CHAPTER III. THE ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD (1066-1350)ballads, like King Horn and the Robin Hood songs, which
were the only poetry of the common people.
SELECTIONS FOR READING.For advanced students, and
as a study of language, a few selections as given in Manly’s
English Poetry and in Manly’s English Prose; or selections
from the Ormulum, Brut, Ancren Riwle, and King Horn,
etc., in Morris and Skeat’s Specimens of Early English. The
ordinary student will get a better idea of the literature of
the period by using the following Sir Gawain, modernized
by J. L. Weston, in Arthurian Romances Series (Nutt); The
Nun’s Rule (Ancren Riwle), modern version by J. Morton, in
King’s Classics; Aucassin and Nicolete, translated by A. Lang
(Crowell & Co.); Tristan and Iseult, in Arthurian Romances;
Evans’s The High History of the Holy Grail, in Temple Clas-
sics; The Pearl, various modern versions in prose and verse;
one of the best is Jewett’s metrical version (Crowell & Co.);
The Song of Roland, in King’s Classics, and in Riverside Lit-
erature Series; Evans’s translation of Geoffrey’s History, in
Temple Classics; Guest’s The Mabinogion, in Everyman’s Li-
brary, or S. Lanier’s Boy’s Mabinogion (i.e. Welsh fairy tales
and romances); Selected Ballads, in Athenæum Press Series,
and in Pocket Classics; Gayley and Flaherty’s Poetry of the
People; Bates’s A Ballad Book
BIBLIOGRAPHY.^62
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
- What did the Northmen originally have in common with
the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes? What brought about the
remarkable change from Northmen to Normans? Tell briefly
(^62) For titles and publishers of reference books see GeneralBibliography at the
end of this book.