British Literature II Pétur Knútsson: first 4 weeks Aug- Sep 2015.

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Transcript of British Literature II Pétur Knútsson: first 4 weeks Aug- Sep 2015.

British Literature II

Pétur Knútsson:first 4 weeks

Aug- Sep 2015

Pétur

Martin

Guðrún

Reading week

5

Potted History:Languages in

England

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Potted History:Languages in England

Romano- Celtic

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Romano- Celtic English

Potted History:Languages in England

Latin

Romano- Celtic

0 500 1000 1500 2000

English

Norse

Potted History:Languages in England

Latin

Romano- Celtic

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Potted History:Languages in England

English

Norse

Latin

French

-12000 -6000 -2000

Potted History:Language ...

-40,000 years (cave paintings); 70,000 (clothes)

http://www.greenfudge.org/2014/05/09/climate-change-whatever-became-of-doggerland-dreams/

http://thenaturalhistorian.com/2012/07/08/doggerland-sea-level-rise-human-migration-dispersal-creationism-ice-age/

First 4 weeks : medieval literature(“British”?)

• Most distant; most alien.• hermeneutics - as scriptural interpretation• hermeneutics - as the attempt at avoiding, in

our understanding of the past, those ideas and sets of mind which belong only to the present

sword - king – sun – love - truth

• Relevance for us?

What relevance does the study of medieval literature have for us?• Simple hermeneutical answer: the world was not

created this morning. We need to know how it got this way.

• Less simple, more satisfying: if... hermeneutics the attempt at avoiding, in our understanding of the past, those ideas and sets of mind which belong only to the present ...

... then we have to become aware of these later concepts ...

... which means we are actually studying ourselves

Becoming aware of our concepts ...

sword – king – sun – love – truth Writing! Books! Literacy! Cædmon (we’ll come back to Cædmon...)