Main directions of the English Literature in the Early Middle ages

The Ancient and the Early Middle Ages Anglo-Saxon Literature (I-X).Anglo-Saxon literature (or Old English literature) encompasses literature written in Anglo-Saxon (Old English) during the 600-year Anglo-Saxon period of Britain, from the mid-5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others. In all, there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, a significant corpus of both popular interest and specialist research. Some of the most important works from this period include the poem Beowulf, which has achieved national epic status in Britain. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of early English history. The poem Cædmon's Hymn from the 7th century is one of the oldest surviving written texts in English. Anglo-Saxon literature has gone through different periods of research—in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the focus was on the Germanic roots of English, later the literary merits were examined, and today the interest is with paleography questions and the physical manuscripts themselves such as dating, place of origin, authorship, Hilola Rahimova, Senior teacher, UrSU 13 and looking at the connections between Anglo-Saxon culture and the rest of Europe in the Middle Ages. A large number of manuscripts remain from the 600-year Anglo-Saxon period, with most written during the last 300 years (9th–11th century), in both Latin and the vernacular. Old English literature is among the oldest vernacular languages to be written down. Old English began, in written form, as a practical necessity in the aftermath of the Danish invasions—church officials were concerned that because of the drop in Latin literacy no one could read their work. Likewise King Alfred the Great (849– 899), wanting to restore English culture, lamented the poor state of Latin education. King Alfred noted that while very few could read Latin, many could still read Old English. He thus proposed that students be educated in Old English, and those who excelled would go on to learn Latin. In this way, many of the texts that have survived are typical teaching and student-oriented texts. In total there are about 400 surviving manuscripts containing Old English text, 189 of them considered major. These manuscripts have been highly prized by collectors since the 16th century, both for their historic value and for their aesthetic beauty of uniformly spaced letters and decorative elements. Nearly all Anglo-Saxon authors are anonymous, with some exceptions.

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   ‘Beowulf’. The beautiful Anglo-Saxon poem “Beowulf” may be called the foundation stone of all British poetry. It tells of times long before the Angles and Saxons came to Britain. There is no mention of England in it. The poem was composed around 700 by an unknown author. This was about seventy years after the death of Mohammed and in the same age as the beginning of the great Tang Dynasty in China. Three hundred years later, about the year 1000, the manuscript, which still survives, was written down by an unknown scribe. The poem presents the legendary history of the Anglo-Saxons, and its author might have been descended from the original tribes of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who invaded Britain from the European continent in the fifth century. Those people spoke Germanic language in which the poem is written. “Beowulf” is 3182 lines long, approximately 80 or 90 pages in book length. The narrative itself falls into two halves: the first part takes place in Denmark where, coming to the aid of King Hrothgar, Beowulf fights the monster Grendel and Grendel’s mother. The second part is set in Southern Sweden where, after the death of King Hygelac and his son, Heardred, Beowulf has ruled in peace and prosperity far 50 years before being called upon to combat a dragon that is terrorizing the country after having its treasure hoard looted. “Beowulf” blends a fairy-tale narrative with considerable historical material. (Sweedish and Danish kings really ruled in the VI century). The manuscript of “Beowulf” is in the British Museum, in London. It is impossible for a non-specialist to read it in the original, so it was translated into modern English language in the 20th century
   

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