A1: Heroic Poetry- battles and begging poems

possible questions:

'No reading of Old English literature can afford to ignore the social, political, religious an cultural contexts in which it is rooted'. Discuss how any one or more Old English texts can be enhanced by consideration of any one or more of these contexts. [2003]

‘If the social conditions described in [Old English] verse seem to resemble more closely those of Tacitus’ Germania than the complex society that England had become by the tenth century, this may be taken as a reflection of the way that the ancient traditions of verse archaize and rebuild on a heroic scale every variety of matter they touch’ (RDFULK AND CMCAIN). Examine any ONE OR TWO Old English poems with regard to the relationship between the society they describe and that of Anglo-Saxon England. [2004]

‘While we must of course seek to gain as fill knowledge as possible of the social and cultural environments in which Old English literary works came into being, we should not assume that the relationships between their contents and those environments are any more straightforward than they would be at a later date.’ Discuss, with reference to any one or two Old English works. [2005]

‘We cannot hope to understand Old English literature unless we read it in the light of the cultural and social preoccupations of its time.’ Discuss some ways in which a consideration of such preoccupations has influenced your interpretation of any ONE literary text or more. [2006]

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-what is Germanic, if anything? - influence of Tacitus’ Germania- note that he sat in Rome and described the Germanic people, so it is not exactly a reliable historical account, but it certainly shows us the perception that the Romans had of the Germanic tribes. However, Tacitus’ account dates about 1^st century, so comparing it with 10^th century records of 5^th-7^th century Anglo Saxon culture is pushing it a bit. But it is indeed noticeable that there are several echoes of Tacitus in OE poems, especially in Battle of Maldon, as critics like Donald Scragg have pointed out. This is mainly in the part where Tacitus describes warriors/battles. He writes that the leaders are admired for their valour, and they are looked on as ideals who will set an example, rather than as figures of authority. This seems to suggest the difference between the “lord” and the “hero”. The retainer is the leader in the sense that he is the hero of the battle/poem, but he is still subject to his lord, who may not be active, but has absent authority. In Maldon, when Godric runs away, a point that is emphasized in the poem because it makes the army think that their lord has run away, and they get all worked up. Godric is followed by his brothers, Godwin and Godwig who decide to choose kinship over their loyalty to their lord, and this seems to be criticized because the poet mentions that they do not care about warfare. He also writes that the chiefs fight for victory, the men for their chief. The whole notion of “comitatus” (loyalty) in Tacitus is seen throughout OE heroic poetry, and seems to be an integral part of it. For instance, Byrtnoth’s death, in Battle of Maldon, and the speeches of his men saying that they will keep fighting and will ‘lif feorleason oþþe lanзe dom’. So this aspect of the heroic code certainly seems to go back to Germanic codes of loyalty and kinship among warriors. [does anyone know about continental legends, and whether they write about heroic loyalty as well? ] The opposite point is that it may be a rather obvious coincidence. They are a warrior society, so it is naturally important to be loyal to one’s team-members. It doesn’t have to be influenced by Tacitus, nor does it have to be a specifically Germanic code. Since these texts are being copied in the late 10^th century, it may have something to do with the attempt to create some kind of national identity, by emphasizing on Anglo Saxon unity- unity that is both Anglo Saxon (or West Saxon) and Christian [again, Maldon, where heathens and Christians are opposed].

Taking the heathen/ Christian opposition further, one needs to look at how the texts are ‘christianised’ and how far it is possible for the Christian monks to write about [and read] pre-Christian poems without placing an explicit Christian perspective upon them. Granted, the three battles and Waldere are in fragments, and we do not know of any explicit Christian motive behind them, but Deor and Widsith belong to the Exeter Book, yet they are not explicitly Christianised. All the poems talk vaguely of a “god” who will protect them, and determine their fate. Byrthnoth in Maldon refers to ‘halgan’. The concept of fate is very strong, and we see it in Deor as well, where the sorrowing man is comforted in the realisation that God causes changes, and that his troubles are temporary. Once again, the way in which fate and god are described in these poems are not explicitly Christian, but may be so. A pre-Christian concept of fate was pressed onto Christianity and molded to Christian beliefs. In Waldere, fate and god are juxtaposed with man’s military honour: he will do honour for himself with good deeds, and God will look after him. The idea is one that gives importance to the individual man, and is repeated in Widsith where the poet writes that God chooses as king, the one who is ‘leofast londbuendum’[most beloved to the people].

These poems are concerned with describing an earlier world, whether historical or legendary, and are naturally concerned with archaisms. Some of the poems (Brunanburh) are annals in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, so it is a way of colouring the past. The poems show more about the Anglo Saxon concept of an older, pre-Christian time, and an effort to emphasise its positive values [or what they ascribed to the past as positive values]. Why do they look at the pagan past? 1. national Christian identity by emphasizing on a united past. 2. reflecting on the past warrior culture to show that they are better off today, they have progressed to a Christian way of living. Should we look at these poems in terms of their ms context, or is the evidence to fragmentary to be conclusive. Maldon is the only battle poem in a manuscript with mostly lives of saints, while Brunanburh is a chronicle annal (and therefore has a claim to historical fact). But Widsith and Deor in the Exeter book are placed with a large miscellany of items, many of which are directly religious. Critics like Bradley and Zettersten see Finnsburh fragment as being secular and looking at early heroic tradition, as opposed to a later poem like Brunanburh or Maldon, but it seems to me that both reflect on the same kind of culture, both are reflections on the idea of an earlier age, only that the latter poems are more obviously Christianized and therefore rooted in their present.

[so much for now, i may add more things later.im a bit bored with heroic poetry now]