C. drusende, theah he in medio-healle mathmas thege, aplede gold; Y. gnornode enge rune, thær him E. fore mil-pathas mæt, modig thraegde, wirum ge-wlenced W. is ge-swithrad gomen æfter gearum, geogoth is ge-cyrred, ald onmedla: U. was geara geogoth hades glæm nu synt gear-dagas æfter fyrst-mearce forth-ge-witene líf-wynne ge-liden, Swa L. to-g.ideth flodas ge-fysde. F. æghwam lith læne under lyfte landes frætwe ge-witeth under wolcnum. the bold one sinking, though in the mead-hall he received treasures, dappled gold; he lamented his misery, the enforced comrade suffered close sorrow, a narrow mystery, when the steed before him measured the mile paths, boldly hastened the exultation of youth; life-joys glided away as water glideth, floods hastened: money is to every one mean under the heaven, the ornaments of the land depart under the welkin. WRIGHT's Biog. Brit. Lit., Anglo-Saxon Period, p. 502. 11. Wulfstan-Lupus, Bishop of Worcester and Archbishop of York, d. 1023. (Handbook, pars. 8, 11.) From his Homily on the sufferings inflicted by the Daneswritten in the days of Ethelred-1012. for-dam hit is on us eallum swutol and ge-sene we ær dysan oftor bracon ponne we betton, and Xy is dysse Beode fela onsæge: lange Ne dohte hit nu Therefore it is in us all manifest and seen, that we before this oftener trespassed than made amends, and thereby this people suffers much. There was now no good inne ne ute; ac was here and hunger, neither within nor without; but there was invasion and hunger bryne and blodgyte on ge-wel hwyl- burning and bloodshed on every side cnm ende-oft and ge-lome; and stalu and ewalu, stric and steorfa, orf-cwealm and uncoðu, hol and hete and rypera reaflac derede swyde dearle and us ungylda swyde ge-drehton and us unwedera foroft weoldan unwæstma. For-Bam on Bysum earde was, sua hit Sincan mæg, nu fæla geara unrihta fela and tealte ge-tryw æghwær mid mannum, Ne bearh nu foroft ge-sibb ge-sibban be ma pe fremdan ne fæder his oearne ne hwilum bearn his agenum fæder, ne broder oðrum. Ne ure ænig his lif ne fadode swa swa he sceolde, ne ga-hadode regollice, ne læwede lahlice, ac worhtan lust us to lage ealles to ge--lome and napor ne heoldan ne lare ne lage Godes ne mannaswa swa we sceoldan, ne ænig wið oðerne ge-trywlice Bohte swa rihte swa he scolde, ac mæst ælc swicode and oðrum derede wordes and dæde. one deceived and injured the other the most he could in word and deed. WRIGHT, Biog. Brit. Lit.. Anglo-Saxon Period, p. 50% 12. Anglo-Saxon Science. Night explained and divided. Ure eorthlice niht sothlice on æfnunge under thissere eorthan; Seo niht hæfth seofon æfen-steorra betwux repsunge ealle thing suwiath onheora reste; dæg-rede and sunnan up-gange. Our earthly night truly in the evening under this earth; sun, so that we have not The night has seven one of these parts is crepusculum, even-star shows itself in the little interval between light and dark; the third is conticinium, when all things are silent in their rest; MS. Cotton. Titus D. xxvii., fol. 30-32. WRIGHT, p. 87. 13. Riddles. (See for translation, Handbook, par. 10.) CHAPTER II. ANGLO-NORMAN OR SEMI-SAXON LITERATURE, A.D. 1100-1350. THE twelfth and thirteenth centuries form the era of metrical romances derived directly from French sources, more remotely from the legends of Britain, of Italy, and of Greece. Ballads and minstrelsy are cultivated. The prose-writers of England are chiefly Latin chroniclers. Early in the fourteenth century, romances are written in prose. Italian literature begins to be studied. English begins to exist as a distinct speech. Events that influence our literature are the following:— 14. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, about 1100. (Handbook, pars. 8, 34.) On thisum geare aras seo ungepwærnes on Glæstinga byrig betwyx pam abbode Durstane and his munecan Ærest hit com of pæs abbotes unwis dome he misbead his munecan on fela thingan, and pa munecas hit mændon lufelice to him and beadon hine he sceolde healdan hi rihtlice beon and lufian hi, and hi woldon him beon holde and gehyrsume. In this year arose the discord in Glastonbury betwixt the Abbot Thurstan and his monks. First it came from the Abbot's unwisdom: In that he mis-bade (ruled) his monks in many things and the monks meant it lovingly to him and bade him that he should hold (treat) them rightly and love them and they would be faithful to him and hearsome (obedient). 15. Layamon's Brat, 1150-1250. (Handbook, pars. 20, 35, 300.). The Dream of Arthur. To niht a mine slepe, Me imette that mon me hof Tha halle ich gon bestriden, And Walwain sat biuoren me He bar an his honde Tha halle gon to haelden, Tha seide Modred, Haue that! And seodthen ich heo adun sette At night in my slepe where I lay in bower (chamber) I dreamt a dream Therefore I full sorry am. I dreamt that men lifted me The hall I gan bestride, All the lands that I owned, And the posts all hewed in pieces, [eke, There I saw Wenhaver (the queen i Of women dearest to me; All the mickle hall roof With her hand she drew down ; The hall gan to tumble, And I tumbled to the ground, So that my right arm brake in pieces, Then said Modred, 'Have that!' And Walwain gan to fall And smote off Modred's head, And afterwards I set her down |