Download BEOWULF and the Anglo

BEOWULF
and the
Anglo-Saxon
Period
Anglo-Saxon Timeline
• Before we look at the Anglo-Saxon culture and
Beowulf, we need to understand what
happened before, during and after the time
period
• Anyone know anything about the AngloSaxon time period or culture???
The Celts in Britain
Before and during the
4th century B.C.
 Britain home to several
Celtic tribes
 Britain named for one of
the Celtic tribes –
Brythons
 Celtic religion is a form of

animism
Druids were Celtic priests
The Roman Occupation
55 B.C.
Hadrian’s Wall
Julius Caesar invades Britain
A.D. 43
Celts defeated by Claudius
• Romans build walls, villas,
baths, roads
A.D. 409
Romans evacuate their troops
• Britain left vulnerable to attack
• Central government breaks down
Roman ruins
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
Jutes
Angles
Celts
Saxons
A.D. 449 The Anglo-Saxons push the Celts
into the far west of the country.
King Alfred against the Danes
8th–9th centuries
Vikings called Danes
invade Britain
871 Alfred of Wessex
is king of England.
878 King Alfred unifies
Anglo-Saxons against
the Danes.
England becomes a nation.
King Sweyn and his Danish troops
arrive in England, from a
manuscript (c. 14th century)
The Norman Invasion
1066
• William of Normandy crosses the English
Channel
• William defeats Harold and Anglo-Saxon army
• French replaces
English as the
language of the
ruling class
The Norman Invasion,
Bayeux Tapestry
The Spread of Christianity
Around A.D. 400
• Christian monks
settle in Britain
• Christianity and
Anglo-Saxon
culture co-exist
By A.D. 699
• British pagan
religions replaced by
Christianity
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion
Anglo-Saxon Society
• kinship groups led by
strong warrior chief
• people farmed,
established local
governments,
produced fine
craftwork
• English emerged as a
written language
Similarity to
Arthurian,
Charlemagne,
Celtic, Viking
societies and
literatures
Religion –
Nordic/animist then
Christian
Travel and trade
Social attitudes
Warrior–based society
Focus on the hero, and trial of personal worth
Security and threat – survival in harsh world
Wyrd
Fate – acceptance of the inevitable
Comitatus
Loyalty and responsibility to group
Warrior Code
 Comitatus: Germanic code of loyalty
 Thane: warrior – swears loyalty to the king for
whom they fought and whom they protected
 Kings: generous, protected thanes
 Reputation: thanes were expected to be loyal,
brave, courageous; kings were expected to be
generous and hospitable
 Wergild: “man-payment”; a fee paid to the
family of a slain man to atone for his murder
and to prevent the family from seeking
revenge.
Old English
 Beowulf was written in Old English, an early form of
English
 Old English was spoken in the Middle Ages from
about 6th century to 11th century CE
 In 1066, when William the Conqueror successfully
invaded England, bringing his Norman French
language with him; the nobility began to speak
French, and gradually Old English evolved into
Middle English (1100-1500): “Whan that Aprill, with
his shoures soote/The droghte of March hath perced
to the roote”
 Modern English has been spoken since the
Renaissance – Shakespeare is NOT Old English; he is
Early Modern English
Old English language and literature
• The Wanderer:
Ðonne onwæcneð eft wineleas guma,
gesihð him biforan fealwe wegas,
baþian brimfuglas brædan feþra,
hreosan hrim ond snaw hagle gemenged.
Þonne beoð þy hefigran heortan benne,
sare æfter swæsne
Sorg bið geniwad
Then the friendless man awakes again,
He sees before him fallow waves,
Sea birds bathing, preening their feathers,
Frost and snow fall, mixed with hail.
Then are the heavier the wounds of the heart,
Grievous with longing for the lord. Sorrow is renewed
The Epic Poem
An EPIC is a long
narrative poem which
follows a hero’s struggle
against universal issues.

2 Types of Epics
1.
Folk
–
–
–
–
Told out loud first
(usually by scops)
Unknown author
Unknown dates
(E.g.—Beowulf is a
folk epic because we
don’t know who
wrote it)
2. Literary
– Known author
– (E.g.– Paradise Lost,
by John Milton is a
literary epic because
we know who wrote
it.)
Elements of an Epic
Epic hero– an character with a trait or
characteristic that is valued by his society.
1.
•
(E.g.– Superman’s bravery or valor)
Quest– A journey through which the character
or the reader learns something
3. Valorous Deeds– Doing something bravely.
4. Divine Intervention– The hand of God (or
gods) help the hero, proving his value.
5. Great events– The hero has a hand in
something important in the history or
mythology of a culture.
2.
3 Epic Conventions
1. Invoke a muse
– Muse– inspiration provided by the gods
2. Plot begins in medias res
– In medias red– “In the middle of” the action
3. Serious tone
Not necessary to have all on these, but
need most at least
Other Epics
Gilgamesh (Babylonian,
unknown)
The Odyssey (Greek, Homer)
The Iliad (Greek, Homer)
But what was an aspiring author to do?
Especially if nobody can read !
Epics: An oral tradition
Many epics were
not originally
written down by
their authors.
Instead, they
were memorized
and retold or
sung by
wandering
entertainers.
• Some sections of epics were retold from
time to time. It helped the storyteller
learn the epic and also caught up any
audience member who may have
missed a part.
The Storytellers
The names changed by area:
• Scop (pronounced
shop) in Anglo-Saxon
lands
• Troubadours in France
• Minnesingers in
Germany
The Storytellers
These entertainers
also served to bring
news from other
areas. Often, if a
heroic deed had
occurred in the
area, it might be
blended into the
stories he told.
Changing Stories
• Other influences also
played a part in
changing the epics.
• The text of Beowulf
shows both Norse pagan
belief and Christianity,
often in the same line.
• This may have evolved
as the storytellers
encountered villages
with different beliefs.
The epic hero
 Undertakes role as duty to others, not as a
personal achievement
 Strong sense of social morality, including
code of behaviour to enemies
 Only becomes hero when needed, may be
unwilling
 Does not necessarily have social status prior
to heroics, but may achieve it. Considers it
a consequence, not an aim, in heroics.
Beowulf Background Information
• Written c. 700 C.E.
• Author unknown
• Often called the
beginning of English
literature
• Written in what is now
called Old English
• Only one complete
original copy remains
Beowulf


Thousand year old manuscript written
950-1000 CE by 2 scribes, probably
composed 700-800,West Saxon
dialect, collected into Cotton Vitellius
A.XV, now in British Library
Longest extant OE poem - 3182 lines
Beowulf – the original poem
Structure - Introduction and 3 distinct episodes
1000 lines each on Grendel, Grendel's mother, Dragon
Continuity break between parts 2 and 3:





Cobbling together of 2 stories (are there lots of other
Beowulf stories out there?)
Or deliberate juxtaposition (rise and fall of hero)?
Emphasis on appropriate displays of nobility of
character (and bonds of comitatus)





Hrothgar- king - rewards service
Beowulf - warrior - carries out dangerous forays
Wiglaf - loyal retainer - sticks by leader
Grendel's mother - family - seeks revenge for attack on son
The Setting
Geats and Danes
Beowulf was a war
leader of the Geats,
a group of people in
what is now
southern Sweden
Hrothgar was king
of the Danes
Beowulf
Herot: the golden
guest hall built by
King Hrothgar where
warriors gathered to
celebrate.
[End of Section]
The Mead Hall
•Social, governmental,
emotional center of
the village
•Mead = honey-based
wine
Beowulf:
The Epic
Hero
Beowulf’s Name

Beowulf’s father– Edgetho

In most cases, the son is named after the father






Proves Beowulf is own individual with own powers and abilities (and
more important than his father)
Beo– Bear



Don
Donald (son of Don)
McDonald (son of son of Don)
McDonaldson (son of son of son of Don)
Bears are known as Great Protectors in Norse mythology
Strong
Wulf– Wolf

Wolves are also great protectors, but are also cunning and speedy
An epic hero
must face
challenges and
opponents that
the ordinary
person could
not handle.
HOWEVER...
There is often a character flaw or other weakness
which brings problems to the epic hero.
Top 10 Problems Women Have About Dating Beowulf
• 10. Hangs out with dragons.
• 9. Chain mail rips up bed sheets.
• 8. Throws his swords around apartment.
• 7. Wakes up in the middle of the night screaming "She's gonna
eat me!”
• 6. Carries a long knife to compensate for feelings of
inadequacy.
• 5. Only washes twice a year.
• 4. Experiences mead-induced delusions of grandeur and
heroism.
• 3. Smells like Grendel breath.
• 2. Freezer full of dragon meat.
• 1. Leaves the toilet seat up.
Beowulf
Introducing the Epic
Other Characters:
Hrothgar: king of the
Danes.
Wiglaf: a Geat warrior,
one of Beowulf’s select
band and the only one to
help him in his final fight
with the dragon.
Beowulf
Introducing the Epic
Monsters
Grendel: man-eating
monster who lives at the
bottom of a foul mere, or
mountain lake.
Grendel’s mother: waterwitch who seeks revenge.
Dragon: giant fire-breathing
serpent whom Beowulf fights
in Part Two of the epic.
Grendel
• Hybrid:
man vs. man
man vs. supernatural
• Most human-like of
the supernatural
fights
Grendel’s Mother
• Less “human” than son
• An older and more
animal-like evil
• Before Beowulf can
even battle her, he must
face the water
creatures
The Dragon
• The oldest and most
base form of evil
• Referred to as the
worm
• Man vs.
Supernatural
Elevated
Language
Literary Devices
Alliteration
Kennings
Caesura
Beowulf
Alliteration: the repetition of consonant
sounds in words close together
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
Beowulf
Kenning: a metaphorical phrase or compound
word used to name a person, place, thing, or
event indirectly.
Examples of kennings from Beowulf:
gold-shining hall= Herot
guardian of crime = Grendel
strong-hearted wakeful sleeper = Beowulf
cave-guard and sky-borne foe = dragon
Beowulf
Beowulf was composed in Old English, which
uses a caesura, or rhythmic pause, to create
unity.
Punctuation reproduces pause effect of the caesura.
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
Line divided into two parts by a caesura.
Let the journey begin...