literature: Old English period

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Literature and the history of the
English Language

Literature

- Every literature lesson, we will look at the development of the English language combined with the English literature from that period

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS LITERATURE?

What is the present definition of literature?

Literature broadly is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry.

Literature

Today you will learn about:

- the origins of the English language, known as old English.

- Old English language use and vocabulary

- Different types of poems

- The epic poem Beowulf

the Old English Period 

450-1100 AD 

Old English 

- Up until 450: a mix of languages, mostly Celtic, some Latin
- Part of Roman empire 43 - 410 AD
- Angles, Saxons & Jutes invade England 
- Add lots of new words:
   eald (old), brodor (brother), hus (house)

- Old English had three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter)

-Old English had a greater proportion of strong verbs (called irregular verbs in contemporary grammars) 

- Old English words were spelt as they were pronounced; the "silent" letters in many Modern English words, such as the "k" in "knight", were in fact pronounced in Old English. For example, the 'hard-c' sound in cniht, the Old English equivalent of 'knight', was pronounced.

fæder

bearn

lufu

lyft

sweoster

wif

man

casere

neorxnawang

father

son

love

sky

Sister

crime

wife

emperor

paradise

Have you ever heard of the story 'Beowulf'?

Yes, I do.

No, I don't.

genres poems

• epic poems: narrative poems on great subjects like kings and heroes, fighting, glory and honour
• didactic poems: meant to teach the reader about religious matters or about the way to behave
• historical chronicles: about wars and battles, and kings

BEOWULF

- Epic poem consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines.

-  It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. 

-The date of composition is a matter of contention. The only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025 by an the anonymous authoroften called  the "Beowulf poet"

-The story is set in Scandinavia in the 6th century. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel.  Beowulf, who is extremely strong (strength of 30 men), wants to help the King.

kenning

a figurative name for a thing, usually expressed in a compound noun.

First lady = wife of the president

Four-eyes = someone who wears

glasses

Beowulf  Old English Kennings

Sea = whale-path

Sun = sky-candle

Death= Sleep of the sword

corpes = Raven-harvest

Honour = mind's-worth

. . . . . = Battle-sweat

. . . . = bone-house

Aanschouw de lof van de dapperheid van mensen-koningen

van de met een speer gewapende Denen, in lang vervlogen dagen, we hebben gehoord, en welke eer de Athelings wonnen!

Vaak won Shield Sheafson van vijanden in squadrons, van menig stam, scheurde de eetzaal en maakte de graven bang. 

Sinds hij vroeger vriendloos, een vondeling was, betaalde het lot hem terug:

Want hij groeide in welvaart en rijkdom.., tot voor hem het volk, zowel ver als dichtbij,die bij de zee woonden, zijn mandaat hoorden, gaven hem geschenken: een goede koning!

wyrþe þanc