古英语与中世纪文学.ppt

historical background: the making of Britain A.?Briton (Celtic tribes) B. the Roman ConquestRoman Briton 1th Julius Caesar A.D.43 Claudius C. mid-5th Anglo-Saxons (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) Anglo-Saxon period seven kingdoms: north: Mercia and Northumberland (7th, 8th) south: Wessex (9th, 10th) D. Danish invasion late 8th, Danes late 9th, Alfred the Great 11th, Canute 25 years E. Norman Conquest 1066 William: Duke of Normandy William I the end of Anglo-Saxon period beginning of feudal society F. social and religious features Continent: tribal society, agriculture late: feudal shape: class division king—earl—freeman—serf heathen St. Augustine in 597 within a century all England was Christianized Anglo-Saxon Literature 1. Brief introduction: collective, working History, legend, contemporaneous events, orally or sung, entertainment professional: scops (own making), gleeman (retelling ) wandering minstrels 2. Beowulf– national epic ★ the longest and most monument of A-S poems ★ the oldest surviving epic in British literature. oral form (6th),written down(7th or 8th) set in Denmark and Sweden Beowulf 1. 3183 lines 2. contents: 3 adventures MonsterGrendel Grendel’s mother fiery dragon 3. theme: primitive people’s struggle against hostile forces of the natural world under a wise and mighty leader 4. Features: ＊ part-historical and part legendary ＊ heathen tribal society, feudal elements, Christian coloring ＊A-S or old English; alliteration (P10); metaphor Literary term ★ Epic: a long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated. Many epics wer