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Chapter One English literature in the Anglo-Saxon
Period
I. Early Prose Writing
The Old English prose
began from the latter part of the Anglo-Saxon period. It was written in
Latin, sometimes known as Anglo-Latin works. In Old English period, a large
number of religious works were written in prose. Among the early writers,
Aldhelm or Ealdhelm(639-709) of the second half of the 7th century,
Alcuin
of the latter part of the 8th century(735-804), and the most famous, the
Venerable Bede of
Jarrow in Northumbria in the end of the 7th and the
beginning of the 8th century should be mentioned. In the 7th and 8th
century, English culture center was in the north, especially in the
Northumbria, in which the Northumrian School represents the climax in early
literature period. And the Venerable Bede and Alcuin were leaders in this
school. In the 9th and 10th century, the center of learning changed to the
south, to the kingdom of Wessex, where King Alfred was the most well known
character in prose writing. Another prose writer, Aelfric (955-1010), who
wrote in the final years of the 10th century and the early years of the 11th
century, is considered as the greatest prose writer between King Alfred and
the Norman Conquest in 1066. In his life, he wrote a great deal of religious
works and translated Latin books into English. He translated or explained
parts of the Bible and wrote an article
“Concerning the Old and New
Testament”, which was regarded as an introduction to the contents of the
Bible in Old English. He also wrote some sermons with the title of
Homiliae Catholicae that overviewed biblical and Christian history. All
the sermons contain alliterative verses, written in prose. Besides that, he
wrote a textbook named Colloquium (Dialogue), which reflects the
living conditions of that age.
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