Old English Literature | Chapter 1

Old English Literature

Old English Literature, also known as Anglo-Saxon Literature, began with the use of the English language in England in the mid-fifth century. It was brought to England by a Germanic tribe named Anglo-Saxon and hence their language was called Anglo Saxon language. Initially, this language was spoken by three tribal groups: Angles, Saxons, and Jutes and the new term Anglo-Saxon came into circulation. The source of modern English language was the Anglo-Saxon or the old English language. Old English was used for both speaking and writing purposes. In the written form, some creative works of different writers were also published. Old English cannot be read now except for those who have made a special study of it.


The exact date of the period is still unclear but, it can be said that Old English was spoken from about 450 AD to 1066 AD until the Norman Conquest. The literature during this period is known as Anglo-Saxon Literature. It consists of epic poetry, songs, sermons, translations of the Bible, different chronicles, and riddles as the major literary genres of the period.

Features of Old English Literature

Old English literature has its origin in the Pagan past. Mostly the literature of the period was orally transmitted from generation to generation. The major features of the period are as follows:
  1. Most of the Anglo-Saxon poems had the influence and relation with the Pagan past and themes originated in the continental home of English people.
  2. Literature of the period had religious influence and tone. The subjects were taken from religion, the themes were religious or the characters were from religious texts. Christianity became the main religion occupying great space in literature.
  3. Mostly, the literary creations of the period were anonymously written. The writers of 'Beowulf, Genesis A, Genesis B, Christ, and Satan, etc. are some examples of these types of poems.
  4. The majority of the poems and prose works of this period were translated or adapted from Latin. As the influence of Roman literature, the subject matters, characters, and style were to some extent identical to Romans.
  5. The theme of most of the poems like 'Beowulf was heroic. There were battles, conflicts, and tortures from the anti-hero groups, but always the hero became victorious in the literature of the period.
  6. At the beginning of Anglo-Saxon literature, most of the poems and prose consisted of the religious and heroic subject matter. But after the Chronicles of King Alfred appeared in the seventh century, variety appeared in the subject matter. Rustic life of the people, the battle between heaven and hell, personal narratives, etc. became the common subjects of literature during the period.

Development of Different Genres in the Period

Though literature of the earlier Anglo-Saxon period was mostly oral, many literary figures contributed a lot to the development of literature. Poetry had domination upon other literary forms and many poets gave good poetic creations to the period. Along with it, the development of prose in different forms had a simultaneous contribution to the field.

Development of Poetry

Poetry was the popular genre of literature in the Old English period. There was a tradition of recitation and transmission of poems in public, At the beginning of this period, poems used to be recited orally. Mostly, the shepherds used create and recite pastoral poems. Many heroic epics were also written in this period. These poems glorified a real or imaginary hero and tried to teach the values of bravery and generosity. The greatest heroic epic is Beowulf. Many of the poems of the period had either heroic or religious tone.


Beowulf is the first and the greatest Old English epic poem was written anonymously in the 7th century. In the poem, Beowulf is a brave young man of southern Sweden who goes to Denmark to help King Hrothgar and his people. During the time, Hrothgar is in trouble because a terrible creature, Grendel secretly visits his great hall, Heorot, at night. Grendel lives in a lake and comes to torture, kill and eat Hrothgar's men. Beowulf listens to it and goes there to help the king. One night Beowulf waits secretly, and when Grendel starts attacking the people, Beowulf pulls its arm off. Badly wounded Grendel escapes to the lake and dies there. Grendel's mother knows the event and comes to the hall for revenge. Though other people are afraid, a terrible fight begins between Grendel's mother and Beowulf. The creature is wounded. She runs to the bottom of the lake. Beowulf follows her and kills her there. King Hrothgar becomes happy and rewards Beowulf with lots of treasures.


Fifty years later, Beowulf is a king of his native land. A fire-breathing dragon secretly comes to his land, kills many people, and makes everyone terrified. To save his own people, Beowulf fights with the creature and kills it. Beowulf himself is also badly wounded in the fight and later, dies of the wound.


There is the sorrowful description of his funeral fire as the ending note of the epic. The verse of this epic follows the alliterative tradition. Metaphors are abundantly used in it. For example, 'whale's road' is used for the ocean; and 'sea soldier' is used for a sailor.


Caedmon and Cynewulf were regarded as major poets of the period. There is less information about Caedmon because his works are not popular. But Cynewulf's four poems are recorded as popular poems. They are ‘Juliana’, ‘The Fates of the Apostles’, ‘Christ’, and ‘Elene’. His poems were probably written in the second half of the 8th century which had religious themes and alliterative qualities. Many lyric poems were also written in this period. Some of them are ‘The Husband's Message’, ‘The Wanderer’, ‘The Wife's Complaint’, and ‘Deor's Complaint’.


Many poems of this period were religious in theme, often influenced by the Bible. These poems include: ‘Genesis A’, ‘Genesis B’, ‘Exodus’, ‘Daniel’, ‘Christ and Satan’ and ‘The Dream of the Rood’. ‘Genesis B’ is about the beginning of the world, the fall of the angels, and God's punishment to Satan. ‘Exodus’ describes how the Israelites left Egypt. Similarly, another poem ‘Christ and Satan’ deals with the events in Christ's life and His struggle with Satan. ‘The Dream of the Road’ is one of the best poems of the period. It is about Christ's cross, ‘The Battle of Maldon’ is a poem about the battle against the Danes during the last decade of the century.

Development of Prose

Though there were some legal documents in practice, the development of prose is less than poems in the Old English Period. In the seventh century, there were some Laws including the punishment system, but these laws were written in verse with the style of prose. The important prose writers of this period were King Alfred and Aelfric. King Alfred translated several Latin books into Old English to make his people easy to read. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the first important prose work in English literature which contains the early history of the country. King Alfred ordered the collection of this early history and several early writings were collected for publication. Similarly, Aelfric wrote mainly religious prose such as Homilies and Lives of Saints. He also wrote the meaning of the first seven books of the Bible in Old English. Many chronicles belonged to different cities as the record of the events and were known as the prose works of the period.


Development of Old English Language during the Period

After the invasion of the three Germanic tribes (Saxons, Angles and Jutes) from various parts of northwest Germany as well as Denmark, German dialects were used in day to day language of the people. The language is now known as Old English Language. Before it, Latin and some other varieties of languages were spoken in England. During the time of King Alfred, many of the Latin books were translated into English so that the people could read them well. These translations borrowed many Latin lexicons and structures in English, too. School, title, paper, verse, etc. are some examples of Latin words in Old English. Danish invaders brought the Old Norse language in England in the second half of the 10th century. The Norse language replaced the use of the Old English language during the time.


Old English language had strong verbs and use of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in their oral and written practice. Old English poems like Beowulf were rich in alliterative qualities. They possessed single line rhyming patterns. Basic use of present and past tense could be found in the writings of the period. Tense formation and word order in Old English is similar to Modern English. There were varieties in style, use, and structure of language in different places. The writers started the use of metaphors in writing. Old English language cannot be understood without special training of the old scripts. There was a gradual transformation in the English language over the centuries to come to the modern form.