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1、Unit One The Anglo-Saxon Periodn I. Historical Backgroundn II. Anglo-Saxon Poetryn III. Anglo-Saxon Prose I. Historical BackgroundThe English people are a complicated race.The first inhabitants of the island were commonly known as the Celts (or Kelts).n 55 BC saw the invasion of the island headed by
2、 Julius Caesar.During the invasion these aborigines（ 土著人）Celts withdrew to the Welsh and Scottish mountains and left a great part of England to the Romans.n Not until the 5th century did the Romans withdrew. England had been made a Roman Province since 80 AD. As the Roman legions withdrew, the Celts
3、 came back. n Originally the name Anglo-Saxon denotes two of the three Germanic（日尔曼）tribes - Angles, Saxons and Jutes - who in the middle of the 5th century left their homes on the shores of the North Sea and the Baltic（波罗的海） to conquer and colonize distant Britain. They lived in the northern top of
4、 Germany and the southern part of Denmark at that time. n The historical date that is worth memorizing is 449 AD. n These three invading tribes came to settle down: Angles in the north of Thames, Jutes mainly in the southwest called Kent（英国东南部郡）, and Saxons in the other places. English literature or
5、iginated in the Angles and Saxons who formed a literary tradition of their own. n Important historical events:1. Heptarchy（七王国）: n The informal confederation（联邦）of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the fifth to the ninth century, consisting of Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, Northumbria, East Anglia, and M
6、ercia.2. the Vikings invasion: n Vikings, collective designation of Nordic（北欧人）people Danes, Swedes, Norwegianswho explored abroad during a period of dynamic Scandinavian expansion from about AD 800 to 1100. n Land shortage, improved iron production, and the need for new markets probably all played
7、a part in Viking expansion. 3. King Alfred the Great:n In 871, Ethelred of Wessex is defeated by Danish forces January 4 at Reading, gains a brilliant victory 4 days later at Ashdown, is defeated January 22 at Basing, triumphs again March 2 at Marton in Wiltshire, but dies in April. n His brother, 2
8、2, pays tribute（贡物）to the Danes but will reign until 899 and be called Alfred the Great.4. Canute (994?-1035): n King of England(1016-1035), Denmark (1018-1035), and Norway (1028-1035) whose reign, at first brutal, was later marked by wisdom and temperance. n He is the subject of many legends.5. The
9、 Norman Conquest in 1066n The year 1066 was a turning point in English history. William I, the Conqueror, and his sons gave England vigorous new leadership. Norman feudalism (封建制度) became the basis for redistributing the land among the conquerors, giving England a new French aristocracy and a new so
10、cial and political structure. England turned away from Scandinavia toward France, an orientation (倾向性) that was to last for 400 years.6. St. Augustine:n Italian-born missionary and prelate (高级教士) who introduced Christianity to southern Britain 597 and was ordained as the first archbishop (大主教) of Ca
11、nterbury 598. Died c 604. II. Anglo-Saxon Poetry 1.Beowulf - the national epicn Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, the most important work of Old English literature. The poem consists of 3183 lines, each line with four accents marked by alliteration and divided into two parts by a caesura (节律的停顿).n
12、The structure of the typical Beowulf line comes through in modern translation, for example: Then came from the moor under misted cliffs Grendel marching Gods anger he bore . . . n The somber (昏暗的,忧郁的) story is told in vigorous, picturesque (独特的) language, with heavy use of metaphor; a famous example
13、 is the term “whale-road” for sea. n The poem tells of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, half man and half fiend (魔鬼) and Grendels mother, who comes that evening to avenge Grendels death.n Fifty years later Beowulf, now king of his native land, f
14、ights a dragon who has devastated his people. Both Beowulf and the dragon are mortally wounded in the fight.n The poem ends with Beowulfs funeral as his mourners chant his epitaph.n Beowulf is a long verse narrative on the theme of “arms and man” and as such belongs to the tradition of a national ep
15、ic in European literature that can be traced back to Homers Iliad (荷马史市诗,描写特洛伊战争)and Virgils (古罗马诗人) Aeneid (埃涅伊德叙事诗).n The earliest poets, whose names have long since been forgotten performed as storytellers and minstrels before gatherings of listeners.Often a lyre (七弦琴) or some other simple string
16、ed instrument was used to accompany the poets tale or song.2. Secular (非宗教的) Poems (1) Narrative Poems (2) Lyrical Poems (3) Riddles n 3. Religious poems:n (1)Caedmon (7th century): Died c. 680. The earliest English poet. n According to Bede, Caedmon was an elderly herdsman who received the power of song in a vision.n Caedmon was an illiterate herdsmen who
