ng forth from the den of the barbarian lioness."

The history of Gildas, although not of much statistical value, sounds a
clear Celtic note against all invaders, and displays in many parts
characteristic outlines of the British people.

ST. COLUMBANUS.--St. Colm, or Columbanus, who was born in 521, was the
founder and abbot of a monastery in Iona, one of the Hebrides, which is
also called Icolmkill--the Isle of Colm's Cell. The Socrates of that
retreat, he found his Plato in the person of a successor, St. Adamnan,
whose "Vita Sancti Columbae" is an early work of curious historical
importance. St. Adamnan became abbot in 679.

A backward glance at the sparse and fragmentary annals of the Celtic
people, will satisfy us that they have but slight claims to an original
share in English literature. Some were in the Celtic dialects, others in
Latin. They have given themes, indeed, to later scholars, but have left
little trace in form and language. The common Celtic words retained in
English are exceedingly few, although their number has not been decided.
They form, in some sense, a portion of the foundation on which the
structure of our literature has been erected, without being in any manner
a part of the building itself.

CHAPTER III.

ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE AND HISTORY.

The Lineage of the Anglo-Saxon. Earliest Saxon Poem. Metrical
Arrangement. Periphrasis and Alliteration. Beowulf. Caedmon. Other
Saxon Fragments. The Appearance of Bede.

THE LINEAGE OF THE ANGLO-SAXON.

The true origin of English literature is Saxon. Anglo-Saxon is the mother
tongue of the English language, or, to state its genealogy more
distinctly, and to show its family relations at a glance, take the
following divisions and subdivisions of the

TEUTONIC CLASS.
|
.--------------------+-------------------.
| | |
High German branch. Low German branch. Scandinavian branch.
|
Dead | Languages.
.----------+--------------+-------------+------------.
| | | | |
Gothic. Old Dutch. Anglo-Saxon. Old Frisian. Old Saxon.
|
English.

Without attempting an analysis of English to find the exact proportion of
Saxon words, it m