2: Language and Literature 5 November 2015 Figure: Psalm 50, BL Stowe 2 fol. 56r (detail; public domain / British Library)
Key Questions traditions intersected? ▶ What are the earliest traces of an Old English written tradition? ▶ What happened when old and new written forms and cultural ▶ What kinds of literature did the Anglo-Saxons relay and produce? ▶ What are the formal features of Old English verse? ▶ What was a verse performance like?
Part I: Beginnings
Runes Figure: Anglo-Frisian runes ▶ Elder Futhark, ss. ii–viii, Proto-Norse, 24 chars ▶ Anglo-Frisian Futhorc, ss. v–xi, Old English, 29–33 chars ▶ Younger Futhark: ss. ix–xi, Old Norse, 16 chars ▶ Medieval Futhark: ss. xii–xv, Old Norse, 27 chars
Scandinavian Runes Figure: Vimose comb, Denmark, c. 160: “harja” (CC-BY-SA WMC user)
Scandinavian Runes Figure: Einang stone, Norway, s. iv: “[ek go]dagastiR ru[n]o faihido” (CC-BY-SA D. Bachmann)
Self-Reference Figure: Self-referential sign (LiveJournal user)
Anglo-Saxon Runes Figure: Deer astragalus, c. 400: “raihan” (“roe”; (c) Christer Hamp)
Anglo-Saxon Runes Figure: Loveden Hill Urn, s. v/vi: “siþæbæd þiuw hlæ[w]” (“the mound of Siþæbæd the slave”; CC0 Andrew West)
Franks Casket Figure: Franks Casket, rear (s. viii; CC-BY-NC-ND Amanda Graham)
Franks Casket Figure: Franks Casket, front (s. viii; CC-BY John W. Schulze)
Deor swoncre seonobende after Niðhad put constraints on him, the better man, with a companions, winter-cold misery. He often experienced woe resolute warrior suffered dire straits, had grief and pining as his Weland endured misery at the hands of the serpent. The “ ” þisses swa mæg! Þæs ofereode, 6 on syllan monn. nede legde “ siþþan hine Niðhad on wean oft onfond, wintercealde wræce, 3 sorge ond longaþ, hæfde him to gesiþþe earfoþa dreag, Anhydig eorl wræces cunnade. Welund him be wurman supple sinew-bond. As for that, it passed; it may for this, too! ”
Deor hu ymb þæt sceolde. about that. As for that, it passed; it may for this, too! She could never steadfastly contemplate what she ought to do matter: that she had clearly understood that she was pregnant. Her brothers’ death was not as painful to Beadohild as her own “ ” þisses swa mæg! Þæs ofereode, 12 þriste geþencan, “ æfre ne meahte þæt heo eacen wæs— ongieten hæfde þæt heo gearolice 9 swa hyre sylfre þing: on sefan swa sar hyre broþra deaþ Beadohilde ne wæs ”
The Rich Göttingen Tradition Figure: A Göttingen dissertation
Franks Casket Figure: Franks Casket, front (s. viii; CC-BY John W. Schulze)
Franks Casket Riddle (Front) “ Fisc flod ahof on fergen-berig warþ ga:sric grorn þær he on greut giswom. Hrones ban. 3 ” “ The water lifted a fish onto a mountain cliff; the king of the ocean (?) became sad when he swam onto the gravel. Whale bone. ”
Franks Casket Figure: Franks Casket, left (s. viii; CC-BY John W. Schulze)
Franks Casket Runes (Left) “ Romwalus and Reumwalus, twœgen gibroþær; afœddæ hiæ wylif in Romæcæstri, oþlæ unneg. ” “ Romulus and Remus, two brothers; a she-wolf nourished them in Rome, far from their homeland. ”
Franks Casket Figure: Franks Casket, rear (s. viii; CC-BY John W. Schulze)
Franks Casket Runes (Rear) “ Her fegtaþ Titus end Giuþeasu HIC FUGIANT HIERUSALEM afitatores Dom Gisl ” “ Here fight Titus and Jews HERE its residents FLEE JERUSALEM Judgement Hostage ”
Franks Casket Figure: Franks Casket, right (s. viii; CC-BY John W. Schulze)
Franks Casket Runes (Right) 6 Biter Wood Reed mind. has decreed for her a grievous den of sorrows and trouble of the Here sits Hos in a sorrow-mound; she suffers affliction as Ertae “ ” Bita “ Wudu Risci 3 and sefa torna. sarden sorga swa hiræ Ertae gisgraf agl[:] drigiþ on harmberga Her Hos sitiþ ”
Franks Casket Figure: Franks Casket, lid: “Ægili”, (s. viii; public domain / WMC)
Ruthwell Cross Figure: Ruthwell Cross (s. viii; CC-BY-NC Elizabeth Oliver)
Ruthwell Cross Figure: Ruthwell Cross (s. viii; CC-BY-NC-ND Alister B.)
Beginnings: The Law of Æthelberht Figure: Law of Æthelberht (c. 600 / MS s. xii; public domain / WMC)
Hymnus Caedmonicus “ Nunc laudare debemus auctorem regni caelestis, potentiam creatoris, et consilium illius facta Patris gloriae: quomodo ille, 3 cum sit aeternus Deus, omnium miraculorum auctor exstitit; qui primo filiis hominum caelum pro culmine tecti 6 dehinc terram custos humani generis creavit omnipotens ”
Caedmon’s Hymn heofon to hrofe, 9 frea ælmihtig. firum foldan, æfter teode ece drihten, moncynnes weard, þa middangeard 6 halig scyppend; eorðan bearnum “ He ærest sceop or onstealde. ece drihten, 3 swa he wundra gehwæs, weorc wuldorfæder, and his modgeþanc, meotodes meahte heofonrices weard, Nu sculon herigean ”
Part II: Literature
The Dictionary of Old English Corpus 26,598 words Incl. foreign words 3,033,142 words Total .01% 331 words Inscriptions F .01% 346 words Runes E .88% Glossaries A D 23% 699,606 words Glosses C 70% 2,128,781 words Prose B 6% 177,480 words Poetry 3,791,645 words
Poetry Psalms 51–150, Judith (, Christ and Satan pt 3) and Satan , Dream of the Rood , Fates of the Apostles , Judgement Day I , II , Soul and Body into Hell ) Battle of Brunanburh , The Battle of Maldon Ruin , Wulf and Eadwacer , The Husband’s Message ▶ Biblical paraphrase: Genesis A , ( Genesis B ,) Exodus , Daniel , Azarias , ▶ Biblically inspired and religious narrative: Genesis B , Christ , Christ ▶ Saints’ lives: Andreas , Elene , Guthlac , Juliana ▶ Religious allegory: The Phoenix , The Whale , The Panther ▶ Devotional: Psalms 51–150, hymns, and prayers ( Christ , The Descent ▶ Heroic: Beowulf , Finnesburh Fragment , Waldere , Deor , Widsith , The ▶ Riddles, wisdom poetry, charms ▶ Lyric and elegy: The Wanderer , The Seafarer , The Wife’s Lament , The
Prose ▶ Homilies ▶ Laws (secular and ecclesiastical) ▶ Charters and records ▶ Saints’ lives (incl. Gregory’s Dialogues bks 1–3) ▶ Biblical translation: Hexateuch, historical books, Psalms, Gospels ▶ Learning: Soliloquies , Boethius , computistics, Ælfric’s Grammar ▶ Historiography: Orosius , Bede, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ▶ Precepts: Pastoral Care , Benedictine Rule , Rule of Chrodegang ▶ Liturgy and catechesis: directions, prayers, creeds ▶ Medical texts, recipes, charms, prognostics ▶ Dialogues: Solomon and Saturn , Adrian and Ritheus ▶ Marvels: Wonders of the East , Letter of Alexander to Aristotle ▶ Romance: Apollonius of Tyre ▶ Letters, tracts, and admonitions ▶ Notes and scribbles
Part III: Poetics
Verse Form wéorðmyndum þáh, égsode éorlas, syððan ǽrest wéarð vowel alliteration féasceaft fúnden. He þæs frófre gebád, wéox under wólcnum, oðþæt him ǽghwỳlc méodosetla oftéah, ýmbsìttendra ofer hrónràde hýran scólde, 10 gómban gýldan. Þæt wæs gód cýning! 5 mónegum mǽgþum, Rhythm sc-alliteration (separated by a caesura) (= unstressed syllables) Alliteration ” themselves “ Oft Scýld Scéfing scéaþena þréatum, ▶ One or both lifts in the a-verse ▶ Two verses per long line ▶ First lift in the b-verse ▶ Two lifts (= beats) per verse ▶ Vowels alliterate among ▶ Variable number of drops ▶ sc , sp , st are inbreeders
Rules of Rhythmic Stress Stress words: always stressed word stress; in rhythmic stress, it compound contains secondary The second element in a words) receive stress if displaced. proclitics (right before stressed beginning of their clause) and Particles (grouped near the Particles: not normally stressed counts as a lift or drop as needed. Proclitics: not normally stressed ▶ Alliterating syllables ▶ Finite verbs ▶ Nouns ▶ Personal pronouns ▶ Adjectives ▶ Demonstrative pronouns ▶ Nonfinite verbs ▶ Demonstrative adverbs ▶ (Adverbs) ▶ (Conjunctions) ▶ (Pronouns) ▶ Prepositions ▶ Demonstratives ▶ Possessives ▶ Copulative conjunctions ▶ Prefixes
Sievers Types A healærna mæst / \ x / E weold wideferhð / / x \ D2 frean Scyldinga; har hilderinc / / \ x D1 (~ 1 iamb + 1 trochee) gebun hæfdon x / / x C (~ 2 iambs) ond Halga til x / x / B (~ 2 trochees) eorlic ellen; glædne Hroðgar; wide siðas / x / x drops to a foot. ▶ Classical terminology impractical given the variable number of
What Was Verse Performance Like? Figure: Beowulf (2007) Figure: Christopher Page (YouTube link) Figure: Benjamin Bagby (YouTube link)
Please Read for Next Week ▶ Beowulf lines 662–836 (trans. Liuzza) ▶ The Battle of Maldon (trans. in Trapp, Gray, and Boffey 100–110) ▶ Horowitz, “Beowulf, Samson, David and Christ”
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