666

'Why, how call you those grunting brutes running about on their four legs?' demanded Wamba.

"Swine, fool, swine,' said the herd;

'every fool knows that.' "And swine is good Saxon,' said the jester; 'but how call you the sow when she is flayed and drawn and quartered, and hung up by the heels like a traitor?'

66 'Pork,' answered the swine herd.

“I am very glad

every fool knows that, too,' said Wamba, and pork, I think, is good Norman-French; and so when the brute lives, and is in charge of a Saxon slave, she goes by her Saxon name; but becomes a Norman, and is called pork, when she is carried to the castle-hall to feast among the nobles; what dost thou think of this, friend Gurth, ha ?'

"It is but too true doctrine, friend Wamba, however it got into a fool's pate!'

"Now I can tell you more,' said Wamba, in the same tone; 'there is old Alderman Ox continues to hold his Saxon epithet while he is under the charge of serfs and bondsmen such as thou, but becomes Beef, a fiery French gallant, when he arrives before the worshipful jaws that are destined to consume him. Mynheer Calf, too, becomes Monsieur de Veau in the like manner; he is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman name when he becomes matter of enjoyment.'"

The fusion of the Norman and Saxon languages was not effected until the fourteenth century. From that time until the present, our English speech has been extending its vocabulary, casting off local and dialectic peculiarities, abandoning old inflections, and more thoroughly blending its component elements. But, despite the influence of language upon national character and the destructive processes of time, the English people have preserved two distinct types of character. The Norman's adherence to the laws of caste and his conservatism are still displayed by the aristocracy of England; while the democratic spirit of the old Saxon is seen in the open-hearted hospitality of the English commoner and in his resolute ambition to obtain the fullest rights of citizenship for all.

CHAPTER II.

ENGLISH LITERATURE BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

FOR

OR more than fourteen centuries the thoughts and feelings of the English people have found expression in the same language which we now speak. The rude dialects that were brought to Britain by our forefathers, though differing in many particulars, were like the modern English in all essential respects. This venerable language has undergone many changes and modifications, has been affected by strong foreign influences, has stripped itself of many of its inflections, has acquired a vast vocabulary, has passed from youth to maturity. Between its youth and its maturity there has been wonderful growth, but the identity remains. The modern English is the Anglo-Saxon developed.

It is customary to use the terms "Anglo-Saxon," "Semi-Saxon," and "English," to designate three periods in the history of our language; but as the use of the first two of these terms might tempt us to think that we are considering a foreign language and literature, when we are considering merely the old fashions of our own speech, we shall do well to avoid the temptation by adopting the following form of division:

1. The Old English, from the dawn of the language until 1154. 2. The Middle English, from 1154 until about 1500.

3. The Modern English, from about 1500 to the present time. It cannot be incorrect to apply the term "English" to even the first of these periods, for the renowned King Alfred, writing in the ninth century, uses that very term in describing his language.* The old English was highly inflected in its grammar, and had few words adopted from foreign languages. The middle English is the name we give to that period of transition in which the speech of

* Elfred Kyning was wealhstod thisse bec, and hie of boclædene on Englisc wende. "Elfred King was commentator of this book, and it from book-language into English turned."

the Normans was exerting its influence upon our language. During this period a few complicated forms of grammatical structure were abandoned, and the vocabulary was largely increased.

In the modern English the changes have been slight. The printing-press has stereotyped the language.

OLD ENGLISH POETRY.

No other spoken language of modern Europe has a literature as ancient as the English. Its earliest extant writing is an epic poem of more than six thousand lines, entitled Beowulf. The scene of its action indicates that it was composed by Saxons who had not yet invaded England, though a few scholars attempt to give the poem an English birth-place in the county of Durham.

In their primitive home, when the banqueting-hall (the “meadbench ") was filled, the gleeman stirred the courage of his listeners by the recital of the superhuman deeds of the mighty Beowulf. A's the story runs, King Hrothgar and his chosen subjects were wont to sit in his great hall listening to music, and drinking for their pleasure; but their pleasure was disturbed by their fear of Grendel, a grim and terrible giant, who dwelt in the neighboring marshes of Jutland. This monster would come into the palace at times to see "how the doughty Danes found themselves after their beer-carouse." On the occasion of his first visit he slew thirty sleeping men. For twelve years he was the terror of the land. At last the pitiful story came to the ears of Beowulf, a viking who was noted for his victories over the giants of the deep. He resolved to go to the relief of Hrothgar. Entering the haunted hall, he promised to fight the monster. When the mists of the night arose, Grendel came, and commenced a ferocious assault upon a sleeping Beowulf faced him, fought him valiantly, and wounded him so that he died. Then there was great rejoicing. But the joy was soon dispelled, for the mother of the monster came to seek revenge. Beowulf pursued her into deep, dark waters, where he was seized and dragged to the bottom of her cave; but he was able to let her soul out of its bone-house ("ban-hus ").

man.

A description of this poem is comparatively uninstructive and valueless without an illustration of its quaint thought and its