Anglo-Saxons
Beowulf and the Epic Hero
The Big Picture
 Here’s the way the history of English literature is
labeled:







The Anglo-Saxons 450-1066
The Middle Ages 1066-1485
The Renaissance 1485 – 1660
The Restoration and the 18th Century 1660-1800
The Romantic Period 1798-1832
The Victorian Period 1832-1901
Twentieth Century/Modern 1901 – present
A second way we divide English
 Old English 450-1100
 Middle English 1100-1500
 Modern English 1500 - present
Some History
 Anglo-Saxon Period 449 B.C.-1066 A.D.
 The Language is called Old English
 It was derived from the Celts, who were in England, as
well as the conquering Germanic tribes – the Angles, the
Saxons and the Jutes.
People of Anglo-Saxon England
 Celts – 700 B.C. – 55 B.C. original inhabitants
 Oral language
 Druid religion (Stonehenge)
 Romans- 55 B.C. came until the early 5th century
 Brought roads, aqueducts, villas, and Christianity
 When the Romans left, the island was invaded by Angles,
Saxons, and Jutes.
History of Anglo-Saxon period
 Lots of little kingdoms existed under various efforts
to unify England
 The warrior was the dominant position in society
 The king was a warrior
 Witan = king’s group of advisers
 Women were unimportant in A-S society, and except
for the queen, were regarded as valuable only for
domestic duty
Anglo-Saxon Culture
 Believed in wyrd or fate
 Unavoidable destiny
 Appreciated craftsmanship
 Agricultural, semi-nomadic
 Two classes of people – earls (upper
class) and churls (lower class)
 Strongest warriors were revered
 Times were very dangerous, so the more
protection the better
Culture Continued
 Great feasts were a crucial part of AS life
 Feasts were held in Mead Halls
(mead is a sweet alcoholic drink
made from fermented honey)
 A scop, or bard, was the
entertainer/historian/poet
 Would tell tales of the great heroes
of the past
 Tales were delivered in a rhythmic
chant and alliterative verses
Christianity and Paganism
 Pagans worshipped nature and natural world
 Pagan ways still permeated – in literature and in
practice – ex. Yule logs, days of week, books of
remedies, mistletoe
Christianity and Paganism
 Christianity in England came from Rome
 St. Augustine was sent in 597 to convert King
Ethelbert of Kent
 Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury
 Christianity spread
 We will see evidence of both Christianity and
Paganism in Beowulf
The Epic
 A long narrative poem
 Hero is a figure of
national importance
 Actions consist of deeds
of valor
 The setting is vast in
scope (time and place)
 Involves the fate of an
entire group of people
 Begins in the middle “in
medias res”
 Rich in imagery,
metaphor, etc.
 Supernatural forces are
present
The Epic continued
 Hero has superhuman
strength of body,
character, or mind
 Blends historical fact with
legend
 Simple plot
 Theme involves universal
human problems
Beowulf
 A poem of 3182 lines
 Composed between 700 and 750 A.D., but concerns
the Germanic people who lived around 500 A.D.
 It is an EPIC
Theme topics in Beowulf




Courage and loyalty
Struggle against evil (good vs. evil)
Youth vs. age
Relationship between king and his subjects
Literary Terms for Beowulf
 Caesura-CE-ZUUUR-AA
 A pause or break near the middle of every line; helped the oral
poets (scops) remember their lines
 Alliteration
 Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
 ex. Behaviour that’s admired
is the path to power among people everywhere.
(20–25)
 Epithets
 Identifying expressions used with or in place of names of people,
places, or objects
 Ex. Higlac’s follower
Literary Terms
 Kennings
 Related to epithets, but more imaginative (usually)
 Uses metaphoric compound words in place of simple nouns
 Ex. Sea = the whale road
 Ex. Sun = heaven’s candle
 Apposition
 A phrase set off by commas used to describe another noun
 Ex. Beowulf, our hero, sailed across the ocean
Literary Terms
 Simile – a comparison of two things that uses the
words like or as
 Personification – giving inanimate objects the
characteristics of humans
Archetype
 Archetype — a model or standard that is
copied or patterned across cultures and
time.
 Examples: Villain, Damsel in Distress, Outcast, StarCrossed Lovers
VILLAIN
MENTOR
HERO
OUTCAST