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mythology:Titans

WHO WERE TITANS?

Titans, also known as elder gods, were giant and powerful monsters. The twelve Titans were a group of Uranus and Gaea's many children. Uranus hated his children and exiled them to Tartarus, inside Gaea. Infuriated Gaea made a diamond sickle and gave it to one of the Titans, Cronus. Cronus found his father and castrated him in his sleep. Uranus's reign ended, Cronus became the ruler.

 The twelve Titans were: Cronus, Asteria, Astraeus, Atlas, Clymene, Coeus, Crius, Dione, Eos, Epimetheus, Eurybia, Eurynome.

• Cronus: He dethroned his father and became the ruler. His wife was Rhea. To ensure his power, Cronus swallowed his children as they were born. This made the unhappy Rhea to trick him into swallowing a rock instead of Zeus. Cronus was dethroned by Zeus and fled to Italy. He brought the Golden Age to Italy.

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• Atlas: He was the son of Iapetus and Clymene. In the war between Titans and gods, he took the side of Titans. After being defeated in the war, Zeus convicted him to stand on the western side of Gaea and hold Uranus, eternally. He was the Titan god of astronomy and navigation.

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Anglo-Norman literature

 Anglo-Norman literature, also known as Norman-French literature, body of writings in the Old French language as used in medieval England, began with the Norman conquest in 1066. The French invasion in 1066 changed Anglo-Saxon culture of England. French became the language of the court, Latin the language of church, and English became the language of peasants. Prior to the Norman Conquest, the Anglo-Saxon language wasn't considered appropriate for the realm of literature. Anything that was thought to be vaguely important or permanent was penned in Latin. Similarly, after the Norman Conquest, the language spoken at the English courts was always a form of French—a dialect called, unsurprisingly, "Anglo-Norman French."For the English aristocracy, Anglo-Norman became an acquired tongue and its use a test of gentility.

• Anglo-Norman aristocrats loved the old Celtic oral tales sung by Breton storytellers. These tales were called Breton "lays."Breton lays were developed by writers like Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes into the form known as "romance." Romance was the main narrative genre for late medieval readers.

A chivalric romance (from the word "roman" meaning a work in the French vernacular tongue) focuses on knightly adventures (including ethical and spiritual quests), knightly love for and courtesy toward ladies, and the display of martial prowess against powerful, sometimes supernatural foes.

The most famous example of knightly chivalry was the legendary court of King Arthur. Romances, in which a knight must prove his worthiness through bravery and noble deeds, can reflect the social aspirations of members of the lower nobility to rise socially.

Norman kings: 1066- 1154

Norman kings during whose reign we witness influencial events are listed below:

William, the Conquerer (1066-1087) :His father was Robert, the Devil, the Duke of Normandy. William was called by his enemies William, the Bastard cause his parents never married. When he was 7 years old, William lost his father and soon became the Duke of Normandy. He married to his cousin, Matilda of Flanders and the granddaughter of king of France. They had 9 children.

After conquering England in 1066, William replaced Saxon Earls with Norman Barons so that he could rule over both England and part of France. In 1085 a survey was done and recorded in book named " Domesday Book" so William knew exactly what his new kingdom contained.

He also changed the English social system to Feudal System which  means that everything (land, animals, buildings, etc) belongs to the king and others can rent them from king in return of military support. According to this system, the society is like a pyramid at the top of which stands the king, then Barons, knights, and finally peasants and local farmers. In this new system, the defeated Saxons were pushed to the lowest levels.

William died in 1087, and his son William Rufus (the red) came to the throne (1087-1100). He was called red because of his red hair and complexion. William II mysteriouly died out hunting in New Forest. He was very unpopular and many believe that he had been murdered. Rufus had no wife and no children so his brother Henry became the king. He ruled from 1100 to 1135. After Henry I, the Council offered the throne to Stephen, the grandson of the Conquerer. This led England to a civil war cause Henry I wanted his daughter, Matilda, to become the ruler, but the Council considered a woman unfit for ruling the country, so the country divided into two groups: advocates of Stephen and advocates of Matilda.

Stephen started his reign in 1135, and after one year the civil war began. In 1139, Matilda landed in England. In 1141, Stephen was briefly taken prisoner and Matilda declared the "Lady of English" until she was defeated at the battle of Farringdon in 1145. Finally, she agreed to end the war on this condition that his son Henry becomes the next king of England. 

History :Norman

Previously, we saw that Normans conquered England under William. Before discussing Norman effects on English, it's good to know a little about their origin.

Normans or Norsemen were Germanic people of Denmark and Scandinavia. Normans, also Vikings, were great warriors and sea-farers. During the 9th and 10th centuries, they attacked European countries, like England. Normans were militarily three centuries ahead of England through the massive use of horses ( cavalry ) and archers against England's infantry with old-fashioned swords, axes, and spears. In A.D. 911, king of France, Charles, the Simple, asked this barbarian tribe to settle in the north of France under French rule. After that, this territory was called Normandy and its settlers as Normans. They adopted French culture, became Christians, and could achieve a high degree of civilisation. Normans had a tendency for building castles which were built by French stone masons. They, also, had a love of hunting that left some gorgeous forestry blocks and caused construction of hundreds of hunting lodges around the country.

 

Norman castles

classical mythology: Uranus & Gaia

English literature has been directly influenced by classical mythology which is epics and tales of the ancient Greece and Rome. Greek written myths dates back about 8th century B.C. , while Roman ones were not written until the 1st B.C. Ovid and Virgil were two of the Roman greatest authors on this subject.

Greek people believed that it was not gods who created the world, but universe actually created gods and goddesses. They believed that before this world came into existence, there was in its place a confused mass of shapeless elements called Chaos. These elements, then, resolved themselves into two different substances: the lighter which was higher formed the sky, and the solid substance beneath that was the earth, or in other words, two great Greek deities: Uranus and Gaia.

Uranus, or Father Heaven, represented the light and air of heaven, possessing the distinguishing qualities of light, heat, purity, and omnipresence.

Gaia was worshiped as a Mother. There was scarcely a city in Greece which did not contain a temple erected in her honour; indeed Gaia was held in such veneration that her name was always invoked whenever the gods took a solemn oath, made an emphatic declaration, or implored assistance.

 

history4: 1016-1066

After defeating Edmund Ironside, Canute came to the throne of England.Actually, he was the king of Denmark, England, Norway, and parts of Sweden, together often referred to as the Anglo-Scandinavian or North Sea Empire. In 1018, Canute arranged for a massive Danegeld to be paid to the Viking fleet,and the Viking army returned home leaving just a small number of ships under the control of Canute.  He was a great king who united Anglo-Saxons and Danes. His reigned from 1016 to 1035.

When Canute died in 1035, his son Harold Harefoot seized the throne. Harold died in 1040 at Oxford leaving the English throne open for his brother, Hathacanute to claim. As Hathacanute had no wife, thus no heir, he invited Edward,the Confessor,who the Chronicle notes was Harthacnut's brother on his mother's side, to return from Normandy to England. Edward's reign lasted 14 years (1042- 1066). He was a Saxon. His father was Aethelred (or Ethelred), the Unready and his mother was Emma, Aethelred's second wife. He had been brought up in Normandy and was more French than English. The two main points of Edward's reign are perhaps the rival importances of the House of Godwine and of the Normans. The Godwines (Godwine, earl since 1018, and his daughter Edith, who married the king, and sons Swein, Harold, Tostig, Gyrth, Leofwine, and Wulfnoth) at times controlled much of the country.In fact, Edward was a weak king who was instrumental in bringing England under the rule of the Normans. He died in 1066. As he had no son, the English national essembly, the Witan, chose Harold, son of Godwine, the Saxon Earl of Wessex, as the king of England. But as Harold was not of royal blood, William, the Duke of Normandy, and king of Norway claimed for the throne of England. Norwegian forces landed in Northumbria. As Harold was fighting with them in north, Norman army landed in south. Harold defeated Norwegians and hurried south, but his armies were exhausted of long march. Harold, though deserted but the northern earls, fought bravely in famous battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. Harold was mortally wounded, and William seized the throne of England.

Saxon kings

Some of Saxon kings whose reign was of historical and social importance are:

Offa (reign:757-796) , King of Mercia, was the first ruler to be called "king of the English". He seized the power after a civil war, and established supremacy over many lesser kings and consolidated his position by marrying his daughters to the kings of Wessex and Northumbria.The English penny was introduced during Offa's reign.

Alfred, the Great, (reign:871-899) is the next and probably the most important Anglo-Saxon king. He was the 5th son of Aethelwulf, king of the Wessex.He reigned from 871 to 899.When he was younger, Danes started attacking England.In 867,Danes established their own kingdom in southern Northumbria and conquered East Anglia and Mercia.In 870, they attacked Wessex, but Alfred defeated them in 878 at the Battle of Edington. He was not only a great king, but a great literary figure.He took part in translating some necessary books with historical, philosophical, and religious matters from Latin into Anglo-Saxon.Alfred was a patron to "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", and it is said that some parts of this chronicle are written by himself.He died in 890, but his successors could subdue other Saxon kings and unified England.

Ethelred, the Unready, (reign:979-1013 and 1014-1016) was one of the worst kings of England.During his reign, Danes started invading England,again.Ethelred used diplomatic ways to defended the country.He allied with the duke of Normandy in 991, and tried to buy off renewed attacks with a tax called the "Danegeld".In 1013, he fled to Normandy but came back in 1014, and died in 1016.

Ethelred's son, Edmund Ironside,fought bravely against Danes, but he was defeated by Cnut(Canute) .He was the last Saxon king before Danes.His reign was from April 1016 to November 1016 and died in 1016.

 

Caedmon's hymn

Cædmon was an illiterate cow-herd who miraculously was able to recite a Christian song of creation in Old English verse. This miracle happened after Cædmon left a feast when they were passing a harp around for all to sing a song. He left the hall after feeling ashamed that he could not contribute a song. Later in a dream he said a man appeared to him and asked him to sing a song. Cædmon responded that he could not sing, yet the man told him that he could and asked him to “Sing to me the beginning of all things.” Cædmon was then able to sing verses and words that he had not heard of before.

And now Caedmon's Hymn in Old English and modernised form:

Beowulf

For reading the Old English version of Beowulf, you can copy the link below and paste it on your browser:

http://northvegr.org/sagas%20annd%20epics/epic%20poetry/beowulf/001.html

And for reading the summary and analysis,this one:

http://www.sparknotes.com/free-pdfs/uscellular/download/beowulf.pdf

anglo-saxon literature

Anglo-Saxon literature is almost wholly verse which was passed orally from generation to generation.Anglo-Saxon literature, also known as Old English, can be divided into two parts: pre-Christian period and post-Christian period.

The dominant genre of Pre-Christian period is epic poetry, and the most famous work of this period is "Beowulf" about which I will explain in next posts. The other famous poems of this period are "Deor", "The Wanderer", "The Seafarer", and other poems. In these works, a happy past is contrasted with a precarious and desolate present. The "Finnsburgh" fragment, "The Battle of Maldon", and "The Battle of Brunanburh", are among war poems which are all based on historical episodes, mainly celebrate great heroism.

Post-Christian period as it is obvious from the name is the period in which Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity.