old english

• England


  Derived from the Old English name ENGLA LAND, which means "LAND OF THE ANGLES"
• Anglo


  Refers to English or British Literature
• Old English (Anglo-Saxon) 450-1066


  • Few surviving texts with little in common
  • Language closer to modern German than modern English
  • Frequently reflect non-English influence
  • Beowulf, "The Wanderer"
• Anglo-Saxon Period


  • Britain before the Anglo-Saxons
  • The Germanic Invasions
  • Anglo-Saxon Society
  • Anglo-Saxon Literature
• When the Romans arrived, they found the land inhabited by "Britons"
• Britons


  Known as the Celts
• Britons/Celts had no written language
• Romans withdraw, leaving the Britons/Celts behind
• Invasions from the Northern Europe
• Anglo-Saxons conquer the Britons (600)
• Anglo-Saxon language becomes more Germanic but still retains some Latin
• Anglo-Saxons' two urgings


  War and wandering become part of the oral tradition
• Anglo-Saxon hero tale


  • Beowulf
• Beowulf


  • The earliest literature, the national epic of the Anglo-Saxon, one of the striking features - the use of alliteration
• Christian missionaries arrive to convert the pagans
• Latin (the language of the Church) returns
• King Alfred


  The Britons become organized, first true king of the Britons, period of prosperity