Objective. You will: Show me by: Understand the structure and characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Transcription

1 Objective After viewing the powerpoint and taking notes, students will demonstrate understanding of the structure and characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry by summarizing the main points in their Cornell notes.

2 Objective You will: Understand the structure and characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Show me by: Summarizing the main points in your Cornell notes.

3 Notes Set #1

4 Important Events in History Lots of exciting things happened in Neolithic and Iron Age Britain.

5 Important Events in History Roman Conquest 55 BC Julius Caesar landed on the coast of Britain with 12, 000 roman soldiers. 43 AD Full scale Roman invasion and occupation of Britain AD Boudicca, queen of the Celtic Iceni tribe, lead a massive multi-tribe rebellion against the Romans.

6 Important Events in History Two Theories Britons hired Germanic mercenaries (c. 450 A.D.) Saxons Angles Jutes Mercenaries conquered most of Britain Slow moving over a century

7 Important Events in History Two Theories The Germanic tribes migrated to Britain in a more peaceful fashion and filled in the holes left by the Roman evacuation.

8 The Heptarchy The Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England

9 What is a scop? The Anglo-Saxon term for the poet or bard Pronounced shop The poet shapes the poem, but he doesn t necessarily invent the story, which is likely to be traditional in content. The word scop comes from the O.E. verb scieppan, to shape The scop would sing tales of past deeds, battles of old, and history was kept alive for the Anglo-Saxons.

10 Why Anglo-Saxon scops were so cool The scop had to be a master of his art, being able to recite thousands of lines from memory (the epic Beowulf has 3182 lines). Some more experienced scops would add to the stories as they were told, all while keeping the rhythms and alliteration of the original poem intact. For example, they might add in local events particular to that area to please their audiences.

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12 What is alliteration? the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables Ex. wild and woolly, threatening throngs Examples from The Battle of Maldon So one could know that the lad wished not to weaken in war, when he seized weapons. they must stand and that stead hold, bade them their round-shields rightly hold.

13 What is a kenning? A hyphenated phrase that acts as a sort of metaphor. Functions as a NOUN Example: Ring-giver Some one who gives rings (aka a king that distributes wealth to his people) Whale-road A road used by whales (so the ocean duh.)

14 What is a stock epithet? A hyphenated phrase that acts as a sort of metaphor. Functions as an ADJECTIVE Example: Battle-forged blade (so a blade forged in battle)

15 What is a Cæsura The space or pause in the middle of a line of Anglo-Saxon poetry that divides it into two halflines Example: Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað. Her lið ure ealdor eall forheawen, god on greote. A mæg gnornian se ðe nu fram þis wigplegan wendan þenceð.

16 What is an Epic? A long, majestic narrative poem Describes legendary or historically important events Delineates ideals of an entire nation at critical point of its history and gratifies national pride Plot often contains supernatural elements

17 What is an Epic? The conflict is in form of combat The hero s actions determine the fate of a nation or group of people Deals with universal themes good vs. evil heroism vs. cowardice duty vs. self-preservation revenge vs. common sense Uses formal stylistic conventions Invocation to Muse Long lists of protagonists Set speeches in elevated language

18 What is an epic hero? A high-ranking male of legendary or historical importance Represents a whole culture Universal aspects of human condition Embodies qualities of human greatness Boasts of prowess Acclaimed after death He would have been considered the PERFECT man based on the values of his society.

19 What is the comitatus? The Germanic bond of loyalty between a lord and his retainers (also called thanes ) The lord promised to provide things such as: Protection Food and shelter Clothing (armor and assorted battle dress included) A share of treasure won in battle The thanes promised in return: Fight to defend his lord and his lord s holding Avenge his lord in the event of his lord s death Pronounced co-mee-tat-us

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21 The Battle of Maldon Lines Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað. Her lið ure ealdor eall forheawen, god on greote. A mæg gnornian se ðe nu fram þis wigplegan wendan þenceð.

22 The Battle of Maldon Lines Hige sceal þe heardra, Spirit must be by as much the harder, mod sceal þe mare, Mood must be by as much the more, Her lið ure ealdor Here lies our elder god on greote. good (man) on (the) sand. se ðe nu fram þis wigplegan who now from this battle-play heorte þe cenre, heart by as much the keener, þe ure mægen lytlað. by as much as our strength lessens. eall forheawen, all hewn to pieces, A mæg gnornian Ever may he be sorry wendan þenceð. thinks to turn.

23 The Battle of Maldon Lines Trans. Jonathan A. Glenn Thought must be the harder, heart be the keener, mind must be the greater, while our strength lessens. Here lies our prince all hewn, good one on grit. He may always mourn who from this war-play thinks now to turn. Trans. Kevin Crossley-Holland Our thoughts will be the firmer, our hearts will be the keener, our spirits will be stronger as our strength diminishes. Here lies our leader, dead, a heroic man in the dirt. He will mourn who thinks to escape this war-play now.

24 Unique O.E. Characters Germanic languages have sounds not found not represented in the Classical Latin alphabet. Thus, there are a series of unique characters found in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. ð eth þ thorn Æ/æ ash ƿ wynn ᵹ gyfu It s ok Ms. Slade took most of them out of our book when she edited our text.

25 Anglo-Saxon Spelling Spelling was largely a matter of personal taste until the invention of printing in England, around Even after that, it took several centuries for English spelling to stabilize to the perfect system we all know and love today. Lucky for you, editors (and Ms. Slade) have standardized the spelling in your text.

26 Summarize the main points of today s lesson in your Cornell notes.