Daily Almanac for

Feb 16, 2012

• Skip Navigation
• Home
• Black History Month
• Atlas
• Encyclopedia
• Dictionary
• Thesaurus
• Features
• Quizzes
• Timelines
• Countries

• World & News
• United States
• History & Gov't
• Biography
• Sports
• Arts & Ent.
• Business
• Calendar & Holidays
• Health & Science
• Homework Center

• Fact Monster Kid's reference,
  games, quizzes

The Early Period

Several poems in early Middle English are extant. The Orrmulum (c.1200), a verse translation of parts of the Gospels, is of linguistic and prosodic rather than literary interest. Of approximately the same date, The Owl and the Nightingale (see separate article) is the first example in English of the débat, a popular continental form; in the poem, the owl, strictly monastic and didactic, and the nightingale, a free and amorous secular spirit, charmingly debate the virtues of their respective ways of life.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print
  • Email
  • Bookmark
    • Add bookmark
    • Add to del.icio.us
    • Digg It!
    • Add to Reddit

Premium Partner Content

Related content from HighBeam Research on: Middle English literature: The Early Period

Geography and English identity in the Middle Ages.('Creation, Migration, and Conquest: Imaginary Geography and Sense of Space in Old English Literature' and 'Angels on the Age of the World: Geography, Literature, and English Community, 1000-1534')(Book review) (College Literature)

The Voice of the Hammer: The Meaning of Work in Middle English Literature (Western Folklore)

Andrew James Johnston, Clerks and Courtiers: Chaucer, Late Middle English Literature and the State Formation Process.(Book Review) (Medium Aevum)

Christopher Cannon, The Grounds of English Literature.(Book review) (Medium Aevum)

Malaysian Literature in English: A Critical Reader.(Book Review) (ARIEL)

Anglicising Romance: Tail-Rhyme and Genre in Medieval English Literature (Arthuriana)

The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature.(Review) (Medium Aevum)

Dee Dyas, Pilgrimage in Medieval English Literature, 700-1500.(Book Review) (Medium Aevum)

Satan Unbound: the Devil in Old English Narrative Literature.(Book Review) (Christianity and Literature)

The French Revolution Debate in English Literature and Culture. (Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900)

Search HighBeam Research for:

Additional search results provided by HighBeam Research, LLC. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.

• 
  • Calculator
  • Spelling Checker
  • Place Finder
  • Distance Calculator
  • Periodic Table
  • Conversion Tool
  • Perpetual Calendar
  • Year by Year

24 X 7

Private Tutor

	24 x 7 Tutor Availability
	Unlimited Online Tutoring
	1-on-1 Tutoring

Explore Algebra , Algebra 1 Help