England in Literature [antikvár]

Background: TheAnglo-Saxons450-1100.Britain, as a place, was first mentioned by ancient Greek writers. To the Greeks, Britain was a legendary placeremote and mysterious. The Romans found the island occupied by Celtic Britons, who were related to the Celtic peoples of Western Europe conquered by the Romans. During the fifth century, when the Roman Empire was crumbling, the Romans withdrew, leaving the Celtic peoples to find their own means of defense.Despite a brief period of military success under the leadership of the individual who became the King Arthur of medieval legend, the culture of the Romanized Celts of Britain had collapsed by 600 under the attacks of a variety of enemies, principally German tribes from across the North Sea. For the following two hundred and fifty years (600-850), the Anglo-Saxonsa multitude of wealthy, independent lords and kingsfought among themselves, with many kingdoms rising and falling.To add to the plight of the Anglo-Saxons as they fought to protect their own petty kingdoms, Viking Danes began to attack during the second half of the ninth century. Under the leadership of Alfred the Great (871-899), and, later, his grandson, Athelstan (925-940), the Danes were defeated, but the country was not united under an Anglo-Saxon king until the middle of the eleventh century. However, their unified land did not survive for very long. In 1066 they were once again invaded. Their conquerers, the Normans from across the English Channel, instituted their own culture, thus bringing to a close the Anglo-Saxon epoch of English history.Anglo-Saxon CultureWhen the Anglo-Saxons came to England, they brought with them a relatively well-developed society organizedaround the family, the clan, the tribe, and finally the kingdom. The eorls (erlz), the ruling class, and the ceorls (cherlz), bondsmen whose ancestors were former captives of the tribe, made up the two classes of Anglo-Saxon society. Although he was considered to be an absolute ruler, the king relied heavily on advice from a council, the witan ("wise men"). For example, in the selection from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, King Edwin consults his witan before converting to Christianity.The center of the Anglo-Saxons' social life was the mead hall. As part of the celebrations in the mead hall, professional singers or bards, called scops, entertained by recounting stories of brave heroes and by serving as resident poet and chronicler for the king and his tribe. These entertainers were responsible for preserving much of the literature of the time by keeping it alive until it was written down by4 THE ANGLO-SAXONS