Timeline of English Literature and Culture: 800-1674
Anglo-Saxon Culture (800-1066)
Danes Migrate to England (800 AD)
- 597: Rome sent Saint Augustine with 40 monks.
- 650: All of England was Christian.
30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry have survived to this day. Anglo-Saxon monasteries were copying books from Rome and producing new ones in both Latin and Anglo-Saxon. During that period, the 5th invaders of England (Danes, also known as the Vikings) arrived. Books were ripped in pieces for their rich ornaments, and monks were slaughtered.
The strongest opponent of the Vikings was King Alfred the Great (849-899).
- 878: Battle of Edington
- Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
Norman England (1066-1154)
The word “Norman” was a modification of “Northman.”
The Norman Conquest of England (in Britain, often called “the Norman Conquest” or “the Conquest”) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French soldiers led by Duke William II of Normandy, later styled William the Conqueror.
When Edward died without an heir in January 1066, his throne was claimed by three people:
- Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex
- William, Duke of Normandy
- Harald Hardrada, King of Norway
William brought to England with him from France:
- Feudalism
- French Language (ruling class) – English was the language for the common man.
- The figure of the knight, the mounted warrior who became the chief symbol of the code of chivalry.
- The fourth major importation was sacred drama: The resurrection of Christ is celebrated.
King William I (1028-1087), William II (1087-1100), Henry I (1100-1135), Stephen (1135-1154).
The Elizabethan Age
Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
She did not marry. One of the first measures she took was to establish a Protestant church independent of Rome, which would later evolve into the current Church of England, of which she became the highest authority.
The best English literary work of the 15th century was a prose work, the most important English prose called The Birth, Life, and Acts of King Arthur (Morte d’Arthur), written by Sir Thomas Malory while he was in prison.
Post-Elizabethan England
In 1603, with her death, the Elizabethan age is generally considered England’s golden age.
Elizabeth’s reign saw great achievements, principally the defeat of Spain (the Armada) and the establishment of England as Europe’s foremost sea power. There were three main bodies of believers in England:
- Catholics
- Anglicans
- Puritans
The Anglicans did not recognize the supremacy of the Pope. The center of the Anglican Church was Canterbury, not Rome. The head was the King of England, not the Pope. The language was English, not Latin. Puritans were a Protestant community.
- 1605: “Don Quixote de la Mancha” was published in Spanish by Miguel Cervantes.
- 1612: Don Quixote was translated into English by Thomas Shelton.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
The First Giant of English Literature
He was the first national poet of England. The decline of feudalism brought about two fundamental social changes: the appearance of a middle class and the elevation of the social status of the masses.
The Magna Carta is a document in which the King promised never again to commit certain arbitrary actions without first asking the nobles.
He introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of five accents in iambic meter (heroic couplet). He is the first great poet who wrote in the English language. He established English as the literary language of the country. He did much in making the dialect of London the standard for modern English speech.
The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde are the greatest works in Middle English by almost universal accord.
John Milton (1607-1674)
Milton is considered the third giant of English literature after Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare. He was born in London and was eight years old when Shakespeare died. When he was a teenager, he had already mastered Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
Milton was a wealthy person but never lazy.
First poems: L’Allegro, Il Penseroso
- By 1665, he had finished Paradise Lost (1667), generally considered the greatest poem in the English language. Milton divided Paradise Lost into 12 books.
- Paradise Regained