Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period - Overview of Anglo-Saxon Literature

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick

Old English (Anglo-Saxon) literature is introduced through the people, historical background, and key literary output of Anglo-Saxon and Jutish groups. The material explains their warrior and sea-faring character, limited formal education, and contrasts what they wrote—heroic poetry, elegies, Christian poetry, and prose. It highlights major features such as nature responsiveness, religious conviction, belief in Wyrd or fate, reverence for womankind, and devotion to glory, then surveys principal works and manuscripts, including Beowulf and Christian texts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages243

Reading Time6 h 14 min

AccessFree to download

Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period

What kind of people were the Anglo-Saxons?

What did they write?

Important Features of Anglo Saxon Literature

Major Manuscripts and Works

Beowulf (summary and dating)

Heroic/War Poetry

Elegies and related poems

Christian Poems: Caedmon

Christian Poems: Caedmonian and Cynewulfian Schools

Alfred, Aelfric, and Wulfstan

Anglo-Norman Period

# Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period Original Inhabitants:Britons/Celts Invaders:AnglesSaxonsJutes 450 AD:Anglo-Saxon and Jutish invasions from North-WestGermany Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period # What kind of people were the Anglo-Saxons? Anglo-Saxons were warriors and sea-farers.There were frequent fights between the tribes.There was very little time for literary pursuits.Formal education was missing. ## What did they write? Heroic PoetryElegies Christian PoetryProse Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period Christianisation of England 597 AD:Establishment of St Augustine's ChristianMission at Canterbury # Important Features of Anglo Saxon Literature 1.Responsiveness to nature 2.Strong religious conviction, 3.Belief in Wyrd,or Fate 4.Reverence for Womankind 5.Devotion to glory as a motive The Ecclesiastical History of English Peopleby Venerable Bede (731 AD) 30000 lines,4 manuscripts 1.MS Cotton Vitellius AXV (Contains Beowulf,Judith,and threeprose works) 2.The Junius Manuscript (Contains Genesis,Exodus,Daniel,andChrist and Satan) 3.The Exeter Book (Contains Christ,Juliana,The Wanderer,TheSeafarer,Widsith,Deor and many more short pieces) 4.The Vercelli Book (Contains Andreas,The Fates of the Apostles,The Dream of the Rood,Address of Soul to the Body and Elene) Beowulf is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legendconsisting of 3182 alliterative lines.It is one of the most important and most oftentranslated works of Old English literature.The date of composition is a matter ofcontention among scholars;the only certain dating is for the manuscript,whichwas produced between 975 and 1025.Scholars call the anonymous author the"Beowulf poet". The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the 6th century.Beowulf,a hero of theGeats,comes to the aid of Hrothgar,the king of the Danes,whose mead hall inHeorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel.After Beowulf slays him,Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then defeated.Victorious,Beowulf goeshome to Geatland(Götaland in modern Sweden)and becomes king of the Geats.Fifty years later,Beowulf defeats a dragon,but is mortally wounded in the battle.After his death,his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headlandin his memory. # Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period Heroic/War Poetry Beowulf Fight at Finnsburgh Waldhere The Battle of Brunanburh The Battle of Maldon Elegies Deor's LamentThe WandererThe SeafarerThe Wife's LamentThe Husband's MessageThe Ruin # Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period Christian Poems Cædmon was a monk attached to the Abbey of Whitby in the mid-seventh century.According to Bede,Caedmon was a herdsman andlay brother at Whitby,a monastery founded in 657 by St.Hilda.As alay brother,he did not have the responsibilities of a monk,butrather served the monks by tending their livestock.Several studiesalso report that Caedmon was illiterate and demonstrated noparticular talents. # Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period Christian Poems Caedmonian School Caedmon's hymn deals with the Story of Genesis. Poems attributed to Caedmonian School are The Hymn ofCreation,Exodus,Daniel. Poems are characterised by simplicity and an honest flow ofdiction. Cynewulfian School Cynewulf's poems are sophisticated. Poems attributed to Cynewulfian School are The Christ,Juliana,The Fates of the Apostles,Elene. Two other poems The Phoenix and Judith are also supposedlycomposed by Cynewulfian School. # Old English(Anglo-Saxon)Period Alfred Aelfric(Known for his Colloquy)Wulfstan Alfred translated Cura Pastoralis,Bede's HistoriaEcclesiastica,The Consolation of Philosophy byBoethius,parts of St Augustine's Soliloquies. During his time the great Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wasbegun. # Anglo-Norman Period Descended from Norse Vikings, settled in the territory of Normandy in Francein the 10th and 11th centuries

FAQs

What kind of people were the Anglo-Saxons, according to the text?

They are described as warriors and sea-farers, with frequent fights between tribes and very little time for literary pursuits. Formal education was also said to be missing.

What writings did the Anglo-Saxons produce?

The text lists heroic poetry and elegies, then Christian poetry and prose. It also outlines specific examples of Christian poems and schools.

Which manuscripts and works are highlighted in Anglo-Saxon literature?

It names The Ecclesiastical History of English People by Venerable Bede and four major manuscript sources: Cotton Vitellius AXV, the Junius Manuscript, the Exeter Book, and the Vercelli Book. Beowulf is singled out as an Old English epic with 3182 alliterative lines.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Patrick