Module Identifier EN36320  
Module Title HEROES+DRAGON SLAYERS:LITERATURE AT END OF FIRST MILLENNIUM  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Ms Diane Watt  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   20 Hours Seminar. 10 x 2 hr seminar workshops  
Assessment Semester Exam   2 Hours one 2hour translation and critical commentary class examination   50%  
  Semester Assessment   Continuous Assessment: 1 essay (2,500 words)   50%  
  Supplementary Assessment   Resubmit any failed elements and/or make good any missing elements.    

Learning outcomes

This module aims to:
Introduce students to some of the earliest writing in English
Introduce students to the Old English language (its orthography and pronunciation, syntax at an elementary leval, and vocabulary)
Familiarise students with a range of Old English literary genres
Familiarise students with Anglo-Saxon culture
Encourage students to read early medieval texts historically
Encourage students to apply their critical and analytical skills to early medieval texts

On completion of the module students should be better able to:
Demonstrate that they have acquired a knowledge and understanding of the primary texts on the module and a critical awareness of the broader issues raised by the module
Discuss the texts coherently and write about them in a well-structured and well-argued way.

Brief description

In this module students will read a range of texts from what is the earliest period of English literature. It begins by looking at Archbishop Wulfstan's famous 'Sermon of the Wolf', which describes the apocalyptic anxieties generated by Danish attacks. This provides a starting point for a broader discussion of pagan culture in, and the impact of Christianity on, Anglo-Saxon England. In seminars we will discuss texts in translation which will be ordered thematically and will cover topics such as heroic values, the experience of women, and the interaction of paganism and Christianity. In translation classes we will study Old English at elementary level. NB Only pre-selected passages will be translated from longer texts. On completion of the module students will be expected to have a good understanding and appreciation, not only of the texts covered, but also of Anglo-Saxon history and society. In addition, students should have a basic grounding in the Old English language.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Helen Damico and Alexandra Hennessy Olson (eds.). (1980) New Readings of Women in Old English Literature. Bloomington
Christine Fell. (1984) Women in Anglo-Saxon England. London
Stanley B Greenfield. (1989) Hero and Exile: The Art of Old English Poetry. London
Katherine O'Brien O'Keefe. (1997) Reading Old English Texts. Cambridge
Derek Pearsall. (1977) Old English and Middle English Poetry. London
T. A. Shippey. (1972) Old English Verse. London
Michael Swanton. (1987) English Literature Before Chaucer. London
S.A.J. Bradley (trans and ed). (1995) Anglo-Saxon Poetry. London, Everyman ISBN0460 875 078
Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson. (1992) A Guide to Old English. 5th. Oxford, Blackwell ISBN 0 631 16657 2
Michael Swanton. (1993) Anglo-Saxon Prose. London, Everyman ISBN 0460 873 415
Michael Alexander. (1983) Old English Literature. Basingstoke
James Campbell. (1991) The Anglo-axons. Harmondsworth
Jane Chance. (1986) Woman as Hero in Old English Literature. Syracuse