OUTLINE HISTORY

OF THE BRITISH LITERATURE

1. The Old English/ Anglo Saxon Period (450 1066AD)

2. The Middle English Period (1066 1485)


3. The Renaissance/ the Elizabethan Age (1485 1603)

4. The 17
th
century (1603 1660)


5. The Restoration/ the Enlightenment (1660 1798)

6. The 19
th
century (1798 1901),
the Romantic Age (1798 1837)
& the Victorian Age (1837 1901)

7. The 20
th
century


THE OLD ENGLISH/ ANGLO SAXON PERIOD
(450 1066 AD)
1. Britain before the Romans invasion:
- About 2700 years ago, people known as Celts came to
Britain from Europe, and gradually mixed in with the people
already there.
- Those people were known as Britons divided into groups
called tribes.
- The leaders of the British tribes were called Nobles.

2. The Romans attacked Britain, 55BC:
- Julius Caesar with an army of 10.000 men attacked Britain,
but after his victory, he left.
- The Romans did not return to Britain for 97 years.

3. The Romans Conquest (43AD 60AD):
- In 43AD, the Roman Emperor, Claudius with an army of
40.000 soldiers landed at Richborough in Kent, and drove
the Britons into the mountains of Wales and Scotland. The
Celts: own language and culture
- Latin: the main language for administration
- In general, the Romans brought many good things to Britain.
They improved trade and the quality of life
o Built:
Road networks
Military camps
Lancester/ Manchester the suffix ester
from Latin means camp.

- The Romans gave the English the names of all their
months.
o January: named after the Roman god Janus - He could look
both ways at once because he had to face, and was the god of
Gateways.
o February: named after the Roman festival of February
o March: after Mars, the Roman War god
o April: from Latin word aperire meaning to open the unfolding
of the buds and blossom in Spring
o May: after Maia, the Roman mother goddess
o June: after Juno, wife of Jupiter, King of the Roman gods
o July: after Julius Caesar, who decided that the year should
begin in January. Until then, it had begun in March.
o August: after the Roman Emperor, Augustus
o September: from the Latin word septem meaning seven. It
was originally the 7
th
month of the year.
o October: from the Latin word octo meaning eight. It was
originally the 8th month of the year.
o November: from the Latin word novem meaning nine. It was
originally the 9th month of the year.
o December: from the Latin word decem meaning ten. It was
originally the 10th month of the year.

4. The Anglo Saxons (449 1066):
- In 383, the Romans gradually began to leave Britain to fight
in Gaul (France) against their invaders.
- In 407, there were not enough Roman soldiers left to defend
Britain from the Picts and Scots, fierce raider from the
North.
o The Picts = Scandinavia sea robbers

- The British asked Anglo Saxons soldiers from Germany to
fight for them. In return, they were given land.
- The 4 main groups of German settlers:
o Angles
o Saxons
o Frisians
o Jutes

England = the land of the Angles

- More and more Anglo Saxons arrived, wanting land and
attacking the Britons. Soon they began to settle in Britain.
- King Arthur was the legendary British War Leader who
fought against the invaders.
- By the year 600, the Britons were all forced:
o To flee to Wales and the West of the country


o To become slaves
- Britain was divided into 7 main kingdoms constantly at war.
o Northumbria
o Mercia
o East Anglia
o Essex
o Kent
o Wessex
o Sussex
Wessex/ Essex/ Middlesex = the West/ East/
Middle of the Saxons

OR
The strongest ones
Language spoken: Germanic Dialects

- In 810, Wessex had become the most powerful.
- During the last 2 centuries of this period, there were
invasions from the Viking (Norsemen) whom they called
Danes.
- King Alfred of Wessex was able to unite people.
- The Anglo Saxon period ended in 1066 when the Norman
Conquest started.

5. The Anglo Saxons Civilization:
- A common language
- A heroic ideal and a set of traditional heroes:
o Men of outstanding courage, loyalty to the Leader,
personal valor
- Aware of the shortness of life, the passing away of all things
in the world
- An irresistible fate determined life, but heroic human will
and courage allowed individuals to control their own
response to fate, and thus to become models for others to
follow.
- The names of certain weekdays show me one aspect of the
Anglo Saxon civilization:
o Tuesday: Tiw, the god of War
o Wednesday: Woden, the chief Anglo Saxon god
o Thurday: Thor, the god of Thunder
o Friday: from Frigga, goddess of the Home

6. The establishment of Christianity:
- Strengthened by missionaries from the continent
- Saint Augustine established a monastery at Canterbury:
the highest Christian authority (597).

7. The Old English Literature:
- The chief literary language: Old English/ Anglo Saxon
- Old English Prose:
o Most prose writers in Latin until the late 800s when
Alfred the Great became king of Wessex in
Southwestern England.
o He translated/ ordered the translation of several works
from Latin into Old English.
- The most important work:
o Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation the 1
st

history of the English people
o By a monk known as the Venerable Bede (731)
- From about 892 to 1154, a number of authors contributed to
the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, a record of current events in
England.

8. The Old English Poetry:
- Old English poems glorified a real/ imaginary hero, and
tried to teach the values of bravery and generosity.
- Poets used alliteration (words beginning with the same
sound), kennings (elaborate descriptive phrases), internal
rhymes (a word within a line rhymes with a word at the end
of the line).
- The 1
st
English poet: Caedmon (during the 600s)
- The 1
st
major work of English Literature: the epic Beowulf

BEOWULF
- The 1
st
major work of English Literature
- Deal with the exploits of a Scandinavian hero in Denmark
and Sweden
- Epic poem
o Long, narrative poem that focuses on heroic/
extraordinary actions
Extol real/ imaginary hero
o Many are based on legend/ myth
o Language: dignified/ serious
- The poem shapes and interprets materials connected with
the tribes from Northern Europe, the Angles, Saxons and
Jules. It presents a history in which a stranger comes to help
rather than to kill and loot, in which eating, drinking,
speaking and gift giving are natural ceremonies uniting
young and old, in which heroic strength is wise and
generous.
- Composed by an unknown Anglo Saxon poet around
700AD (the 8
th
century)
- Elements of the story date back around 500AD.
- Set in Scandinavia but composed in England
Reflected the Scandinavia world
I/. Key characters:
1. Beowulf = the Prince of the Geats and then becomes King
2. Hygelac = the King of the Geats/ Beowulfs uncle. He dies
soon after Beowulfs returns from Heorot, leaving his
kingdom to Beowulf
3. Hrothgar = the King of the Danes whose mead hall, Heorot
is attacked by Grendal
4. Grendel = a monster attacks Heorot because it is jealous of
the Danes
5. Grendels mother = takes revenge in Grendal
6. Wiglaf = the bravest of Beowulfs warriors who helps him
defeat the dragon. Beowulf leaves him the kingdom of the
Geats
II/. Summary:
- Hrothgar, the King of the Danes, has built the mead hall
Heorot for feasting his warriors, but they abandon it because
of the murderous ravages of the monster, Grendel.
Beowulf, a nephew of the King Hygelac of the Geats comes
with 14 warriors to challenge the monster and is received by
Hrothgar at the great feast. In mighty fights, Beowulf with
bare hands killed both Grendel and his mother. Since
Hygelac and his son both die in wars with Swedes, Beowulf
eventually becomes the King of the Geats, ruling well for 50
years. Then a fire breathing dragon begins to ravage the
land. Although Beowulf and his companions kill the dragon,
he receives his own death wound.

QUESTIONS
1. What is Beowulf about?
- Beowulf is about the journey of Beowulf. It is a story of 3
struggles.
o The 1
st
struggle is with the monster Grendel. This fight
occurs during Beowulfs zenith.
o The 2
nd
struggle deals with Grendels mother.
o The final struggle is with the dragon.
- With each struggle, Beowulf loses strength. Finally, his
superhuman strength dies out, and he fails his quest.
However, Beowulf is a noble man, and he lives a long life as
a good king.

2. What aspects do we learn about the culture and
society at that time through Beowulf?
- People loved festivals/ parties.
Celebrated at mead hall the center of social activities
- The King (also called the Gold giver) was the head.
The subjects:
Had to be loyal to the King
Had to fight for the King
- The country was not unified/ constantly at war.
Used violence the only way to solve conflicts
- People defined a hero:
o Strong physical
o Violence
o Be kind
o Be loyal to the King
o Ready to sacrifice for the welfare of the country/ people
- Fate controlled all of us.
People were hopeless to fight to fate.
Accepted fate


THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
(1066 1485)
- The Norman Conquest (1066):
o William de Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) defeated
Harold (the King of England) in the battle of Hastings.
- The Normans (Northman):
o Descended from the Vikings (Scandinavia sea
robbers)
o Seized and remained in Northwestern France known as
Normandy
- The Norman and Anglo Saxon elements: national
character
- A land of 3 tongues:
o Old/ Middle English: common English people
o French: Norman overlords
o Latin: churchmen
- The feudal system (Overlords/ Vassals):
o Based on land owning system:
The King gave LAND to Overlords
Overlords had to give money and fight for the
King.
- The medieval literature:
o The Romance
o Ballads
o Popular drama



GEOFFREY CHAUCER
(1340 1400)
- Often called the Father of English Literature
- The 1
st
great English humorist and realist
- Born into a well to do wine merchant of London
- Later became a court favorite, and married one of the ladies
in waiting to the Queen
- Served his country as
o Soldier
o Courtier
o Diplomat
o Civil administrator
o Translator of books into the English language
o A diligent scholar: collected about 60 volumes before
the days of printing
- His most famous work: The Canterbury Tales
o A series of separate stories told by pilgrims en route to
the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket
o The most original and the most realistic narrative of the
whole Middle English period
The original plan for the work: 120 stories, but
Chaucer completed only 22
o The stories are told by persons of all ranks and
conditions
o Pilgrimages: popular
o The shrine of St. Thomas a Becket: object of the great
worship
o Collection of narratives: Group of 29 people from all
layers of society who pass the time along their
pilgrimage to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St.
Thomas a Becket
o Written in Middle English
29 pilgrims gathered one April evening at the
Tabard Inn outside London on the way to the
Cathedral of St. Thomas a Becket.
After supper, the Inn keeper proposed a plan to
reduce the tedium of the long journey, each pilgrim
would tell 2 stories to the way to Canterbury, and 2
more the way back.
o The best story teller would be offered a free supper at
the Tabard Inn. The owner of the inn would be the
judge.
o Good story telling and a miniature of England of the
14
th
century: characters representatives of the
middle classes of the time
o Very different types of the tales with their personalities
showing through their choices of the tales and the way
they tell them.
o Vernacular language: English rather than French/
Latin