The Anglo Saxons
and
Beowulf
Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Great Britain
The Celts
Invasion of Britain
Life
Questions
Christianity
Kings
1066
Feudalism/chivalry
Language
OE Poetry
Beowulf
Culture in Beowulf
Did he exist?
Typical themes
Epic poem
Beliefs
Geats and Danes
Kennings
Great Britain
• Great Britain
– England
– Scotland
– Wales
• Ireland is NOT
considered a part of
Great Britain
The First People
• Britain first settled by
Celts
• Celts came from
continental Europe
between 800-600 B.C.
• 2 tribes of Celts:
– Britons (settled in
what is now Great
Britain)
– Gaels (settled in what
is now Ireland)
The Invasion
• In 43 A.D., Romans invaded and
Britons were either forced
northward or into slavery;
introduced the concept of
Christianity
• Eventually (449), the Angles, Saxons,
and Jutes invaded (these are
Germanic tribes). They took over
and called the island “Angle-land.”
They enslaved the people who were
there
• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes carved the
land into tribal kingdoms, but they
came to think of themselves as one
people: the English (a.k.a. AngloSaxons)
• By 650, most of England was
Christian (but held onto pagan
beliefs, too)
•There was no written tradition
•People were farmers and hunters
•Warfare was a way of life
•People believed in many different gods (polytheistic)
Woden
Tyr
Thunor
(protector of heroes)
(god of glory and honor)
(aid to warriors in battle)
Questions
• Why were people illiterate?
• What qualities were most admired in this
society?
A/S Kings
The small kingdoms fought amongst each other until
829—King Egbert of Wessex won control of all A/S
kingdoms. Unfortunately, by the end of Egbert’s reign,
Vikings had captured much of the kingdom (Vikings
were Scandinavian—called Norse because they had
crossed the North Sea—predominantly Danes); Vikings
had taken over much of France, and that area became
known as Normandy.
In 878, Alfred, King of Wessex (Egbert’s
grandson) defeated the Danes at the Battle of
Edington. Alfred went on to recapture most
of England, as well as promote education and
literacy among his people. He became known
as “Alfred the Great.” Alfred’s son and
grandson won back the rest of England and
made peace with the Vikings.
1066
• King Edward died
• William (the Duke of
Normandy)** laid claim
to the throne (Edward
may have promised the
throne to William)
• Instead, the English
council of elders chose
Harold II as king
• Duke William attacked,
defeated the A/S and
killed Harold at the
Battle of Hastings. He
became King William I
**Remember: France = Vikings
This brought French culture to
England
1. feudalism—land is divided among lords
who are loyal to the king. The lords give
land to vassals in exchange for military
duty.
2. chivalry—knights are expected to be
honorable, brave, generous, skillful in battle,
respectful to women, and helpful to the
weak.
1066 marks the beginning of what we
consider English culture.
Old English: a combination of the
languages spoken by the Anglo-Saxons.
Today it looks like a foreign language.
Beowulf written in OE
Oral tradition: heroic themes of courage,
goodness, loyalty, strength
Stories passed down by a scop (traveling
storyteller often accompanied by a harp)
Heroism in stories gave people a model
for living and a form of immortality (tales
would be about them and their heroism,
to be told for generations).
Remember, most people couldn’t read or
write. They learned through stories,
songs, and poems.
Monks could read and write; they
focused on Christian themes and are
responsible for recording most of the OE
literature that survives today (they added
a religious quality to the stories)
Old English Poetry
3 major types of OE poetry:
1. heroic verse—celebrates courage, honor,
loyalty
2. elegy—mourns a loss
3. religious verse—focuses on Christian
teachings and stories
*****Beowulf contains all three.
Beowulf (the poem)
• 3200 lines
• Composed between 700-750 AD; set in the early 6th
century
• Based on early Celtic and Scandinavian folk
legends
• Only manuscript to survive Henry VIII’s
dissolution of the monasteries and destruction of
monastic libraries; manuscript dates from 1000 (but
was composed before that); now in British Museum
in London
• Deterioration of manuscript means that there are
gaps scholars have to fill in by guesswork
Poem gives vital information about
OE social life & politics
• society rigidly feudal, highly civilized, highly violent. The poem glorifies
war, death, and fame (fame is the most precious thing a man can have
because it is the only thing that survives).
• Male dominated society
• In this society, weapons had names but slaves did not—they valued
warfare more than people
• Proven swords and helmets were passed down from fathers to sons
• In a warrior society, the most important relationship is between warrior
(thane) and his lord: based less on subordination than on mutual trust
and respect. Warrior who pledged his loyalty became a voluntary
companion to his lord—took pride in defending his lord and fighting in
his wars. In return, the lord was expected to take affectionate care of his
thanes, to reward them richly.
• Relationship between kinsmen also very important: if one’s kinsman was
slain it was one’s duty to kill the slayer or exact payment—each rank of
society was ranked at a price; this price had to be paid to the family to
avoid their vengeance, even if the killing was accidental.
Did he really exist?
• The tribe in southern Sweden did exist, but Beowulf
himself is fictitious.
• There was a real man named Beowulf (may mean
“bear”) who helped the Danes and Geats fend off pirate
attacks; however, he was not king of the Geats nor a
Danish hero (more of a regular guy)
• Higlac (king of Geats, Beowulf’s king) and Hrothgar
(king of the Danes, whom Beowulf helps) both based on
real kings
• Significance of battle: what makes a good fighter tick?
God grants Beowulf’s victory, but the good fighter (hero)
is the one who becomes famous, never gives up, doesn’t
worry about the possible consequences of bravery
Typical Themes
• Contains typical themes of
seafaring warriors, a society bound by
military/tribal loyalties
• bravery of warriors and generosity of rulers
highly valued
• combines pagan folklore (monsters) with
Christian themes (good vs. evil)
– ex: Grendel is a monster, described as an enemy of
God and descendent of Cain (first murderer in the
Bible)
Beowulf: OE Superhero
• Beowulf is an epic hero: courage, physical strength, wisdom in
guiding others, loyalty to the king, and supreme self-confidence.
He embodies the ideals of his people.
• Story of Beowulf is an epic poem—long narrative poem written in
formal language that tells of the adventures of a larger-than-life
hero.
• Beowulf is a folk epic: story rises from the people and is passed by
word of mouth from generation to generation until it is ultimately
written down (contrast with literary epic, like the Aeneid, which is
the work of one author setting out to follow a literary form).
• Epic plots contain supernatural events, span long time periods,
involve distant journeys, and life and death struggles of good vs.
evil.
– The hero always represents good
– The forces that threaten the people always represent evil
Beowulf is set in a time
when warriors gathered
in mead/banquet halls
(mead=fermented
honey wine)
for great feasts, told of
their adventures
(raiding, looting,
burning settlements).
Kings gave riches to
their bravest warriors in
exchange for loyalty.
People believed in
monsters and dragons.
Mead Hall
REMEMBER
**Beowulf is NOT set in England, and
the characters are NOT English: it’s
set in Scandinavia and involves the
Geats of southern Sweden and the
Danes of Denmark.
Lament –
An expression of sorrow;
song or literary
composition that mourns
A loss or death
Infamous –
having a bad
reputation or
being notorious
Shroud –
A burial cloth
Writhing –
twisting as
in pain
Forged –
formed or shaped,
often with blows
or pressure after
heating.
Caesura –
A break, pause, or
Interruption in
a line of a poem
Kenning –
a descriptive poetic
phrase used in place of
a name for a
person or thing
“whale road” = the sea
“Higlac’s follower” = Beowulf
epic poem –
a long narrative poem
telling of a hero’s deeds
Epithet –
a word or phrase
which describes a
person’s character;
in place of a name or title
Boast –
an exaggerated
speech; bragging
Archetype –
an idea, personality,
or image that is copied
throughout literature
regardless of time,
religion, or culture
Motif –
recurring subject
or theme within
a literary work
Elegy –
funeral song or
lament for the dead;
mournful poem