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Lecture I. Old English Literature

1. The Middle Ages. The peculiarities of medieval culture.

2. Anglo-Saxon literature.

The historical context. Christianity and culture.

Old English poetry.

Beowulf

• the genre of the epic poem;

• Christian and pagan motives;

1. THE MIDDLE AGES

The Middle Ages is a name given to a lengthy historical period between the third century AD and the Renaissance. This period is associated with the rise of Christianity and its influence upon life and society.

In English literature the medieval period extends for more than 800 years from Caedmon’s Hymn at the end of the seventh century to Everyman in the sixteenth. Medieval literary history in England embraces two distinctive periods: Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) and the Middle English sharply divided from each other by the Norman conquest.

Peculiarities of Medieval culture.

The culture of the Middle Ages is rich and varied. Their aesthetics and philosophy were a major influence upon further cultural development of Europe.

The philosophy of the period is largely dependent on Christian world-view and stems from the works of the so-called Fathers of Church. In Britain the best-known was a Northumbrian monk called the Venerable Bede (673-735), who wrote “Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum” (731) – still an important source of information of England of the time.

1. Medieval culture is heterogenic. It consists of several layers: official writing; clerical literature; folk culture. Later there appears literature of the ruling classes, urban culture. These are interdependent, but develop separately.

2. Medieval culture is multi-lingual. The official language of the Church is Latin; official records are also kept in Latin. Alongside with the official literature there exists a folk-culture in vernacular languages steeped in oral tradition. The written literature of the ruling caste in Britain was in Norman-French.

3. Medieval literature is universal in character. Writing serves multiple purpose: to provide information, instill a moral lesson, entertain, instruct. Genres that served specific purposes evolve gradually.

4. The problem of authorship. Most works are anonymous. The idea of authorship evolves most intensively in clerical literature and in courtly poetry. Better understanding of creative potential of personality brings forth outstanding authors.

The ideology of the Middle Ages was Christianity. The main features of medieval literature and art are closely connected with Christian postulates. The medieval person is convinced of the existence of two worlds: the natural and the supernatural, comprised of Heaven and hell. This world is seen by religious world-view as a pale reflection of the other, eternal world. Human earthly life is only a testing period, preparation for the better world. Human nature is also considered two-fold: comprising the physical and spiritual elements, which are antagonistic and cannot be reconciled.

These doctrines precondition the principal features of medieval art – its symbolism and its abstract character. Medieval culture reflects the natural world and its relationships through their mysterious connections with the transcendental.. Medieval thinking establishes immediate links between the material and the spiritual, the concrete and the abstract. The real world and its manifestations are seen as a reflection of the other world (the projection of God’s will). Abstract ideas (soul, conscience, sin, certain human qualities) are represented in visual images. Medieval art is based on an elaborate and fanciful pattern of symbolism and allegories.

Personality does not differentiate itself from its caste or social milieu. Characters and behavior are not individualized yet.