Excerpt from Sketches of the History of Literature and Learning in England, From the Norman Conquest to the Accession of Elizabeth, Vol. 1 of 2: With Specimens of the Principal Writers -whatever of our literature precedes the Conquest is a root hidden under the earth; the majestic tree, as it exists above ground, and is a visible thing, has all sprung up since that date. In other words, the Saxon literature and language are rather to be accounted among the sources than as a part of the English, to which they have hardly in truth a closer relationship than the Old Latin has to the modern Italian. The Saxon and English are two distinct languages, although the one is in part formed from the other? They are as distinct as the English and French, or the English and German. In the present survey, therefore, such literary remains as have come down to us from the times before the invasion of the Normans may be disposed of in a very brief retro spect. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.