It is assumed that extemporary verse or poetry predated the appearance of written prose. The poetry handed down over time was written some 300 years after the poems were composed.

In respect of poets only two names are known and very little else.
The old english period is said to open in the fifth century and conclude around the time of the Norman Conquests in 1066.
The Romans departed Britain in 410 and left them at the mercy of invaders and internal turmoil.