About the 1st century ВС (Before Christ) Britain was conquered by the powerful state of Roman (Rome). The Roman period occupies the time beginning with the 1st century ВС up то the 6th century AD. The Romans lived on the peninsula, which is now called Italy, and their language was Latin. This was a people of practical men. They were very clever at making hard roads and building bridges. Many things that the Romans taught the English were given Latin names. And the names of many English towns never dropped the Latin ending (For example, Manchester, Lancaster and many others). The monasteries where art of reading and writing was taught became the Scientific Centers of the country. The monks wrote stories and verses. Though the poets were English, they were supposed to write in Latin. But not with standing this custom there were some poets who wrote in Anglo-Saxon. For example, Caedmon (7th century). He wrote the poem “The Paraphrase”. It tells us of the Bible-story in verse. Many other monks took part in this work, but their names are unknown to us. The culture of the early Britons changed greatly under the influence of Christianity, which penetrated into British Isles in the 3rd century. Christianity was brought to all countries belonging to the Roman Empire. The 1st British church was built in Canterbury in the 6th century and up to now it is the English religious center.
The next period is marked by the invasion of Britain by Germanic tribes. Among these invaders there were Germanic tribes called Angles, Saxons and Jutes who lived in the northern and central parts of Europe. They kicked the country back in its educational and cultural development. As they were pagan (believed in many Gods), the names of their Gods are still preserved in the English language. It’s well-known that Jusco, for example, was the God of the Darkness; Woden was the God of War; Thor was the God of Thunder; Truer was the God of Prosperity. When the people learned to divide months into weeks and every week into 7 days, they gave the names of their Gods. So, it’s easy to guess that Sunday is the Day of the Sun, Monday – Moon, Tuesday – Day of God Jusco, Wednesday – Woden’s Day, Thursday -Thunder’s Day, Friday – Fries Day, Saturday – Saturn’s Day.
Soon after these invasions Britain split up into 7 kingdoms:
Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria.
The Angles, Saxons and Jutes quarreled a lot with one another in their fight for supreme power. But nevertheless, they became one nation in the course of a few centuries. They spoke different dialects of the West Germanic Language. But they had no written language yet. And the stories and poems they composed had to be memorized. The famous “Beowulf” belongs to them.
“Beowulf”
The beautiful Saxon poem called “Beowulf” tells us of the times long before the Anglo-Saxons came to Britain. There is no mentioning of England. It has come down to us in a single manuscript, which was written at the end of the 10th century, at least two centuries after its composition. The poem was given the title “Beowulf” only in 1805 and it was not printed until 1850. The name of the author is unknown. The manuscript called the Nowell Codex is in the British Museum, in London. It is impossible for a non-specialist to read it in the original. Its social interest lies on the description of the life of this period. The scene is set among the Jutes, who lived on the Scandinavian Peninsula at that time, and the Danes, their neighbors across the strait.
The people were divided into two classes: free peasants and warriors. The peasants planted the soil and served the fighting-men who defended them from hostile tribes. Their kings were often chosen by the people for they had to be wise men and skilled warriors. The poem shows the beginning of feudalism. The safety of the people depended on the warriors. There were several ranks of warriors; the folk-king, or liege-lord, was at the head of the community; he was helped by warriors who were his liege-man. If they were given lands for their services, they were called “earls”, “knights”. The Danes and the Jutes were great sailors. Their ships had broad painted sails and tall prows which were often made into the figure of a dragon or wolf or some other fierce animal. The poem shows us these warriors in battle and at peace, their feasts and amusements, their love for the sea and for adventure.
Beowulf is the main character of the poem. He is a young knight of the Jutes, who lived on the southern coast of the Scandinavian Peninsula. His adventures with the sea-monster abroad, in the country of Danes, and later, with a fire-dragon at home, form two parts in this heroic epic. His unselfish way in protecting people makes him worthy to be folk-king. He would be slave to no man. Though fierce and cruel in war, he respected men and women. He is ready to sacrifice his life for them. Beowulf fights for the benefit of his people, not for his own glory, and he strives to be fair to the end in the battle.
The Language of the Poem The Anglo-Saxon verse had no rhyme. It had even no regular number of syllables for its lines. Yet it was necessary that the stressed syllables of one line should begin with the same consonant. This made their poetry very musical in sound and was called “alliteration”. Note the different sounds in the following lines of alliterative verse.
· [f]: The folk-kings former fame we have heard of;
· [b]: Bore it bitterly he bided in darkness;
· [t]: Twelve-winters’ time torture…;
· [s]: Soul-crushing sorrow. Not seldom in private;
· [k]: Sat the King in his council, conference held they;
· [g]: Good among Geatmen, of Grendefs achievements;
· [h]: Heard in his home: of heroes then living.
Many nouns and names of people are accompanied by one or even two descriptive words. Based on a certain likeness between two subjects or two ideas, the descriptive words show the subject in a new light. They help the reader to catch the exact meaning the author had in mind. These descriptive words, whether verb, adjective or noun, are now called “metaphors”. For example: salt-streams, sail-road, wave-goer, hot-burning hatred.
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