Our Catholic Heritage in English Literature of Pre-Conquest Days

Our Catholic Heritage in English
Literature of Pre-Conquest Days

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Catholic Heritage in English
Literature
of Pre-Conquest Days, by Emily Hickey This eBook is for the use of
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Title: Our Catholic Heritage in English Literature of Pre-Conquest
Days
Author: Emily Hickey
Release Date: October 1, 2005 [EBook #16785]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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OUR CATHOLIC HERITAGE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE OF
PRE-CONQUEST DAYS
Transcriber's Note: The author's inconsistent chapter descriptions and
spelling of proper names have been preserved.
[Illustration: DEATH OF ST BEDE. (From the Original Picture at St
Cuthbert's College, Ushaw.) [_Frontispiece_]
OUR CATHOLIC HERITAGE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
BY EMILY HICKEY
WITH FRONTISPIECE IN COLOUR AND FOUR FULL PAGE
ILLUSTRATIONS.
London SANDS & CO. 15 KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN
AND EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW
1910
To
THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER
THIS LITTLE BOOK IS INSCRIBED BY HIS GRACE'S KIND AND
VALUED PERMISSION.
_June, 1910._

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
The beginnings of Literature in England. Two poets of the best period
of our old poetry, Caedmon and Cynewulf. The language they wrote in.
The monastery at Whitby. The story of Caedmon's gift of song. page 15

CHAPTER II
Caedmon and his influence. Poem, "Genesis." "The Fall of the Angels."
"Exodus." English a war-loving race. Destruction of the Egyptians.
Fate and the Lord of Fate. 24
CHAPTER III
Allegory. Principle of comparison important in life, language, literature.
Early use of symbolism; suggested reasons for this. Poem of the
Phoenix. Allegorical interpretation of the story. Celtic influence on
English poetry. Gifts of colour, fervour, glow. Various gifts of various
nations enriching one another. 31
CHAPTER IV
Prose-writing. St Bede the Venerable. His love of truth. His industry
and carefulness. Cuthbert's account of his last days. "Bede whom God
loved". 42
CHAPTER V
King Alfred, first layman to be a great power in literature; man of
action; of thought; of endurance. Freedom first great possession;
afterwards learning and culture. Alfred a loyal Son of the Church.
Founder of English prose. Earliest literature of a nation in verse; why.
Influence of Rome on Alfred. 48
CHAPTER VI
Decay of learning in England. Revival under Alfred. His translations.
Edits English Chronicle. His helpers. Some of his sayings. Missionary
spirit. "Alfred commanded to make me". 55
CHAPTER VII
Some of greatest pre-Conquest poetry associated with name of

Cynewulf. Guesses about him. Little known. Probably
North-countryman, eighth century, an educated man. Finding of the
Cross. Elene, story of St Helena's mission. Constantine goes to fight
invaders. Vision of the Cross. Victory. Journey of St Helena, and
search for the Cross. The Finding. 64
CHAPTER VIII
The Poet's love of the Cross: how he saw it in a double aspect. The
dream of the Holy Rood. The Ruthwell Cross. 73
CHAPTER IX
"Judith," a great poem founded on Scripture story. Authorship
uncertain. Part of it lost. Quotations from it. Description of Holofernes'
banquet as a Saxon feast. Story of Judith dwelt on to encourage
resistance to Danes and Northmen. 83
CHAPTER X
Byrthnoth, the leader of the East Angles against Anlaf the Dane.
Refusal to pay unjust tribute. Heroic fight. 90
CHAPTER XI
The literature of one people owes a debt to that of others. Help-bringers.
Great work of Benedictine monks. Our debt to Ireland. The English
Chronicle's account of the Martyrdom of St Ælfeah. 97
CHAPTER XII
Abbot Ælfric, writer of Homilies, Lives of Saints, and other works.
Wulfstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. 104
CHAPTER XIII
Love of books is love of part of God's world. In books we commune

with the spirit of their writers. The Church the mother of all Christian
art and literature. Catholic literature saturated with Holy Scripture. 110
CHAPTER XIV
Scattering of our old MSS. in Sixteenth Century. Some now in Public
Libraries. Collections, Exeter book and Vercelli Book. 114
CHAPTER XV
Runes. An early love poem. 118

ILLUSTRATIONS
DEATH OF SAINT BEDE Frontispiece WHITBY ABBEY Page 19
KING ALFRED THE GREAT 48
THE RUTHWELL CROSS 80
THE ALFRED JEWEL 114
A SAXON SHIP 114

FOREWORDS
This little book makes no claim to be a history of pre-Conquest
Literature. It is an attempt to increase the interest which Catholics may
well feel in this part of the great 'inheritance of their fathers.' It is not
meant to be a formal course of reading, but a sort of talk, as it were,
about beautiful things said and sung in old days: things which to have
learned to love