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English ancient literature stories

I am looking for books for ancient English literature stories thanks
ArishMell · 70-79, M
Depends on what you class as "ancient" but perhaps the two best-known works of early English fiction are Mediaeval, and probably:

- Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, an anthology written in the late 15C, of the tales in of a story-telling competition among pilgrims entertaining each other on their way to Thomas a Becket's shrine in the titular cathedral.

Chaucer, who rose to become a high-ranking civil-servant, was extremely important in bringing forth the use of vernacular English literature, instead of the French, Italian or Latin hitherto usual, especially in formal and sacred writings.

...
- Sir Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur, a re-hash of around the same time, considerably re-hashed by later writers, of French and English legends much older than the mid-Mediaeval, knights-in-plate-armour settings often portrayed.

The characters (including "King Arthur") and tales are all fiction but even Mallory's real identity and life were rather vague until fairly recently - when evidence suggests his own was a rather lurid story itself!

...
These writers were not alone though. They had several contemporaries whose names and works are now less familiar. Although these works pre-date it, the invention of printing by William Caxton, and its later development by Gutenberg, must have helped these early books and with the then-modern use of English in novels and poetry, encouraged a flowering of literature, considerably.
DrWatson · 70-79, M
What we call "ancient times" predates the English language.

The first major work in Old English (Anglo Saxon) was Beowulf.
4meAndyou · F
The Canterbury tales is from Medieval times. Ancient English literature is nearly non existent, because the people of ancient England were illiterate. Only certain Monks could read and write in Latin. There is a very old illustrated Irish work called the Book of Kells.
like King Arthur type stories?
mohammedelsidey · 31-35, M
@AliceinWonderland anything related to history of ancient English literature
Thevy29 · 41-45, M
Define Ancient
slowmarch · M
Hi there. A difficult request as is noted by others trying to help. Many writers tended to drift into French or Latin. I'm no expert but checking Amazon U.K. seems to have several books that might help you.
there are no ancient English literature stories
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@Ozymandiaz Depends on what the OP meant as "ancient" but the earliest widely known works were written in the 15C.
@ArishMell so not anceint
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@Ozymandiaz No, I suppose not really, when you think England's roots go back so far! Even the Norman Conquest was less than 1100 years ago, and fighting the Saxon kingdoms.....

Written literature though, apart from laboriously hand-copied Bibles and other liturgical works in the monasteries, and administrative papers including the Domesday Book and the Magna Carta, did not really take off until the invention of printing.
Crazywaterspring · 61-69, M
Ancient? Like needing a translation for something written in Britain? Languages do change.
badminton · 61-69, MVIP
Start with Chaucer's Cantabury Tales.
mohammedelsidey · 31-35, M
@badminton Thanks

 
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