The subject matter of the poetry is principally war, the sea, and religion. The martial spirit and love of the sea are typical of the nation that has raised her flag in every clime. The chief qualities of the poetry are earnestness, somberness, and strength, rather than delicacy of touch, exuberance of imagination, or artistic adornment. The golden period of prose coincides in large measure with Alfred's reign, 871-901, and he is the greatest prose writer. His translations of Latin works to serve as textbooks for his people contain excellent additions by him. AElfric, a tenth century prose writer, has left a collection of sermons, called _Homilies_, and an interesting _Colloquium_, which throws strong lights on the social life of the time. The _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_ is an important record of contemporaneous events for the historian. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER STUDY HISTORICAL In connection with the progress of literature, students should obtain for themselves a general idea of contemporary historical events from any of the following named works:-- Gardiner's_ Students' History of England_. Green's _Short History of the English People_. Walker's _Essentials in English History_. Cheney's _A Short History of England_. Lingard's _History of England_. Traill's _Social England_, Vol. I. Ramsay's _The Foundations of England_. LITERARY _Cambridge History of English Literature_, Vol. I. Brooke's _History of Early English Literature to the Accession of King Alfred_. Morley's _English Writers_, Vols. I. and II. Earle's _Anglo-Saxon Literature_. Ten Brink's Early English Literature, Vol. I. _The Exeter Book_, edited and translated, by Gollancz (Early English Text Society). Gurteen's _The Epic of the Fall of Man: A Comparative Study of Caedmon, Dante, and Milton_. Cook's _The Christ of Cynewulf_. (The _Introduction of 97 pages gives a valuable account of the life and writings of Cynewulf.) Kennedy's_ Translation of the Poems of Cynewulf_. Bede's _Ecclesiastical History of England and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, I vol., translated by Giles in Bohn's _Antiquarian Library_. Snell's _The Age of Alfred._ Pauli's _Life of Alfred_ (Bohn's Antiquarian Library). Gem's _An Anglo-Saxon Abbot: AElfric of Eynsham_. _Mabinogion_ (a collection of Welsh fairy tales and romances, _Everyman's Library_), translated by Lady Charlotte Guest. Pancoast and Spaeth's _Early English Poems_ (abbreviated reference) ("P & S."). Cook and Tinker's _Select Translations from Old English Poetry_ ("C. & T."). Cook & Tinker's _Select Translations from Old English Prose_ ("C. & T. _Prose_"). SUGGESTED READINGS WITH QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS The student who is not familiar with the original Anglo-Saxon should read the translations specified below:-- Scopic Poetry.[33]--_Widsið_ or the _Far Traveler_, translated in Morley's _English Writers_, Vol. II, 1-11, or in C. & T.,[34] 3-8. _The Wanderer_, translated in P. & S., 65-68; C. & T., 50-55; Brooke, 364-367.