The Heroic Poetry of Dark-Age Britain - An Introduction to Its Dating, Composition, and Use as a Historical Source (Hardcover)

Heroic Poetry provides a wide-ranging introduction to selected aspects of Britain's principal works of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry regarding their dating, method of composition, and use as historical sources. The historical and cultural context in which these poems were composed is recounted by examining court poets and their poetry, and the importance that they were accorded by the warrior-elite for whom they sang. The author also gives a brief review of oral theory and examines the applicability of oral theory to the examples of dark-age poetry. Under consideration is the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf and the Old Welsh poems The Gododdin and the poetry of Taliesin. The dating and transmission of these poems are discussed, plus a wide range of arguments to assign dates for composition. Beowulf's oral genesis is placed in the sixth century and a written version in the early seventh century. The author assigns Gododdin's composition to the mid-sixth century, while Taliesin's poetry is viewed to have been composed ca. 560-80. This book is unique in providing a clear and concise introduction for the heroic poetry of both the Britons and Anglo-Saxons.