英国文学史格鲁撒克逊时期Supplement to part I.doc

Supplement to part I Minor Anglo-Saxon Poetry: Caedmon and Cynewulf: Caedmon and Cynewulf Besides “Beowulf”, other secular poems of the Anglo-Saxon period are of little significance, most of them short and some fragmentary. Of narrative verse, there are two older poems based on Germanic legends brought from the Continent: (1) two fragments of “Waldhere” or “Waldere”, dealing with events connected with the story of Waldhere in the “Niberlungenlied”, and (2) “The Fight at Finnsburg”, a fragment about legendary material mentioned in “Beowulf”. There are two other verse narraties of late date having to do with battles fought on the English soil: “Brunanburg” about the battle fought in the year 937, and “The Battle of Maldon”, fought in 993. Of lyrical poetry, two of the earliest extant Anglo-Saxon songs, “Widsith” (probably of the 7th century) and “Doer’s Lament” (probably of the 8th century), are good literary specimens illustrating the life and social position of the “scops” of “gleemen” of late-tribal, early-feudal times, the first a minstrel’s own narration of his successful career with the different princes and kings he visited while the second the self account of a once popular poet-singer falling into disgrace when a rival of greater skill wins the favor of his master. The bulk of Anglo-Saxon verse now extant is religious or Christian poetry. The most colorful figure among the Christian poets of the period is unquestionably Caedmon whose story was told only in the “Ecclesiastical History” of the venerable Bede, a monk at Jarrow, and to whom a number of poems have since been attributed. According to Bede, Caedmon was a cowherd of a monastery at Whitby, in Northumberland, who with no gift for singing generally left the feats at the monastery when the harp was passed around and every one was asked to sing in turn. But one night when he returned to the stable to take care of the cattle and fall asleep, in a dream someone stood by him, called him by name