Samenvatting Engelse literatuur VWO 5

English Literature
The early Middle Ages (450-1066)
Some history

 55 BC – 450 AD: under Roman rule
 450 AD: Romans withdrew
 The migration of the peoples!
 Anglo-Saxon raiders gradually became settler

 Kings
 Warriors
 Farmers
 Monks, priests, bishops: Christianity

 Christianity: Latin literature.
Bede: a history of the Anglo-Saxons.
 Old English Beowulf
 793: start of attacks by Scandinavian Vikings -> plundered
 Up to the 11th century: Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxons and Normans -> fights over the
English crown
 1066: Battle of Hastings -> Norman William the Conqueror seized the crown

 Sutton Hoo: burial site of a 7th century king
 Why is it important?
 Evidence of a sophisticated society, capable of producing jewelry and weapons. It
also illustrates a transition from paganism to Christianity


Beowulf

 An Old English heroic poem
 The oldest European text in a vernacular language (Old English) instead of normal
Latin
 Writer and age of the poem are unknown
 Around 6th century
 Set in 5th/6th century
 Set in Scandinavia
 3182 lines

 Numerous small states (each with its own king or lord)
 Lords/kings and retainers: found at royal courts and battlefield
 Poets provided entertainment:
- By heart
- Literature was listened to
- Rhythm and alliteration
 Beowulf = a hero of the Geats

,  Danish king: Hrothgar
 Beowulf battles three antagonists:
- Grendel, who has been attacking the resident warriors
- Grendel’s mother
- An unnamed dragon


Differences Old English vs current
- Completely different words
- They used cases (naamvallen)
- Different symbols used + markings above letters to make the vowels longer