Historical Background ~ Summaries and Notes ~ Dragons ~ Class Notes
Reading Questions ~ Vocabulary ~ Fun Stuff ~ Web Quest ~ Comparing Texts
Study Guide Home
Least Tern
click a dragon to return to the top of the
page
The text to which all page numbers refer is Beowulf the Warrior, retold by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by
Severin, 1994, Bethlehem Books, ISBN 1-883937-03-5.
Historical Background - See also the book Viking Life, by John Guy, Barron's Educational Series, 1998.







Learn what was happening around the world at the time this tale was told by going to:
HyperHistory Online
Angelcynn: Anglo-Saxon Living History, 400-900AD - a site rich in background content - the
most useful parts:
o History - includes some sound files and resource links.
o Clothing - men's and women's clothing - follow the link to read about clothing and
appearance of the Early-Christian Anglo-Saxons.
o There is now information specific to Beowulf when you click the Poetry link
Anglo-Saxon Culture - follow the links to Art and Archaeology and Living History to link to
some other resources.
Beowulf Room - some history - follow the link at the bottom to the Sutton Hoo Room.
Illustrations from Sutton Hoo and other cultural sites - scroll a bit down the page for these
excellent photographs
Celts and Saxons - this is a college resource! some of the links are dead, but if you have a
research topic, you should find a link to follow
Danes, Swedes/Geats & Vikings
o Horsens Guide to the History of Denmark
o The Danish History, by Saxo Grammaticus - no, I do not expect you to read this all, but
it fun to look at what college students need to know!
o Danish History - a timeline - use this along with one of the Beowulf background essays
to find out what was happening when the epic was written.
o Running a Household in the Viking Era - food, clothes, practical things
o The Viking Experience - a reenactment group gone commercial - browse the catalogs of
costumes and props
o Female Viking Dress - what the women wore - pay attention to dates


A Living History - photo reenactment of scenes from the epic
The Village of Wichamstow - interactive village to tour - find out about Anglo-Saxon life




The Mead Hall - how to make mead, who drank mead, and other historical fun
Medieval and Anglo Saxon Recipes and A Boke of Gode Cookery
The Sutton Hoo Horde - the great helmet plus links to other items
Costume Page - resources, history, links
Summaries and Notes

Class Notes - These are the notes we will review in class. Please print them and tape them
inside the front and back covers of your text. The document covers: What is an Epic? and What
is an Epic Hero? (this link opens a Word document - download to your hard drive) - .pdf
version








The Beowulf Project - An illustrated summary of the epic, including pictures of Anglo-Saxon
culture
The Beowulf Room - plot summary with illustrations
Beowulf: The Main Characters - printing this will provide you with good set of notes
Beowulf : background, illustrations, link to audio files - link to map does not work
Bulfinch's Age of Fable - includes a summary of the story, with links, plus links to other
resources for more information
Grendel's Mother's Attack - page focusing upon this section - has a manuscript photo.
Beowulf: the Last Moments - focusing upon the end of the epic - has a manuscript photo.
More About Beowulf - a very short summary, from ShrinkLits.
Dragons - These pages discuss the Western dragon, its appearance, habits, and stories, and other
background.


Dragon Lore - you are interested in European Dragons - read the legend of St. George and of
the Nibelung Horde
Here Be Dragons - follow links to What is a Dragon and Dragons in History