Well, the first week is over and we covered very briefly the Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, period of English literature. Is there anything you found particularly interesting or surprising about what you have learned this week? What about King Alfred, the story of Caedmon's Hymn, or the impact of The Battle of Maldon? Share it with us here.
By the way, check the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/index.html for some interesting information about the Angles and Saxons.
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ALFRED ‘THE GREAT’
Alfred The Great born at Wintage, Berkshire, in 849 as a fifth son of Aethelwulf, king of the West Saxons. He defended Anglo-Saxon England from Viking invasions, formulated a code of laws, and fostered a rebirth of religious and scholarly activity. He was also famous for his translating text from Latin.
İn 870 the Danes attacked the only remaining independent Anglo-Sabon kingdom, Wessex, whose forces were commanded by King Aethelred and his younger brother Alfred. At the battle of Ashdown in 871, Alfred routed the Viking army in a fiercely fought uphill assault. However, further defeats followed for Wessex and Alfred's brother died. After his brother had died, he became king.
As King of Wessex at the age of 21, Alfred (reigned 871-99) was a strongminded but highly strung battle veteran at the head of remaining resistance to the Vikings in southern England.
Alfred died on 26 October, but the actual year is not certain, but it was not necessarily 901 as stated in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. How he died is unknown, although he suffered throughout his life with a painful and unpleasant illness. He was originally buried temporarily in the Old Minister in Winchester, and then moved to the New Minister.
I think the way that this poem was written is highly interesting.It is usually difficult for someone to remember his/her dreams,but the shepherd Caedmon remembers that an angel comes to him,and says "sing praises to the glory of GOD."He wakes up with the hymn in his mind.
That is very interesting
I want to say something about The Battle of Maldon.As a person interested in battles,that this poem was written in the middle of the war, influenced me very much.It looks to me like "Mehter Marşı".Like Mehter Marşı ,it encourages soldiers to fight. We can call it "English Mehter Marşı". :-))
I learned that King Alfred gave an enormous importance to education in Old English, and Anglo-Saxon reflected the lifestyle in their literature. They were tribial society and there was loyalty to the leader. For example;”I am old, I will not go away, but I plan to lie down by the side of my lord, by the man so dearly loved.”(BATTLE OF MALDON) It is proof of loyalty to king, leader.
The Battle of Maldon
The Battle of Maldon is one of the better poems in Old English Literature, explaining a battle which was fougt against Danes. It has also been higly praised for the words courage. Old heroic sprit can be seen strongly in this epic poem. For example the lines below:
Thought must be harder; the heart, the keener.
Courage must be greater as our strength grows less.
To me,it is very interesting for someone to remember his dream.perhaps he always wanted to write such a poem because dreams also related tı subconscios.And he succeed wrote it.THANK YOU WRİTE İT KİNG ALFRED... HATİCE ERDOĞAN
ancıent people were more pragious and hero than today's people. it2s very effective that the shepherd Caedmon's dream and how he wrote the poem.
Anglo-Saxon literature encompasses literature written in Anglo-Saxon during the 600-year Anglo-Saxon period of England, from the mid-5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. Poetry represents the smallest amount of the surviving Old English text, but Anglo-Saxon culture had a rich tradition of oral storytelling, of which little has survived in written form.
The most popular and well-known understanding of Old English poetry is alliterative verse. The system is based upon accent, alliteration, the quantity of vowels, and patterns of syllabic accentuation.The origin of Old English is Germanic Languager.They are rich in consonant.The language that used in that times normally different from today's language.It is a bit diffiult for us to undertand,but themes are very impressive.Loyalty to kinsmen is very important.
Most Old English poets are anonymous , only Caedmon, Bede, and Alfred have known biographies.
Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known.Caedmon is the best-known and considered the father of Old English poetry.
the interesting stories don't seem incredible to me because of our stories that took place in our history, but i have to say that the way used for writing Caedmon and its subject affected me.
Caedmon is the first English poet known by name and its story is well-known in English literature,and also he then came up with his 'hymn' which is important for englısh lıterature..
The one thing that I remember about Anglo-Saxon Literature is that they compiled a prose work known as The Anglo-saxon Chronicle, which is a national history, recording important events, such as; storms,fires,famines, etc. Moreover; they look like the ones that were written by the Hittites in Anatolia, which we call "anal".
On learning these aspects of Anglo-Saxon Literature ,I was deeply interested in such stories.Especially Caaedmon's Hymn reflects the moral values at Anglo-Saxon people
Old English was written in runic alphabet. I'm very curious about runic alphabet. If ı have change to learn in future I'll try.Also it reminds me Orhun inscription...
What an interesting dream Caedmon had!I was affected,because I like dreaming.Years ago,I remember that I had a dream like this.My late grandfather wrote a poem for my grandmother and he was reading it to me,but when I woke up,unlike caedmon,I did not remember anything
:(I wish I had remembered it,and told about it to my grandmother...Other topics we discussed in class did not appeal to me,but I learned them:))did not ignore them...
I think, caedmon's hymn is the most interesting.he sees an angle in his dream and the angel says him something to do for the God. when he wakes up he remember all things. how a strange it is! I wish, ı can remember all my dream because dreams are really interesting, they show you what you will or can live in the future...
The Old English Literature surprised me that it sounds like today German. It is very rich in consonants. There are also legends, The Old English Literature is very suitable for cartonists. It is very interesting that although Caedmon is an uneducated man, he composed his hymn.Also he made it with the help of an angel. I think the event resembles event in Islam. The angel resembles angel Gabriel, because the angel of Caedmon says 'sing...', and the angel Gabriel says 'read' to the illiterate person.
In Anglo Saxon period, I like the best Caedmon's Hymn. It is unbelievable that an angel comes his dream and says the words to an uneducated man. I didn't understand why he was chosen. Maybe someone else can be instead of him. This is interesting I think.
In Anglo-Saxon Literature,works include genres such as epic poetry,hagiography,sermons,Bible tranlations,chronicles,riddles,and others.Caedmon,the best known and considered the father of Old English poetry,wrote a Hymn which the way he wrote is very interesting.
All works of Anglo-Saxon literature are interesting.I liked Caedmon's hymn,it is very close our thoughts about God.
Cædmon’s only known surviving work is Cædmon’s Hymn, the nine-line alliterative vernacular praise poem in honour of the Christian god he supposedly learned to sing in his initial dream. The poem is one of the earliest attested examples of Old English and It is also one of the earliest recorded examples of sustained poetry in a Germanic language
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