In the opinion of Mullik & Ali, 2023, the earliest phase of the English period started with Anglo-Saxon literature of the Angles and Saxons (the ancestors of the English race) much before they occupied Britain.
Origins and Settlement of the Anglo-Saxons in England
The earliest phase of the English period started with Anglo-Saxon literature of the Angles and Saxons (the ancestors of the English race) much before they occupied Britain. English was the common name and tongue of these tribes, Anglo-Saxons were also speaking other common dialects (Germanic) but English was the most spoken. Before they occupied Britain they lived along the coasts of Sweden and Denmark, and the land they occupied was called Engle-land. The Angles and Saxons first landed in England in the middle of the fifth century, and by 670 A.D. they had occupied almost the whole country. Unlike the Romans who came as conquerors, these tribes settled in England and made their permanent home. They became, therefore, the ancestors of the English race. The Anglo-Saxon kings, of whom Alfred the Great was the most prominent, ruled till 1066, when Harold, the last of Saxon kings, was defeated in the battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror of Normandy, France. The Anglo-Saxons or old English period in English literature extends roughly from 670 A.D to 1100 A.D.
Anglo-Saxon Poetry and the Epic of Beowulf
These tribes were fearless, adventurous, and brave, like other nations they sang at their feasts about battles, gods, and their ancestral heroes, and some of their chiefs were also bards. Including this, English poetry began in the ancient Engle-land while Britain was still a Roman province. However, due to oral tradition and lack of written records much of Anglo-Saxon poetry is lost, there are only some fragments left. The most important poem of the period is Beowulf. It is a tale of the adventures of Beowulf, the hero, who is the champion and executioner (slayer) of monsters, the incidents in it are such as may be found in hundreds of other stories, but what makes it interesting and different from later romances, is that it is full of all sorts of references and hints to great events, to the fortunes of kings and nations.
Religious Themes in Anglo-Saxon Poetry
After the Anglo-Saxons adopted Christianity, the poets took up religious themes as the subject matter of their poetry. A major portion of Anglo-Saxon poetry is spiritual (religious). The two important religious poets of the Anglo-Saxon period were Caedmon and Cynewulf.
Caedmon sang in series the whole story of man’s fate, from the creation and the fall to the atonement and the last judgment, and within his large framework, the scripture history.
Cynewulf’s most important poem is The Crist, a metrical narrative of leading events of Christ’s ministry upon earth, including his return to judgment, which is treated with much grandeur.
Characteristics of Saxon Poetry
The Saxon period is markedly different from the poetry of the next period middle English or Anglo-Norman period for it deals with the traditions of an older world and expresses another nature and way of living. It is the poetry of stern and passionate people, concerned with the primal things in life, moody, melancholy, and fierce, yet with great capacity for endurance and fidelity. The major portion of poetry is religious due to the adoption of Christianity.
The Anglo-Saxon period was also marked by the beginning of English prose. Through the records, which probably began in King Alfred’s time, and through Alfred’s translations from Latin a commonly available prose was established, which had all sorts of possibilities.
The great success of Anglo-Saxon prose is in religious instructions, and great pioneers of English prose were Alfred the Great, the glorious king of Wessex, who translated several Latin chronicles into English, and Alefric (monk leader), a priest (clergyman), who wrote sermons in a sort of poetic prose.
Anglo-Saxons were full of emotions and aspirations and loved music and songs. Thus we read in Beowulf:
Music and song where the heroes sat—
The glee—wood rang, a song uprose
When Hrothgar’s scop gave the hall good cheer.
The Anglo-Saxon language is only a branch of the great Aryan or Indo-European family of languages. It has the same root words for father and mother, for God and man, for the common needs and the common relation of life, as we find in Sanskrit, Iranian, Greek, and Latin. This old energetic Anglo-Saxon language forms the basis of modern English. After all this, they ruled England but at the Battle of Hastings (1066) the kings of Anglo Saxon were defeated by Normans.
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Conclusion
In shaping the Literature and English language the Anglo-Saxons played a foundational role. Anglo-Saxons contributed a lot to the English language and literature, including oral poetry, and religious works of Caedmon and Cynewulf, these kinds of poets built the groundwork for the later English traditions. Establishing English prose by figures like Alfred the Great enriched the language.
Harold the last king of Anglo Saxons was defeated by William the Conqueror of Normandy (France). And by 1100 the Middle-English or Anglo-Norman period started.
Mullik.R.B & Ali.M (2023). A critical history of English literature. Kitab Mahal Lahore, Pakistan.
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