Handbook of Universal Literature, From the Best and Latest Authorities

by Anne C. Lynch Botta

Many ancient Welsh writings are extant which treat of a wonderful variety of topics, both in prose and verse. The singular pieces called the Triads show a marked character of primitive antiquity. They are collections of historical facts, mythological doctrines, maxims, traditions, and rules for the structure of verse, expressed with extreme brevity, and disposed in groups of three. Among the Welsh metrical remains, some are plausibly assigned to celebrated bards of the sixth century. There is also a considerable stock of old Welsh romances, the most remarkable of which are contained in a series called the "Mabinogi," or Tales of Youth, many of which have been translated into English. Some of these stories are very similar to the older Norse Sagas, and must have sprung from traditions of a very rude and early generation.

2. LATIN LITERATURE.—The Latin learning of the Dark Ages formed a point of contact between instructed men of all countries. At first it was necessarily adopted,—the native tongues being in their infancy; and it was afterwards so tenaciously adhered to, that the Latin literature of the Middle Ages far exceeds in amount all other. Its cultivation in England arose out of the introduction of Christianity, and its most valued uses related to the church.

Almost all who cultivated Latin learning were ecclesiastics, and by far the larger number of those who became eminent in it were natives of Ireland. Amidst the convulsions which followed the fall of the Roman empire, Ireland was a place of rest and safety to fugitives from England and the Continent, and it contained for some centuries a larger amount of learning than could have been collected in all Europe.

With the introduction of the Christian faith each nation became a member of the ecclesiastical community, and maintained its connection with other nations and with Rome as the common centre; thus communication between different countries received a new impulse. The churches and schools of England received many distinguished foreigners, and many of the native churchmen lived abroad. Of the three scholars who held the highest place in the literature of this period—Bede (d. 735), Alcuin (d. 804), and Erigena (d. 884), (celebrated for his original views in philosophy)—the two last gave the benefit of their talents to France. The writings of the Venerable Bede, as he is called, exhibit an extent of classical scholarship surprising for his time, and his "Ecclesiastical History of England" is to this day a leading authority not only for church annals, but for all public events that occurred in the earlier part of the Saxon period.

3. LITERATURE IN THE ANGLO-SAXON TONGUE.—The remains of Anglo-Saxon literature, both in prose and verse, differ essentially from the specimens of a similar age which come down to us from other nations. The ancestral legends, which were at once the poetry and history of their contemporaries, the Anglo-Saxons entirely neglected; they even avoided the choice of national themes for their poetry, which consisted of ethical reflections and religious doctrines or narratives. They eschewed all expression of impassioned fancy, and embodied in rough but lucid phrases practical information and every-day shrewdness.

Among the Anglo-Saxon metrical monuments three historical poems are still preserved, which embody recollections of the Continent, and must have been composed long before the emigrations to England; of these the most important is the tale of "Beowulf," consisting of six thousand lines, which is essentially a Norse Saga.

After the introduction of Christianity there appeared many hymns, metrical lives of the saints, and religious and reflective poems. The most remarkable relics of this period are the works attributed to Caedmon (d. 680), whose narrative poems on scriptural events are inspired by a noble tone of solemn imagination.

The melody of the Saxon verse was regulated by syllabic accent or emphasis, and not by quantity, like the classical metres. Alliteration, or the use of several syllables in the same stanza beginning with the same letter, takes the place of rhyme. The alliterative metres and the strained and figurative diction common to the Anglo-Saxon poets was common to the Northmen, and seems to have been derived from them.

Anglo-Saxon prose was remarkable for its straightforward and perspicuous simplicity, and, especially after the time of Alfred, it had a marked preference over the Latin. Translations were early made from the Latin, particularly versions of parts of the Scriptures, which come next, in point of date, to the Moeso-Gothic translation of Ulphilas, and preceded by several generations all similar attempts in any of the new languages of Europe.

The most important monument of Saxon prose literature is the series of historical records arranged together under the name of "The Saxon Chronicle," which is made up from records kept in the monasteries, probably from the time of Alfred, and brought down to the year 1154.