Old English
English, as we know it, descends from the language spoken by the north Germanic tribes who settled in England
from the 5th century A.D. onwards. They had no writing (except runes, used as charms) until they learned the Latin
alphabet from Roman missionaries. The earliest written works in Old English (as their language is now known to
scholars) were probably composed orally at first, and may have been passed on from speaker to speaker before
being written. We know the names of some of the later writers (Cædmon, Ælfric and King Alfred) but most
writing is anonymous. Old English literature is mostly chronicle and poetry - lyric, descriptive but chiefly narrative
or epic.