LECTURE 01

ENGLISH LITERATURE

THE ELFIN WORLD OF ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE (450 – 1066)

1.1. Периодизация литературы. конецформыначалоформыВозникновение и распространение христианства, его доминирующая роль в жизни средневекового общества. конецформыначалоформыГимн Кэдмона как образец древнеанглийской поэзии.

1.1.1. English Literature is the literature produced in England, from the introduction of Old English by the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century to the present. The works of those Irish and Scottish authors who are closely identified with English life and letters are also considered part of English literature. The first period of its development extends from about 450 to 1066, the year of the Norman-French conquest of England. The Germanic tribes from Europe who overran England in the 5th century, after the Roman withdrawal, brought with them the Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, language, which is the basis of Modern English. They brought also a specific poetic tradition, the formal character of which remained surprisingly constant until the termination of their rule by the Norman-French invaders six centuries later.

Exactly 1560 years ago, in AD 449, the tribes of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes descended on Britain. One history teacher born in Ukraine who later turned a great Russian writer said of them in his article:

"Они были вольны и не хотели никакой иметь над собой власти. Правления у них почти не было. Они собирались на народные собрания, стекавшиеся при новолунии и полнолунии каждого месяца, а в случаях чрезвычайных и во всякое время. На эти собрания они приходили лениво и медленно, желая показать, что делают это по своей воле; несколько дней протекало, покамест могло составиться нужное число для совещания. Они сидели в полном вооружении; одни только жрецы могли приказать наблюдать молчание; председательствовали старейшины семейств, седовласые (grawion), после изменившие это название в графов; говорили князья и прославившиеся в битвах; речи их были просты, но исполнены того сильного и сжатого лаконизма, которым отличается бесхитростное красноречие народов свежих" (Н. В. Гоголь. О движении народов в конце V века)

By the end of the sixth century, the new masters of England had become a Christian people. It was chiefly due to the energy of the Christian evangelists from Ireland, who came over to convert them. That is why all the records of the early literature of the Anglo-Saxons belong to a Christian England. It was written by clerks in monasteries, kept stored in monasteries, and came to light only at the time of the Reformation, at the end of the period under discussion. For many centuries that literature was obscure.

1.1.2. Probably, the first memorable piece of Christian literature to appear in the Anglo-Saxon England was Caedmon’s Hymn.

Caedmon (650? – 680) is considered to be the earliest of the Anglo-Saxon Christian poets. The only information concerning Caedmon is in the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation (731), by the English theologian Saint Bede the Venerable. According to Bede, Caedmon was an illiterate herdsmаn who had a vision one night and heard a voice commanding him to sing of “the beginning of created things.” Later Caedmon supposedly wrote the poem about the creation known as Caedmon's Hymn, which Bede recorded in prose. Bede further states that Saint Hilda, the abbess of a nearby monastery, recognized Caedmon's poetic ability and invited him to enter the monastery as a lay brother. Caedmon spent the rest of his life at the monastery writing poetry on biblical themes. The only work that can be attributed to Caedmon is “Hymn of Creation,” which Saint Bede quoted. It survives in several manuscripts of Bede's Ecclesiastical History and contains several dialects.

Beowulfis generally considered to be the work of an anonymous 8th-century Anglian poet who fused Scandinavian history and pagan mythology with Christian elements. The poem consists of 3182 lines, each line having four accents marked by alliteration and divided into two parts by a caesura. The structure of the typical Beowulf line comes through in modern translation:

Then from the moorland, by misty crags,

with God's wrath laden, Grendel came.

The monster was minded of mankind now

sundry to seize in the stately house.

Under welkin he walked, till the wine-palace there,

gold-hall of men, he gladly discerned,

flashing with fretwork. Not first time, this,

that he the home of Hrothgar sought, -

yet ne'er in his life-day, late or early,

such hardy heroes, such hall-thanes, found!

To the house the warrior walked apace,

parted from peace; the portal opened,

though with forged bolts fast, when his fists had struck it,

and baleful he burst in his blatant rage,

the house's mouth. All hastily, then,

o'er fair-paved floor the fiend trod on,

ireful he strode; there streamed from his eyes

fearful flashes, like flame to see.

The somber story is told in vigorous, picturesque language, with heavy use of metaphor. In fact, much of the violence of Beowulf derives from the nature of Old English itself. That was the language rich in consonants, fond of clustering its consonants together. Take the Old English word strength, in which seven muscular consonants strangle a single vowel. That was the language's nature.

1.3. “Битва при Мэлдоне” – первая подлинно англосаксонская эпическая поэма. Понятие об аллитерационном стихе древнеанглийской поэзии.

A later but already genuinely Anglo-Saxon example of that 'violent' language is the poem entitled Battle of Maldon. It is one thousand years old. The poem has been called the greatest battle poem in English. Written by an unknown poet, it describes a battle between the English and Viking warriors from Denmark in AD 991 at Maldon in Essex on the River Blackwater, called the River Pantan in those times. The Danish invaders are on an island at the mouth of the river waiting for the tide to go out. Byrhtnoth, the earl of Essex, is at the head of the English warriors on the mainland. A messenger from the Danes offers peace, if they pay a sum of money. Byrhtnoth rejects the offer. He is far too confident and is tricked into letting the enemy cross to the mainland. And the battle begins, in which the earl perishes, and many of his men run away. But a brave few continue to fight...

The wolves of war advanced, the viking troop,

Unmoved by water, westward over Pante,

Over the gleaming water bore their shields.

The seamen brought their linden-shields to land.

There Byrthnoth and his warriors stood ready

To meet their enemies. He told his troops

To make a shield-wall and to hold it fast

Against their foes. So battle with its glory

Drew near. The time had come for fated men

To perish in that place. A cry went up.

The ravens wheeled above...

Стая волчья / стала переправляться,

войско викингов / - воды Панты их не пугали -

через потоки светлые со щитами / на восточный берег

вышли и вынесли / боевые доспехи;

Бюрхтнот же к бою / с ратоборцами изготовился,

сторожил кровожадных, / и сложить повелел,

собрать из щитов ограду,/ чтобы ратовать стойко

дружине в сраженье: / приближалась битва,

слава близилась, / время пришло

пасть избранникам израненным / на поле брани.

Вот взволновалось войско,/ вороны кружат...

(Перевод В.Г.Тихомирова)

What do we understand about the nature of Old English poetry? No doubt, it was essentially an oral phenomenon, to be accompanied by harp music. Each line is divided into two halves, and each half has two heavy stresses. And the so-called head-rhyme is used. Head-rhyme means making words begin with the same sound (i.e. it is not exactly what alliteration – beginning with the same letter – seems to be). It appears to be quite congenial with the nature of the language. Though later poetry has been traditionally using end-rhyme, this old head-rhyme has always had some influence on English writing. It can be easily traced in everyday speech in expressions from the good old days like 'a pig in a poke' or 'fit as a fiddle'. In this light, the Russian translation of Battle of Maldon does convey the spirit of the language.

In the Old English tradition, using head-rhymes was a device that needed a lot of imagination on the part of the poet. Those people often had to call common things by uncommon names just inventing a head-rhyme for an immediate purpose. Thus, the sea becomes the swan's way or the whale's road or the sail-path. The Old English was well fitted for playing this sort of game, because its normal way of creating new words was to take two old ones and join them together. English words thus had the quality of riddles. It is not surprising that riddling was a favourite Old English pursuit. By the way, some of the shorter poems were called riddles, too. The elfin quality of Old English poetry is obvious. In fact, it is even reflected in the names of some great learned people.

Alfred, called The Great (849-899), king of the West Saxons (871-899), and one of the outstanding figures of English history. By 886 he had captured the city of London, and soon afterward he was recognized as the king of all England.The only ruler to resist Danish invasions successfully, Alfred made his kingdom the rallying point for all Saxons, thus laying the foundation for the unification of England. Alfred was a patron of learning and did much for the education of his people. He began a court school and invited British and foreign scholars to come there. Alfred translated several religious books into Anglo-Saxon.

1.4. Исторический аспект фольклорной детской литературы.

One can learn a lot about the early days fromnursery rhymes, simple verses, often accompanied by a simple tune, which have long been used for the entertainment and education of small children. Most nursery rhymes have been handed down from one generation to another. Among the oldest are those related to telling time, counting, or to learning the ABC. Some theorists think that a number of seemingly naive nursery rhymes have concealed political or topical significance. One good example is the rhyme Three Wise Men of Gotham.

The first books specifically intended for children were collections of the 7th and 8th centuries that were written in Latin. The best-known works of this type, by outstanding ecclesiastical scholars such as Saint Bede the Venerable were employed as lesson books in the monastery schools.