Old English Literature

 Old English Poetry:-

Old English poetry is of two types, the heroic Germanic-  pre-Christian and the Christian. It has survived for the most part in four manuscripts. The first manuscript is called the Junius manuscript - one of the four major codices of Old English literature. Written in the 10th century, it contains poetry dealing with Biblical subjects in Old English, the vernacular language (The word vernacular means the way people use language in a specific country or region. For instance, while English is a common language in places like the US, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, the way that people use English is vernacular—it varies from country to country) of Anglo-Saxon England. Modern editors have determined that the manuscript is made of four poems, to which they have given the titles Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, and Christ and Satan) also known as the Caedmon manuscript, which is an illustrated poetic anthology. The second manuscript is called the Exeter Book,(The Exeter Book, also known as the Codex Exoniensis or Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501, is a large codex of Old English poetry, believed to have been produced in the late tenth century AD. The Exeter Book is the largest and perhaps oldest known manuscript of Old English literature, containing about a sixth of the Old English poetry that has come down to us.) Also an anthology, located in the Exeter Cathedral since it was donated there in the 11th century. The third manuscript is called the Vercelli Book(The Vercelli Book is one of the oldest of the four Old English Poetic Codices), a mix of poetry and prose; how it came to be in Vercelli, Italy, no one knows, and is a matter of debate. The fourth manuscript is called the Nowell Codex (It is most famous as the manuscript containing the unique copy of the epic poem Beowulf. In addition to this, it contains first a fragment of The Life of Saint Christopher, then the more complete texts Wonders of the East and Letter of Alexander to Aristotle, and, after Beowulf, a poetic translation of Judith. Due to the fame of Beowulf, the Nowell Codex is also sometimes known simply as the Beowulf manuscript. The manuscript is located within the British Library with the rest of the Cotton collection.), also a mixture of poetry and prose.

Old English poetry had no known rules or system left to us by the Anglo-Saxons, everything we know about it is based on modern analysis. The first widely accepted theory was by Eduard Sievers (1885) in which he distinguished five distinct alliterative patterns. The theory of John C. Pope (1942) uses musical notations which has had some acceptance; every few years a new theory arises and the topic continues to be hotly debated.

The most popular and well known understanding of Old English poetry continues to be Sievers' alliterative verse (alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme.

The most intensively studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic languages. Alliterative verse, in various forms, is found widely in the literary traditions of the early Germanic languages. The Old English epic Beowulf, as well as most other Old English poetry, the Old High German Muspilli, the Old Saxon Heliand, and the Old Norse Poetic Edda all use alliterative verse.

Alliterative verse can be found in many other languages as well, although rarely with the systematic rigour of Germanic forms.) The system is based upon accent, alliteration, the quantity of vowels, and patterns of syllabic accentuation. It consists of five permutations on a base verse scheme; any one of the five types can be used in any verse. The system was inherited from and exists in one form or another in all of the older Germanic languages. Two poetic figures commonly found in Old English poetry are the 1)Kenning (Kenning is an often formulaic phrase used to describe one thing in terms of another. In Beowulf, for example, the sea is referred to as the "swan's road." This figure of speech adds vividness and imagery to the description, allowing the poet to convey meaning in a creative and metaphorical way.), a dramatic understatement employed by the author for ironic effect. 2) Litotes, a dramatic understatement employed by the author for ironic effect. Litotes, on the other hand, is a figure of speech that involves a dramatic understatement used by the author for ironic effect. It is a deliberate way of expressing something by negating its contrary. For instance, instead of saying "The warrior was strong," the poet might use litotes and say, "The warrior was not weak." This technique emphasises the strength of the warrior in an indirect and subtle manner.

Old English poetry was an oral craft, and our understanding of it in written form is incomplete; for example, we know that the poet (referred to as the Scop) could be accompanied by a harp, and there may be other aural traditions we are not aware of.

Poetry represents the smallest amount of the surviving Old English text, but Anglo-Saxon culture had a rich tradition of oral storytelling, just not much was written down or survived.

The poets:-

Most Old English poets are anonymous; twelve are known by name from Mediaeval sources, but only four of those are known by their vernacular works to us today with any certainty: Caedmon, Bede, Alfred, and Cynewulf. Of these, only Caedmon, Bede, and Alfred have known biographies.

Caedmon is the best-known and considered the father of Old English poetry. He lived at the abbey of Whitby in Northumbria in the 7th century. (He was a monk who lived at the abbey of Whitby in Northumbria during the 7th century. Caedmon's story is documented by the Venerable Bede, an English monk and historian).

According to Bede's account, Caedmon was an uneducated herdsman who was given the gift of poetry through a divine revelation. Legend has it that during a feast, when it was his turn to sing, Caedmon would often leave the gathering out of embarrassment since he did not know how to compose songs. One night, after leaving the feast, he had a dream in which he was visited by an angel who commanded him to sing about the creation of the world. Inspired by this dream, Caedmon awoke and composed a beautiful hymn praising God's creation.

This hymn, known simply as "Hymn" or sometimes referred to as "Caedmon's Hymn," is the only surviving work attributed directly to Caedmon. It consists of nine lines and is considered the oldest surviving text in English. Caedmon's Hymn reflects his devout Christian faith and his awe and reverence for the beauty of God's creation.

Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne  is known through William of Malmesbury who said he performed secular songs while accompanied by a harp. Much of his Latin prose has survived, but none of his Old English remains (Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne, as another figure from Old English poetry. Aldhelm, who lived until 709, is primarily known through the accounts of William of Malmesbury, a mediaeval historian. According to William, Aldhelm was known to perform secular songs accompanied by a harp. While much of his Latin prose writings have survived, none of his Old English poetry has been preserved).

Cynewulf has proven to be a difficult figure to identify, but recent research suggests he was from the early part of the 9th century to which a number of poems are attributed (Several poems are attributed to Cynewulf, including "The Fates of the Apostles" and "Elene," both found in the Vercelli Book, and "Christ II" and "Juliana," both found in the Exeter Book. These poems display a high level of poetic skill and demonstrate the use of the alliterative verse characteristic of Old English poetry. They cover a range of religious themes and exhibit a deep Christian faith.) 

Poems:-

Heroic Poems:-

(Heroic poems, also known as epic poems, are a specific genre of poetry that celebrate and chronicle the heroic deeds of legendary or mythological figures. These poems often depict larger-than-life characters engaged in epic quests, battles, and adventures. Heroic poems typically emphasise themes of heroism, honour, courage, and the struggle between good and evil).

The Old English poetry which has received the most attention deals with the Germanic heroic past. The longest (3,182 lines), and most important, is Beowulf, which appears in the damaged Nowell Codex. It tells the story of the legendary Geatish hero Beowulf who is the title character. The story is set in Scandinavia, in Sweden and Denmark, and the tale likewise probably is of Scandinavian origin. The story is biographical and sets the tone for much of the rest of Old English poetry. It has achieved national epic status, on the same level as the Iliad, and is of interest to historians, anthropologists, literary critics, and students the world over.

Beowulf Summary:

King Hrothgar, the ruler of the Danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon named Grendel. Every night, Grendel attacks King Hrothgar's wealthy mead-hall, Heorot, killing Danish warriors and sometimes even eating them.

Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now he's an old king and can't seem to protect his people. Fortunately, a young Geat warrior named

Beowulf travels to Heorot Hall from his own lands overseas to lend a helping hand-literally. After explaining that he owes Hrothgar a favor because Hrothgar helped out his father, Beowulf offers to fight Grendel himself. King Hrothgar gratefully accepts his offer. The next time Grendel attacks Heorot Hall, Beowulf is waiting for him. Choosing to fight Grendel in hand-to-hand combat, Beowulf wrestles the demon into submission and eventually tears off his arm at the shoulder. Mortally wounded. Grendel flees into the wilderness and dies. Beowulf, Hrothgar, and their followers throw a wild party to celebrate.

Hrothgar also gives Beowulf many presents and treasures to reward him for his heroic defeat of the demon.

Unfortunately, Grendel has an overprotective mother who decides to avenge her son. While all the warriors are sleeping off the party, she attacks Heorot Hall. But when the warriors wake up, she panics and flees back to her lair, a cave underneath a nearby lake.

Beowulf, his Geatish warriors, and some of Hrothgar's Danish warriors track her there. Beowulf dives into the lake and finds the cave, where he takes on Grendel's mother in another one-on-one battle. Seizing a nearby sword from Grendel's mother's stash of treasure, he slays her, even though her poisonous demon blood melts the blade. When Beowulf returns to the surface, carrying the sword hilt and Grendel's severed head, the Danish warriors have given him up for dead, but his own Geatish followers are still waiting patiently. When everyone sees that Beowulf has survived this second challenge, there's even more partying and gift-giving.

Finally, the Geats take their leave of the Danes; Beowulf says goodbye to King Hrothgar and sails back to Geatland, where he is a lord in the court of King Hygelac. Eventually, Hygelac and all his relatives are killed in different blood-feuds, and Beowulf becomes the King of the Geats. Beowulf reigns as king for fifty years, protecting the Geats from all the other tribes around them, especially the Swedes. He is an honourable and heroic warrior-king, rewarding his loyal thanes (warrior lords) and taking care of his people.

But one day, Beowulf finally meets his match: a dragon, woken by a thief stealing a goblet, begins attacking the Geats, burning villages and slaughtering people. Beowulf takes a group of eleven trusty warriors, plus the thief who knows where the dragon's lair is, to the barrow for a final showdown with the monster. When they see the dragon, all but one of the warriors flee in terror. Only one man, Wiglaf, remains at Beowulf's side. With Wiglaf's help and encouragement, Beowulf is able to defeat the dragon, but he is mortally wounded in the process.

After Beowulf's death, the Geats build an enormous funeral pyre for him, heaped with treasures. Once the pyre has burned down, they spend ten days building an enormous barrow (a large mound of earth filled with treasure) as a monument to their lost king.

Beyond Beowulf, other heroic poems exist. Two heroic poems have survived in fragments: The Fight at Finnsburh, a retelling of one of the battle scenes in Beowulf (although this relation to Beowulf is much debated), and Waldere,  (Waldere" or "Waldhere" is the conventional title given to two Old English fragments, of around 32 and 31 lines, from a lost epic poem, discovered in 1860 by E. C. Werlauff, Librarian, in the Danish Royal Library at Copenhagen, where it is still preserved) a version of the events of the life of Walter of Aquitaine. Two other poems mention heroic figures: Widsith (Widsith also known as "The Traveller's Song", is an Old English poem of 143 lines. It survives only in the Exeter Book, a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the late-10th century, which contains approximately one-sixth of all surviving Old English poetry). is believed to be very old in parts, dating back to events in the 4th century concerning Eormanric (king)  and the Goths, and contains a catalogue of names and places associated with valiant deeds(Courageous works). Deor is a lyric, in the style of Consolation of Philosophy, applying examples of famous heroes, including Wetland and Eormanric, to the narrator's own case. (Deor" is an Old English poem believed to have been composed in the 10th century. It follows the style of the Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical work by Boethius, which discusses the nature of fate, fortune, and human suffering).

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Chronicles are historical accounts or narratives that record events in chronological order. They are often written in the form of a continuous narrative, providing a year-by-year or event-by-event chronology of important occurrences). contains various heroic poems inserted throughout. The earliest from 937 is called The Battle of Brunanburh, which celebrates the victory of King Athelstan over the Scots and Norse. There are five shorter poems: capture of the Five Boroughs (942) (The capture of the Five Boroughs refers to a significant event in English history that occurred during the late 9th century. It involved the military conquest and subsequent incorporation of five Viking-controlled boroughs, or fortified towns, by the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.) is an Old English chronicle poem that commemorates the capture by King Edmund I of the so-called Five Boroughs of Danelaw in 942. coronation of King Edgar (973)(The coronation of King Edgar refers to the ceremonial crowning and anointing of Edgar the Peaceful as the king of England. Edgar, also known as Edgar I, ruled from 959 to 975 and is considered one of the most influential Anglo-Saxon kings).; death of King Edgar (975) (The death of King Edgar in 975 marked the end of his reign and the passing of a significant figure in English history. Edgar, also known as Edgar the Peaceful, was one of the most influential Anglo-Saxon kings, ruling over a united England from 959 to 975); Death of Prince Alfred (1036); (The Death of Alfred is an Old English poem that is part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, concerning the killing of Alfred Aetheling in 1036. It is noted for its departure from traditional Old English poetic metre, abandoning the alliterative verse form in favour of fairly consistently rhyming hemistichs). and Death of King Edward the Confessor (1065) Edward the Confessor was an Anglo-Saxon English king and saint. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 until his death in 1066.

Old English heroic poetry was handed down orally from generation to generation. As Christianity began to appear, retellers often recast the tales of Christianity into the older heroic stories. 

Wisdom poetry:-

Wisdom poetry, (Wisdom poetry, also known as philosophical poetry or didactic poetry, is a genre of poetry that explores profound ideas, moral values, and philosophical insights. It seeks to convey wisdom and knowledge through the artful use of language and poetic devices. Wisdom poetry often addresses fundamental questions about the nature of existence, human condition, ethics, spirituality, and the pursuit of truth) also known as wisdom literature or didactic poetry (Didactic poetry, also known as instructional poetry, is a form of poetry that aims to educate, instruct, or impart moral and practical lessons to the reader. It emphasises the didactic or teaching function of poetry by conveying knowledge, advice, or guidance on various subjects), refers to a genre of poetry that focuses on imparting wisdom, moral lessons, and practical advice to the reader or listener. It is characterised by its didactic nature and the exploration of universal truths and ethical principles.

Related to the heroic tales are a number of short poems from the Exeter Book which have come to be described as "Wisdom poetry". They are lyrical and Boethian (Roman who was an early Christian philosopher and statesman who was executed for treason; Boethius had a decisive influence on mediaeval logic) in their description of the up and down fortunes of life. Gloomy in mood is The Ruin (The Ruin" is an elegy in Old English, written by an unknown author probably in the 8th or 9th century, and published in the 10th century in the Exeter Book), which tells of the decay of a once glorious city of Roman Britain (Britain fell into decline after the Romans departed in the early 5th century), and The Wanderer, in which an older man talks about an attack that happened in his youth, where his close friends and kin were all killed; memories of the slaughter (kill animals for food). have remained with him all his life. He questions the wisdom of the impetuous

(acting or done quickly and without thought or care). decision to engage a possibly superior fighting force: the wise man engages in warfare to preserve civil society, and must not rush into battle but seek out allies when the odds may be against him. This poet finds little glory in bravery for bravery's sake. The Seafarer is the story of a sombre exile from home on the sea, from which the only hope of redemption is the joy of heaven. Other wisdom poems include Wulf and Eadwacer, (It has been variously characterised, (modernly) as an elegy, (historically) as a riddle, and (in speculation on the poem's prehistory) as a song or ballad with refrain. The poem is narrated in the first person, most likely by a female speaker). The Wife's Lament  (The Wife's Lament" or "The Wife's Complaint" is an Old English poem of 53 lines found on folio 115 of the Exeter Book and generally treated as an elegy in the manner of the German frauenlied (women's song). The poem has been relatively well preserved and requires few if any emendations to enable an initial reading. Thematically, the poem is primarily concerned with the evocation of the grief of the female speaker and with the representation of her state of despair), and The Husband's Message (The Husband's Message" is an anonymous Old English poem, 53 lines long and found only on folio 123 of the Exeter Book. The poem is cast as the private address of an unknown first-person speaker to a wife, challenging the reader to discover the speaker's identity and the nature of the conversation, the mystery of which is enhanced by a burn-hole at the beginning of the poem). King Alfred the Great wrote a wisdom poem over the course of his reign based loosely on the neoplatonic philosophy (Neoplatonic philosophy is a strict form of principle-monism that strives to understand everything on the basis of a single cause that they considered divine, and indiscriminately referred to as “the First”, “the One”, or “the Good”). of Boethius called the Lays of Boethius. (The "Lays of Boethius" is King Alfred's 9th century Old English version of the "Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius.

Alfred actually wrote two versions of the "Consolation of Philosophy". The first was a straight prose translation, while the second was a didactic poem inspired by the wisdom of Boethius).

Classical and Latin poetry

(Classical” or “classic” to refer to poetry that’s stood the test of time and is still considered great decades or centuries after the poems were first written).

Several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts. The longest is a 10th century translation of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy

(The Consolation of Philosophy or simply the Consolation, is a philosophical work by the Roman philosopher Boethius. Written in 523 while he was imprisoned by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric, it is often described as the last great Western work of the Classical Period). contained in the Cotton manuscript. Another is The Phoenix  The Phoenix is an anonymous Old English poem. It is composed of 677 lines and is for the most part a translation and adaptation of the Latin poem De Ave Phoenice attributed to Lactantius. It is found in the Exeter Book.

Other short poems derived from the Latin bestiary tradition such as The Panther 

(The Panther is a 74-line alliterative poem written in the Old English language which uses the image of a panther as an allegory for Christ's death and Resurrection). The Whale and The Partridge.

Christian poetry

(Christian poetry is a form of literature that explores themes and ideas related to the Christian faith. It is written by Christian poets who express their beliefs, experiences, and reflections through poetic language and imagery. Christian poetry often incorporates biblical references, religious symbols, and spiritual concepts to convey messages of faith, hope, love, redemption, and the human relationship with God).

1. Saints' Lives

The Vercelli Book and Exeter Book contain four long narrative poems of saints' lives, or hagiography. In Vercelli is Andreas  (Andreas is an Old English poem, which tells the story of St. Andrew the Apostle, while commenting on the literary role of the "hero". It is believed to be a translation of a Latin work, which is originally derived from the Greek story The Acts of Andrew and Matthew in the City of Anthropophagi, dated around the 4th century). Elene  (Elene is a poem in Old English that is sometimes known as Saint Helena Finds the True Cross. It was translated from a Latin text and is the longest of Cynewulf's four signed poems. It is the last of six poems appearing in the Vercelli manuscript),  and in Exeter are Guthlac (Guthlac is one of the most famous saints from the early period of Christianity in Britain. He was from a tribe named the Guthlacingas who lived in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. In the earliest account of his life by the monk, Felix, we hear that Guthlac was born around 674, roughly one year later than Bede, and died in 715). and Juliana (The one surviving manuscript, dated between 970 and 990, is preserved in the Exeter Book between the poems The Phoenix and The Wanderer. Juliana is one of only five Old English poetic texts that describe the lives of saints.

Juliana is Cynewulf's second longest work, totaling 731 lines. However, due to damage to the Exeter Book over time—such as staining, charring, and the loss of pages there are two gaps in the text of Juliana, amounting to a loss of 130 to 140 lines. Through comparative analyses, it has been determined that no more than a single page worth of material could be missing from either gap, and it is therefore very likely that a single sheet, which would have been folded in the middle to form two pages, was accidentally lost when the original manuscript was being bound.

Andreas  (it is 1,722 lines long and is the closest of the surviving Old English poems to Beowulf in style and tone. It is the story of Saint Andrew and his journey to rescue Saint Matthew from the Mermedonians. Elene is the story of Saint Helena (mother of Constantine) and her discovery of the True Cross. The cult of the True Cross was popular in Anglo-Saxon England and this poem was instrumental). However, the author of Andreas added the aspect of the Germanic hero to the Greek story to create the poem Andreas, where St. Andrew is depicted as an Old English warrior, fighting against evil forces. This allows Andreas to have both poetic and religious significance.

Guthlac is actually two poems about English Saint Guthlac (7th century). (Guthlac A and Guthlac B are a pair of Old English poems written in celebration of the deeds and death of Saint Guthlac of Croyland, a popular Mercian saint. The two poems are presented consecutively in the important Exeter Book miscellany of Old English poetry, the fourth and fifth items in the manuscript. They are clearly intended to be considered two items, judging from the scribe's use of large initials at the start of each poem). 

Biblical paraphrases

A biblical paraphrase is a literary work which has as its goal, not the translation of the Bible, but rather, the rendering of the Bible into a work that retells all or part of the Bible in a manner that accords with a particular set of theological or political doctrines.

The Junius manuscript contains three paraphrases of Old Testament texts. These were re-wordings of Biblical passages in Old English, not exact translations, but paraphrasing, sometimes into beautiful poetry in its own right. The first and longest is of Genesis (The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, Bereshit ("In the beginning"). Genesis is an account of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, and of Israel's ancestors and the origins of the Jewish people. The second is Exodus (The departure of the Israelites from Egypt). (The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of Yahweh, who has chosen them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the prophet Moses to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh gives the 10 commandments and they enter into a covenant with Yahweh, who promises to make them a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness. He gives them their laws and instructions to build the Tabernacle (a meeting place for worship used by Nonconformists or Latter-day Saints), the means by which he will come from heaven and dwell with them and lead them in a holy war to possess the land of Canaan (the "Promised Land"), which had earlier, according to the story of Genesis, been promised to the seed of Abraham. The third is Daniel (Daniel is the main character of the Book of Daniel. According to the Hebrew Bible, Daniel was a noble Jewish youth of Jerusalem taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, serving the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the Persian conqueror Cyrus, all the while remaining true to the God of Israel. 

The Nowell Codex contains a Biblical poetic paraphrase, which appears right after Beowulf, called Judith, a retelling of the story of Judith. This is not to be confused with Aelfric's homily Judith, (Ælfric's homily written in Old English alliterative prose is a religious sermon that closely paraphrases a Biblical story. The homily is 452 verses long, indicating its length and the effort put into its composition. The primary purpose of the homily is to provide moral and spiritual guidance to its audience, which in this case is a group of nuns). which retells the same Biblical story in alliterative prose.

The Psalter Psalms 51-150 are preserved, following a prose version of the first 50 Psalms. It is believed there was once a complete psalter based on evidence, but only the first 150 have survived.

There are a number of verse translations of the Gloria in Excelsis, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed, as well as a number of hymns, a religious song or poem of praise to God or a god - and proverbs stating a general truth or piece of advice.

Other poems

Other poetic forms exist in Old English including riddles, short verses, gnomes, and mnemonic poems for remembering long lists of names.

The Exeter Book has a collection of ninety-five riddles. The answers are not supplied, a number of them to this day remain a puzzle, and some of the answers are obscene.

There are short verses found in the margins of manuscripts which offer practical advice. There are remedies against the loss of cattle, how to deal with a delayed birth, swarms of bees, etc.. The longest is called Nine Herbs Charm and is probably of pagan origin.

There are a group of mnemonic poems designed to help memorise lists and sequences of names and to keep objects in order. These poems are named Menologium, The Fates of the Apostles, The Rune Poem, The Seasons for Fasting, and the Instructions for Christians.

Specific Features Of Anglo-saxon Poetry

Simile and Metaphor:

Simile:- 

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.” 

Metaphor:- A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn't literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison. 

Anglo-Saxon poetry is marked by the comparative rarity of similes. This is a particular feature of Anglo-Saxon verse style, and is a consequence of both its structure and the rapidity with which images are deployed, to be unable to effectively support the expanded simile. As an example of this, the epic Beowulf contains at best five similes, and these are of the short variety. This can be contrasted sharply with the strong and extensive dependence that Anglo-Saxon poetry has upon metaphor, particularly that afforded by the use of kennings - (a word or phrase that is a metaphor for something simpler).

Elaboration -  the process of developing or presenting a theory, policy, or system in further detail.

It is also a feature of the fast-paced dramatic style of Anglo-Saxon poetry that it is not prone, in the way that, say, Celtic literature of the period was, to overly elaborate decoration. Where typically a Celtic poet of the time might use 3 or 4 similes to make a point, typically an Anglo-Saxon poet might reference a kenning, before moving swiftly on.

Old English Prose:-

The amount of surviving Old English prose is much greater than the amount of poetry. Of the surviving prose, sermons and Latin translations of religious works are the majority. Old English prose first appears in the 9th century, and continues to be recorded through the 12th century.

Christian prose

The most widely known author of Old English was King Alfred, who translated many books from Latin into Old English. These translations include: Gregory the Great's The Pastoral Care, a manual for priests on how to conduct their duties; The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius; and The Soliloquies of Saint Augustine. Alfred was also responsible for a translation of the fifty Psalms into Old English. Other important Old English translations completed by associates of Alfred include: The History of the World by Orosius, a companion piece for Augustine of Hippo's The City of God  (The City of God is a cornerstone of Western thought, expounding on many questions of theology, such as the suffering of the righteous, the existence of evil, the conflict between free will and divine omniscience, and the doctrine of original sin); the Dialogues of Gregory the Great; and the Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede, about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between the pre-Schism Roman Rite and Celtic Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and is believed to have been completed in 731 when Bede was approximately 59 years old. It is considered one of the most important original references on Anglo-Saxon history, and has played a key role in the development of an English national identity.

Ælfric of Eynsham, wrote in the late 10th and early 11th century. He was the greatest and most prolific writer of Anglo-Saxon sermons, which were copied and adapted for use well into the 13th century. He also wrote a number of saints lives, an Old English work on time-reckoning, pastoral letters, translations of the first six books of the Bible, glosses and translations of other parts of the Bible including Proverbs, Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus.

In the same category as Aelfric, and a contemporary, was Wulfstan II, archbishop of York. His sermons were highly stylistic. His best known work is Sermo Lupi ad Anglos in which he blames the sins of the British for the Viking invasions. He wrote a number of clerical legal texts, Institutes of Polity and Canons of Edgar.

One of the earliest Old English texts in prose is the Martyrology, information about saints and martyrs according to their anniversaries and feasts in the church calendar. It has survived in six fragments. It is believed to date from the 9th century by an anonymous Mercian author.

The oldest collection of church sermons are the Blickling homilies in the Vercelli Book and dates from the 10th century.

There are a number of the saint's lives prose works. Beyond those written by Aelfric are the prose life of Saint Guthlac (Vercelli Book), the life of Saint Margaret and the life of Saint Chad. There are four lives in the Julius manuscript: Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, Saint Mary of Egypt, Saint Eustace and Saint Euphrosyne.

There are many Old English translations of many parts of the Bible. Aelfric translated the first six books of the Bible (the Hexateuch). There is a translation of the Gospels. The most popular was the Gospel of Nicodemus, others included "..the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, Vindicta salvatoris, Vision of Saint Paul and the Apocalypse of Thomas".

One of the largest bodies of Old English text is found in the legal texts collected and saved by the religious houses. These include many kinds of texts: records of donations by nobles; wills; documents of emancipation; lists of books and relics; court cases; guild rules. All of these texts provide valuable insights into the social history of Anglo-Saxon times, but are also of literary value. For example, some of the court case narratives are interesting for their use of rhetoric.

Secular prose

In contemporary English, secular is primarily used to distinguish something such as an attitude, belief, or position that is not specifically religious or sectarian in nature (for example, music with no religious connection or affiliation might be described as "secular").

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was probably started in the time of King Alfred and continued for over 300 years as a historical record of Anglo-Saxon history.

A single example of a Classical romance has survived, it is a fragment of a Latin translation of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (220 AD), from the 11th century.

A monk who was writing in Old English at the same time as Aelfric and Wulfstan was Byrhtferth of Ramsey, whose books Handbook and Manual were studies of mathematics and rhetoric.

Aelfric wrote two neo-scientific works, Hexameron and Interrogations Sigewulfi, dealing with the stories of Creation. He also wrote a grammar and glossary in Old English called Latin, later used by students interested in learning Old French because it had been glossed in Old French.

There are many surviving rules and calculations for finding feast days, and tables on calculating the tides and the season of the moon.

In the Nowell Codex is the text of The Wonders of the East which includes a remarkable map of the world, and other illustrations. Also contained in Nowell is Alexander's Letter to Aristotle. Because this is the same manuscript that contains Beowulf, some scholars speculate it may have been a collection of materials on exotic places and creatures.

There are a number of interesting medical works. There is a translation of Apuleius's Herbarium with striking illustrations, found together with Medicina de Quadrupedibus. A second collection of texts is Bald's Leechbook, a 10th century book containing herbal and even some surgical cures. A third collections is known as the Lacnunga, which relies of charms, incantations, and white magic.

Anglo-Saxon legal texts are a large and important part of the overall corpus. By the 12th century they had been arranged into two large collections ,Textus and  Roffensis. They include laws of the kings, beginning with those of Aethelbert of Kent, and texts dealing with specific cases and places in the country. An interesting example is Gerefa which outlines the duties of a reeve on a large manor estate. There is also a large volume of legal documents related to religious houses.

Historiography 

Old English literature did not disappear in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. Many sermons and works continued to be read and used in part or whole up through the 14th century, and were further catalogued and organised. During the Reformation, when monastic libraries were dispersed, the manuscripts were collected by antiquarians and scholars. These included Laurence Nowell, Matthew Parker, Robert Bruce Cotton and Humfrey Wanley. In the 17th century begun a tradition of Old English literature dictionaries and references. The first was William Somner's Dictionarium Saxonico-Latino-Anglicum (1659). Lexicographer Joseph Bosworth began a dictionary in the 19th century which was completed by Thomas Northcote Toller in 1898 called An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, which was updated by Alistair Campbell in 1972.

Because Old English was one of the first vernacular languages to be written down, nineteenth century scholars searching for the roots of European "national culture"  took special interest in studying Anglo-Saxon literature, and Old English became a regular part of university curriculum. Since WWII there has been increasing interest in the manuscripts themselves— Neil Ker, a paleographer (the study of the handwritings of the past, and often the manuscripts as well). published the groundbreaking Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon in 1957, and by 1980 nearly all Anglo-Saxon manuscript texts were in print. J.R.R. Tolkien is credited with creating a movement to look at Old English as a subject of literary theory in his seminal lecture Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (1936).

Old English literature has had an influence on modern literature. Some of the best-known translations include William Morris' translation of Beowulf and Ezra Pound's translation of The Seafarer. The influence of the poetry can be seen in modern poets T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound and W. H. Auden. Much of the subject matter and terminology of the heroic poetry can be seen in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and many others.