Short notes on "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" and "The Sea Farer"

                  When we talk about the Anglo-Saxon period, "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles" is the only prose work which records the story from the start of Christian Era to the reign of King Stephen in the 12th century. It was inspired, sponsored and written by King Alfred. Not only King Alfred, some monks also contributed to this prose work. In each of the pages we will get the story of destruction caused by fire and sword. The most popular stories are of Cynewulf and Caedmon and also the story of "The Battle of Brunanburh". We can say that it is a landmark prose writing of that time.

                      If we  talk about Anglo-Saxon elegiac poems, "The Sea Farer" is the first name which comes to our mind. The very beginning of the poem is very simple and straight forward. It is a kind of monologue where a dialogue between two persons are presented. The first one is an old man who has already experienced the troubles of the sea life and the second one is an young man who wants to go to the sea for adventure. The old man is trying to explain the hurdles and obstacles he faced during his sea- life, so that the young man can change his decision. But as the poem progresses, the theme completely changed. It becomes a comparison between materialistic pleasure and heavenly pleasure. The poem has 100 lines and is divided into two parts. The second part is quite difficult to understand as it intoduces an allegory. However, the poem is remarkable and popular for its adventurous and romantic elements.