3. Old English³Literature （449-1066）

The earliest form of English literature developed after the settlement of the Saxons and other Germanic tribes in England after the withdrawal of the Romans and is known as Old English or Anglo-Saxon.

The epic poem Beowulf ⁴is the most famous work in Old English. A hero of the Geats, Beowulf battles three antagonists: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a Dragon. The only surviving manuscript is the Nowell Codex. The precise date of the manuscript is debated, but most estimates place is close to the year 1000.

Chronicles contained a range of historical and literary accounts; one notable example is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which contains various heroic poems inserted throughout.

The Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity after their arrival in England. A popular poem, The Dream of the Rood , was inscribed upon the Ruthwell Cross. Judith is a retelling of the story found in the Latin Bible’s Book of Judith of the beheader of the Assyrian general Holofernes. The Old English Martyrology is a Mercian collection of hagiographies.