Medieval and Renaissance English Literature

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Medieval and Renaissance English Literature

• Old English Literature 2. Poetry
• Natália Pikli, PhD
• ELTE

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Hymn of Cædmon (Old English? Latin ? Old English)

• Nu sculon herigean     heofonrices weard,
• meotodes meahte     ond his modgeþanc,
• weorc wuldorfæder,     swa he wundra gehwæs,
• ece drihten,     or onstealde.
• He ærest sceop      eorðan bearnum
• heofon to hrofe,     halig scyppend
• þa middangeard     moncynnes weard,
• ece drihten,     æfter teode
• firum foldan,     frea ælmihtig.
• 4-stress alliterative line with a caesure (4
  stressed syllables, varying number of unstressed
  syllables)
• repetition and alliteration mnemonic device/oral
  poetry
• Kenning metaphorical compound earths children
  men, woruld-candel, hron-rad (whale-road)

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Hymn of Caedmon

• focus on mankind
• Godprotector/guardian - like a Germanic
  lord/king (mankinds ward/dryhten)
• middlearth Pagan beliefs (transitional age
  Christian Pagan) cf. J.R.R. Tolkien
• Roof/solid round mead-hall
• creation beginning of the world/poetry

• Now we must praise     the Protector of the
  heavenly kingdom,
• The might of the Measurer     and His mind's
  purpose,
• The work of the Father of Glory,    
•  as He for each of the wonders, The
• eternal Lord,      established a beginning.
• He shaped first    for the sons of the Earth
• heaven as a roof,     the Holy Maker
• then the Middle-World,     mankind's Guardian,
• The eternal Lord,      made afterwards,
• solid ground for men,     the almighty Lord.

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Old English Poetry (30,000 lines) textual sources

• MS Cotton Vitellius XV (BM, 17th c. Sir Robert
  Cotton) Beowulf, Judith and other prose pieces
• MS Junius XI Caedmon and his school
• Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and Satan
  (apocryphal) (Oxford, Bodleian Library, 16th c.
  Francois Dujon/Franciscus Junius)
• MS The Exeter Book (Exeter Cathedral Library)
• The Wanderer, The Seafarer, Cynewulf The
  Phoenix, Deors Lament, Wulf and Eadwacer, The
  Ruin, etc.
• MS The Vercelli Book (Northern Italy, St.
  Andress Cathedral) The Dream of the Rood
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The Battle of
  Brunanburh
• Fragments Battle of Maldon, Finnesburh Fragment

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Old English Poetry genres

• Heroic poetry
• (longer) epic poem Beowulf
• (shorter narrative poems) lays Battle of Maldon,
  Battle of Brunanburh (Byrthnoth)
• Biblical/religious poetry
• dream vision The Dream of the Rood
• biblical stories (cf. Caedmon)
• Elegiac poetry
• Deors Lament (scop)
• The Wanderer, The Seafarer twin poems
• Secular poetry/elegies riddles, love elegies
  (Wulf and Eadwacer, The Wifes Lament, The
  Husbands Message)

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Beowulf

• 3182 lines longest and earliest Germanic epic
  poem
• early 6th c.(Hygelac) late 10th c.
  (oral-formulaic poetry, scops or oral-derived
  poetry repeated scenes, phrases)
• 1 MS, 2 scribes Pagan story w. Christian
  colouring
• Danes. Geats and other Germanic peoples
• memory (tradition)
• entertainment
• model example
• Þæt was god cyning
• hero/warrior

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The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial
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mead-hall/Heorot/comitatus
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• Listen!
• We have heard of the glory in bygone days
• of the folk-kings of the spear-Danes,
• how those noble lords did lofty deeds.
• Often Scyld Scefing seized the mead-benches
• from many tribes, troops of enemies,
• struck fear into earls. Though he first was
• found a waif, he awaited solace for that
• he grew under heaven and prospered in honor
• until every one of the encircling nations
• over the whales-riding had to obey him,
• grant him tribute. That was a good king!

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Beowulf the story

• Part 1 (ship) funerals, fights and banquets
• Scyld Scefing (shield, sheafson, corn god,
  foundling), Danish royal dynasty ? King Hrothgar
  (Heorot, mead-hall)
• Grendel (Cains descendant)
• Beowulf, young Geatish hero (strength of 30 men)
• Grendels mother
• Swords Nægling, Hrunting
• Part 2
• Beowulf, King of the Geats, 50 yrs, dragon,
  protecting his people, Wiglaf, funeral pyre
  ship in a barrow
• Structure rise and fall, 3 fights, 3 funerals w.
  lots of episodes/scopss stories (flashbacks and
  references to the future)

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• German heroic ideal
• Þæt was god cyning scourge of many tribes,
  great ring-giver, shield
• hero/warrior physical strength and stamina,
  loyalty to the lord, fights and fame
• 3. comitatus lord and loyal retainers
• Transitional age the mighty lord went to the
  Lords keeping, Men do not know
• how to say truly not trusted counselors,
• nor heroes under the heavens who received that
  cargo, in Heorot scop singing about The
  Creation
• wyrd vs Lord
• Formulae Beowulf madelode, bearn Ecg deowes
• Wiglaf madelode, Wihstanes sunu
• Set scenes of arrivals, banqueting, fights,
  etc.
• Kennings Beowulf on the funeral pyre famous
  lord ?careful master? bone-house
• Translations into modern English Seamus Heaney
  (wordhoard)

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• The Dream of the Rood MS 10th c.
• Ruthwell Cross 8th-early 9th c., Dumfriesshire,
  Scotland

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The Dream of the Rood

• dream vision mediation
• The Dreamers descriptive vision
• The Roods narrative vision (memory) Christs
  passion/Roods passion
• The Roods address to the Dreamer (mission,
  understanding)
• The Dreamers personal reflections

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Behold! The best of dreams I shall tell,
what I dreamt in the midnight, after mortal
men upon couches dwell. It seem to me that I
perceived a rare and wondrous tree 5 extending
on high a surrounding light alit the wood
brightly. All that beacon was covered with
gold jewels studded lovingly at its Earthen
base, while likewise there were five upon
that shoulder-span. Behold there the Angel of
God, 10 lovely through-out eternity. There was
not an evil criminal on
the gallows, but it was at He there gazed
the Holy Spirits, men throughout Earth and
all this glorious creation. Wondrous was
that Victory Tree, and I the sinner guilty
and badly wounded with stain.
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• There I observed the glorious
• wood
• 15 adorned with garment that beautifully
  beamed,
• garnished with gold with it gems stood
• covering splendidly the Lord's tree.
• But nevertheless through that gold I
  understood
• the wretched ancient struggle, when it first
  began
• 20 bleeding on the right side. I was with
  sorrow disturbed,
• frightened for this stunning vision. Saw I
  that brilliant
• beacon
• then change garment and color sometimes
  with moisture soaked,
• drenched in flowing blood, sometimes with
  treasure still adorned.
• But nevertheless I there lay a long time I
  took
• 25 sorrowfully gazing at the Saviours's tree,
• until then I dreamt that it spoke
• beginning with these words the tree did
  decree

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• Duality
• wondrous/glorious, blood/jewels, Victory
  tree/instrument of torture and death
• basic paradox of Christianity deathlife,
  defeatvictory, Son of ManSon of God
• Pagan and Christian
• rood/crucifix world tree (axis, ygdrasil)
• Totemism/speaking tree and symbol of Christianity
• Christ young hero, mighty King, Prince
  the warrior, hasten with great zeal, bitter
  struggle
• There I did not dare to break God's word
• and bend down or break, though I felt the
  tremble
• of the Earthen surface. I might have been
  able
• upon those fiends to fall, yet I stood
  stable. loyal retainerhumility!

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• Parallelism sym-pathia
• humble beginnings
• With dark nails they pierced me on me the scars
  are visible
• Mocked they us both together
• Then men chopped us down
• They buried us in a deep pit
• resurrection as Christ/Holy Rood
• Roods address to the Dreamer that you this
  vison tell to men, Doomsday, by virtue of the
  Cross - mediator
• Dreamer prayed I then to the tree in joyful
  spirit, I look forward the heavenly dream,
  there with the Lords people / to be with always,
  in perpetual bliss I shall be the Lords
  friend
• memory understanding will

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The Elegies topic of loss and decay - transience

• Deors Lament Deor (dear) scop (in exile or
  captivity), references to diff. stories,
  melancholy/hope This passed away, this also
  may
• The Wanderer, The Seafarer twin poems, solitary
  layman speakers, transitional age, images of
  nature images of the soul (stormy sea)
• The Wifes Lament (losing husband, feud, cavern,
  Grief goes side by side with those / who suffer
  longing for a loved one), The Husbands Message,
  Wulf (woman speaking)
• The Ruin ruined city (Roman Bath), giants
  work

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The Wanderer

• - The lord-retainer relaionship losing ones
  lord losing ones place in society, warm joys
  vs sleet, wind and cold winter
• Where is the feasting place? Where the
  pleasures of the hall? (ubi sunt)
• I mourn the gleaming cup, the warrior in his
  corselet / the glory of the prince
• the world beneath the heavens is in the hands of
  fate (wyrd) vs it is best for a man to seek
  mercy and comfort from the Father in heaven
• Ideal of steadfast/brave/wise man resignation
  and melancholy

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The Seafarer

• more Christian sentiments, esp. in part 2
• Life at sea vs life on land
• He thinks not of the harp nor of receiving
  rings, / nor of rapture in a woman, nor of
  worldly joy, / nor of anything but the rolling of
  the waves / the seafarer will always feel
  longings my heart leaps within me / my mind
  roams with the waves / over the whales domain
• Fame and praise vs gold the gold is no use
  at all to his soul /full of sins, in the face of
  Gods wrath
• Blessed is the humble man mercy comes to him
  from heaven / God gave man a soul because He
  trusts in His strength

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Bibliography/web sources

• Beowulf http//www.heorot.dk/beowulf-on-steorarum
  e_front-page.html
• Hungarian translations
• by György Szego (ELTE)
• and a recent one
• by Andrea Nagy (2015, Európa)
• Dream of the Rood http//www.dreamofrood.co.uk/fr
  ame_start.htm