a new monster, this time a fire-breathing dragon, ravages the country to take revenge of
the stolen treasure of which he was the guardian. Once again, Beowulf shows his courage and, to save
his people, faces the monster and kills him, but he is mortally wounded in the fight.
The largest part of the Anglo-Saxon poetic production is represented by the Christian poetry, in which
the heroic themes are replaced by religious subjects. Its aim was to instruct people by offering them
exalting examples from the Bible and the life of Saints.
Most of the authors of Christian poetry are unknown and only a few poems can be attributed with a
certain degree of certainty to two poets: Caedmon (7th century) and Cynewulf (late 8th and early 9th
century).
In Anglo-Saxon, poems the normal line was composed of a varying number of syllables divided into two
halves separated by a caesura.
Original version:
Beowulf mabelode – bearn Eegbeowers:
Ne sorga, snotor guma! – Selre bid aeghwaem
Baet he his freand wrece – bonne he fela murne…
Modern version
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke these words:
Grieve not, wise man. Better it is for each
That he avenge his friend than mourn him much…
As rhyme was unknown, the rhythm was obtained through alliteration, which consisted of a repetition
of the same consonant sound generally at the beginning of the words.
Of great importance were the Kennings, short periphrases used to replace common names, for example:
Battle flashes was used for sword.
The uniformity in accent, style and metre made this poetry rather monotonous.
Prose
The Anglo-Saxon prose developed later than poetry. The scholars of the time wrote in Latin, which was
the universal language of learned people and of the Church.
It was only during Alfred’s reign that a literary prose began to flourish. The king in order to educate his
people had Latin works translated. In the 10 th century prose writing reached its best with Aelfric and
Bishop Wulfstan. However, on the whole, the existing body of Anglo-Saxon prose is much more valuable
as historical and philological documents than as literary works.