BEOWULF
An Introduction to the
English Folk Epic
The Anglo Saxon Period
440 AD-1066 AD
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Britons: Celtic people, original
inhabitants of Britain
449 AD: the first people from
North German plain settled in
Kent
– Jutes: from Jutland in Denmark
– Angles and Saxons followed
– Britons were no match
•
King Arthur, Whales
– Brought Old English
– A/S England – military society
born in warfare
•
1066 AD: Norman Invasion ends
A/S society
Anglo Saxon Civilization
•
•
•
•
•
•
Admired men of courage
Loyalty to leader and tribe
Person of rank received with courtesy
Ruler was generous to followers
Believers in an impersonal fate
Aware of short life span: ubi sunt
Christianity
• Christianity came to
Britain in AD 314
• St. Augustine – 597
AD
– First archbishop of
Canterbury
Folk Epics are tales
of a national HERO
But what is heroic?
Characteristics of a
Pagan Hero
• Good Fighter
• Loyal
• Persevering (Never Gives Up)
• Wins “Fame” (in Songs in a
Mead Hall)
Pagan Characteristics, cont.
• Little Regard for Danger or Self:
Brave
• Battle as a Way of Life
• Personal Vengeance as Familial
Requirement
• FATE: Revenge and/or Death
Characteristics of a
Christian Hero
• Recognizes God as Creator
• Humility in the presence of
God’s Power
• Altruism in Action
Christian Characteristics cont.
• Contrast between Good and
Evil Rulers
• Personal Vengeance transmuted
into Fighting Evil
• Good is Rewarded and Evil is
Punished (Evil in the World)
Beowulf
Historical Background
During a time of Old English Warriors
Called the “Dark Ages” - - a time of Barbarians
DARK AGES DOES NOT MEAN NO ART
VIKINGS LOVED GOLD, JEWELRY, WEAPONS,
AND RINGS
Author/Composer
• Likely an
educated
Christian,
possibly a monk
Author/Composer
• Wove together
many oral
traditions with
consummate skill
• Sanitized slightly
the pagan
traditions
• Produced a single
tale
Manuscript History
• First English literary masterpiece
• Beowulf was probably composed between 700
A.D. and 900 A.D
• The place of its composition was probably
Northumbria
• Northumbria was home to Roman Catholic monks
who excelled in learning and literature
• First transmitted orally for one to three centuries
Manuscript History
• Although its author did not write it
down, two English scribes did so in
about 1000 A.D
• Saved from looting of monasteries
under Henry VIII
Manuscript History
• Saved from fire in Sir Henry
Cotton’s Library in 1731
• Danish scholar translated it in
1787; first published in 1815
Part of the Original Manuscript
BEOWULF
Setting
• Danish kingdom ruled by Hrothgar, situated on the island of
Zealand (site of present-day Copenhagen, Denmark)
• A mead hall was a communal gathering place for feasting and
drinking mead
– an alcoholic beverage made of water and fermented honey
– Mead was a popular drink in Denmark and other
Scandinavian countries during the Middle Ages because
grapes, a crop that thrives in warmer southern climates,
were not readily available to make wine.)
Important Terms
• Heroic Ideal: A/S culture governed by
ideals of bravery, loyalty and generosity
• Comitatus: loyalty to king and king to men
• Wyrd: Old English for fate
• Wergild: “manprice”
BEOWULF
Structure and
Style
Style of the Folk Epic
• Lyric
• Epic
• Narrative
Literary Devices
•Scops used harp to add beats to poetry
•Four Lifts per line; with a caesura
“chosen champions cheerlessly grieved
for the loss of their lord, leader and defender.
They called him of captains, kings of the known world,”
•Allusions
two
or more words having the same
initial sound
Literary Devices, cont.
Kennings: bardic formulae,
used as appositives,
for example,
"bone-house," refers to the human
body
"whale's road," refers to the sea
"sky's candle," refers to the sun.
Themes
• Good vs. evil
– Not moral but about fate and reputation
– Good will fight knowing that eventually they will be
defeated
• Identity
– Boasting = resume
• Strength and skill
– Highly valued even in enemies
– Skill slightly devious
More Themes
• Wealth
– Glory and treasure - immortality
• Religion
– Christianity vs. paganism
– Wyrd and providence
• Violence
– Loyalty, vengeance and feud
• Courage
– Fortitude and wisdom
More Themes
• Mortality
– Ubi Sunt
• Supernatural
– Monsters
• Tradition and customs
– Comitatus
– Wyrgild
– boasting