Evidence for Anglo-Saxon culture in post-conquest England in King Horn

Abstract

Through the examination of an early Middle English romance called King Horn, my thesis explores how Anglo-Saxon traditions continued through the Norman Conquest despite changes in language, literature and culture. I use various theories of transmission of texts in the four medieval versions of the story and in the three King Horn manuscripts in relation to historical context and genre. Through comparison to Old English battle poetry and elegies, I illustrate the connections in King Horn to earlier Germanic traditions as evidence for continuation of Anglo-Saxon society in new forms of literature and a new culture.