2007-01-16 12:43:41 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Most people will say "Beowulf" since it is the first epic poem recorded in Old English. However, the action of Beowulf is not set in England - it's set in Scandinavia. The hero is a Geat, from what is now Sweeden, who travels to Denmark, where most of the action takes place, and then home again.
Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" are set in medieval England (14th century England to be exact), but Chaucer was writing prose, not poetry.
"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" *could* be said to be set in England, but as it is what we would call fantasy today, I'm not sure that counts.
"The Battle of Maldon" (written around the beginning of the 11th century) is probably a better choice, but both the beginning and the end of it are missing, and it is not well known.
Both the "Mabinogion" and the "Gododdin" might be contenders for this title, dealing as they do with battles and stories that include the earliest references to Arthur, but they are written in Welsh, so I'm not sure that's what you're looking for either.
Frankly, the very difficulty I am having here is part of the reason the J.R.R. Tolkien wrote "The Lord of the Rings". He wanted to give the English people a mythology of their own.
2007-01-17 15:18:20 · answer #1 · answered by Elise K 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Beowulf
2007-01-16 12:47:33 · answer #2 · answered by fatherf.lotski 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
2007-01-16 12:57:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You might be looking for "Beowulf." It's sometimes referred to as England's national epic.
2007-01-16 12:50:44 · answer #4 · answered by Just Me Alone 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'm afraid novels did not even exist lower back then. the unconventional did not exist as a sort in Europe till around 4 hundred-500 years later than your e book is desperate. keep in mind that books weren't heavily produced then. there replace into no publishing industry and no printing - books have been handwritten and in my view crafted to reserve. the only people who owned books have been very prosperous and that they have got been very quite often Bibles.
2016-10-07 06:37:35 · answer #5 · answered by kroner 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Famous Epic Poem
2017-02-27 08:34:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Beowulf?
2007-01-16 12:46:43 · answer #7 · answered by Rabbit 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's quite a few of them. Could you be more specific?
2007-01-16 12:47:14 · answer #8 · answered by Jess H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Sir Gawain & the Green Knight" or "Beowolf"
2007-01-16 12:55:37 · answer #9 · answered by digital_diva1976 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋