anglo-saxon+literature


 * Anglo-Saxon literature began not with books ,but with spoken verse and incantations.

memorizing and reciting long,heroic poems about Celtic leaders and their needs
 * Celtic druids assumed the function of storytellers,


 * The scops and glee man recited poems often at ceremonial occasions.


 * the poems followed a set formula of composition ,which made it easy to memorize.
 * heroic poetry recognizes the achievements of warriors involved in great battles.


 * elegiac- sorrowful laments that mourn the deaths of loved ones and the loss of the past.
 * Beowulf is considered the most important piece of heroic poetry because it is a story of a great pagan warrior renowned for his courage,strength,dignity, and it is the first suck work to be composed in the English language.


 * the monks who transcribed these works regarded the vernacular, the language of the common people as a vulgar tongue.


 * Bede's history is so important to us today because his history may nevertheless be considered the first truly english prose work.from it we derive much of what we know about the early Anglo Saxon times.