Poetry Unit
Anglo Saxon
Era
(to 1066)
Origins of our English Language
• Where does our language come from?
• What influenced our language?
• What is the first written work that has
survived from the Anglo Saxon era?
• What does Anglo Saxon mean?
Words You’re Going to Need to Know
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Stoicism
Caesura
Kennings
Alliteration
Wergild
Pagan
Hyperbole
Fatalism
Minstrel/scop/scald
Epic
Theme
Motif
Archetype
Foil
Anecdote
Didactic
Meadhall
Synecdoche
Anachronism
Wyrd
Foreshadowing
Patriarchal lineage
Anglo-Saxon Period
• First people were mainly Celts.
• Romans arrived-built walled cities and roads.
They tried to take over.
• Celts enlisted the help of the Jutes, a tribe from
Germany. They fought well, but they also refused
to leave.
• Angles and Saxons arrive (Teutonic tribesrelatives of the Jutes.) They overran England and
drove the Celts north.
• The period was a time of immense political and
social upheaval.
Our Language Develops…
• First influences to our language comes from the
Celts and the Romans.
• By mid 6th century, the Jutes, Angles and Saxons
were the ones who mostly influenced our
language. These tribes mainly spoke in dialects
similar to Dutch or Low German.
• History has labeled the speech of all three as “Old
English,” however, it was mainly the language of
the Saxons. (More of their manuscripts survived
for scholars to study. )
• Germanic words make up just 1/5 of our English
vocabulary, but we use them more often than any
other words; they are the core of the English language.
• Ex:
• hand, leg, thumb
• man, wife, child
• sun, moon, stars
• love, hate, friend
• sleep, hungry, food, milk
• Old English lasted from approx. 700 to 1150 AD.
Lifestyles of the Anglo Saxons
Religious Beliefs
– At first, the Teutonic tribes were pagans (They worshipped
gods of nature and held springs, wells, rocks and trees in
reverence.)
– They would pray to the gods/goddesses in order to secure
a desired outcome in the material world. Ex: for a
successful harvest, or for victory in battle.
– They believed in fatalism-that their fates were in the hands
of these gods.
– The Romans brought Christianity with them and almost all
of the empire was Christianized by 800 AD. This changed
their beliefs from polytheistic to monotheistic.
• Everyday Life
– Was rough! They lived during a very dangerous
time:
• Feuds, famines, wars, capital punishment, epidemics.
– When they weren’t battling, leisure time included:
dice/board games, elaborate riddles, horse racing,
hunting, feasts, juggling balls/knives, church
gatherings.
– Infant mortality was high.
– Life expectancy was mid 30s.
Social Structure
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King
Thanes
Churls
Warriors
Farmers
Women
Slaves
– King
• A war leader
• Expected to provide opportunities for plunder and
glory for his followers.
• The king who did not provide land, slaves, or plunder
might be overthrown/killed.
• Each king had his company of warriors, chosen partly
from noble birth and partly for their military valor and
skills.
• Thanes and Churls
– Were freemen. Thanes were the upper class and
owned more land than the churls.
• Warriors
– There were always other tribes that wanted to
pillage another village. Warriors were needed to
protect themselves, their belongings, and their
tribe.
– Warriors were paid by the king (with gifts of
jewels, armor and/or the king’s protection.)
– Gifts from the king were signs of honor.
– Sometimes the king gave gifts or boons so his
warriors would remain loyal.
• Farmers
– Farmers
• wheat, oats, rye, barley, peas, beans, honey, pigs,
cattle, goats, sheep.
• They used horses and oxen for labor and
transportation.
– They would be called in to fight if another tribe
came to pillage their village.
• Women
– Had some independence.
– Were entitled to wergild (price of a man) based
on social status.
– Could defend themselves on oath against false
accusations or claims.
– Could inherit parents’ wealth.
– Age of majority was 10-12.
• Slaves
– Were the lowest of the social ladder—obviously!
– Could be men or women.
– Were sometimes sacrificed and buried with their
masters to keep them company in the “afterlife,”
or to serve as a boon to the pagan gods.
– There were 4 ways of becoming a slave:
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Born into slavery
Prisoner of war
Unable to pay a fine
A family member could sell a child into slavery during a
time of famine to ensure the child’s survival
Slavery was not necessarily a lifetime sentence.
Freedom could be gained by:
– A relative ransoming the slave.
– Being granted freedom in an owner’s will.
– Being granted freedom when the value of the
slave’s labor reached the value of their original
debt.
• Law and Order
– Women had some rights.
– Wergild literally meant “the price of a man” and
was based on social status. If you killed someone,
you had to pay a fine.
– Blood feuds was another way of instilling order
(paying the penalty with someone’s life.)
– The church later introduced fines and a preference
for mutilation over death (so the sinner could
repent!)
What did the Anglo Saxons Value?
• Courage (physical)
– Warlike; they lived in a dangerous world
– Lots of bloodshed
– Took “law” into their own hands
– Difficult climate-had to fight for everything they
got
• Endurance
– The ability to fight on, regardless of what has
happened to you.
– “A good warrior is courageous and able to
withstand to the end of battle.”- anon
• Heroes & Heroism
– Having a hero gave the AS a sense of safety &
continuity of life, tribe and heritage.
– Heroes helped to sustain the tribe
(food/safety/wealth)
• Tradition
– Sense of family/fellowship in religion
– Social structure and ORDER (as a form of safety.)
• King gives safety to his followers.
• Followers are loyal to the king.
• Riches and Portable Wealth
– Pillaged and purged other villages and kept
wealthy objects to show for their brave deeds.
– Received gifts from the king as a sign of
honor/loyalty.
• Fate…and then God
– At first they believed in pagan gods and believed
their fates were in the hands of these gods
(fatalism.)
– After they were Christianized by the Romans, they
believed in God.
• Pattern and Word Flow in Their Poetry
– An oral tradition that would let their names live on
– kennings, alliteration, rhythm
Literature During the Anglo Saxon Era
• Oral tradition prevailed until well after the Romans
came.
• Monks were the first educated men. They mostly
wrote in Latin, but by as early as 700 AD, some monks
were writing in the language of the people.
• In the earliest part of the period, writing was generally
pagan in flavor, although Christian elements were
added to these texts later.
• The poetry that was written at the end of the period
was entirely Christian in origin.
• One of the most important poems which survived from
this period is Beowulf.
Poetry
• The poetry written during the period did not
generally rhyme, but used alliteration and a
metrical structure consisting of equal numbers of
accented syllables and a varying number of
unaccented syllables in each line.
• A line of poetry fell into two hemistichs, each
having two accented syllables.
• A caesura, or pause, separated each hemistich.
This was the place where the minstrel reciting the
poem strummed a harp, or paused to remember
the next line.
Then girded with thanes
Then GIRDed with THANES
a fine company,
a FINE comPANy,
• Poets also relied on kennings-elaborate and
unusual comparisons that substituted for
simpler nouns.
Simple noun
King
God
Fighter
Kenning
ring-lord, treasure-giver
world-shaper
sword-wielder, shield-breaker
Beowulf
Beowulf
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Believed to be written in the 900s.
West Saxon dialect
5” x 8” parchment paper
Bound together with 4 other works in which
monsters were a common theme
• Now rests in the British Library in London
• Epic (a long narrative poem presenting heroic
characters who take part in a series of
adventures, usually over an extended period of
time.
• Created as an oral poem-passed down through
generations
• Would have been performed at mead halls
• Beowulf’s character seems to be fictional, but
some events do come from history.
• Christian elements were added on after it was
recorded
• Uses caesuras, kennings, alliteration,
hyperbole.
• Includes anecdotes (short accounts of
interesting or entertaining incidents.)
• Much of the poem is didactic (intended to
teach a moral .)
The Plot…
• Beowulf travels across the sea to help a
kinsman, King Hrothgar, who has been losing
warriors for 12 long years to a monster named
Grendel . (Grendel needs to be a beast of
mythic proportions to make the struggle
greater.)
• Most of the action takes place in the mead
hall which Hrothgar had constructed for
merriment and protection.
Characters
• Scyld Scefing - Founder of Hrothgar's mighty Danish royal
house.
• Beowulf the Dane - Not the hero of the poem. A Danish king,
son of Scyld Scefing; this Beowulf is sometimes called
"Beow".
• Healfdene - Danish king; son of Beow the Dane; father of
Hrothgar, Heoroga, and Halga.
• Hrothgar-Danish king who needs Beowulf’s help with
Grendel.
• Unferth - Son of Ecglaf; slew his brother; taunts Beowulf
early in the poem
• Wealhtheow - Hrothgar's queen; mother of Hrethric
and Hrothmund.
• Ecgtheow - Beowulf's father; married to King
Hrethel's only daughter; slays a man and escapes to
Denmark. Hrothgar pays his wergild.
• Hygelac - Geatish king and uncle to Beowulf.
Hygelac is an historical character verified by
external evidence.
• Geats – tribe that lived in southern Sweden;
Beowulf belongs to this tribe.
• Let’s read an excerpt from Beowulf and apply what we’ve learned about
the Anglo Saxons to the text.
• Find a partner. In pairs, try to decipher what is happening from lines 1 to
58. Paraphrase (in your own words) these lines.
– Hint: It’s about patriarchal lineage.
• Scyld
• Beow
• Healefdane
• Hrothgar
• Find the sententia/aphorism/maxim (a brief statement about an
important truth.)
• Find 4 kennings.
Sections:
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1-58
59-175
176-233
234-295 kennings worksheet
paraphrasing 295-442
Backpack activity/ Three Bears
Beowulf’s father activity/anecdote 443-479)
480-637 placemat strategy on anecdote
637-705
706-847 Qualities of a hero questions
848-885 & 935-1045 (2 liner exercise)
1046-end
Vocab. quiz
Beowulf as the hero…
• What are the qualities of a hero nowadays?
• Does Beowulf possess any of these qualities?
Explain your reasoning.
• Can we conclude, then, that the qualities of a
hero hasn’t necessarily changed that much
over centuries???
Lines 848-885 & 935-1045
• Reduce the text excerpt to TWO lines about
each of the following:
• Heorot Hall
• Grendel
• Beowulf
• Unferth
• Hrothgar & the Danes
Points to ponder…really, it’s your
homework 
• Find an example of one anecdote in Beowulf.
• Beowulf contains advice for kings, the qualities of a
hero, and the qualities of a villain. Find 2 examples
of each from the poem.
• Beowulf’s boasting- how is boasting during the
Anglo-Saxon era different than nowadays? When was
it acceptable to boast?
…Yes, there are more questions!
• How does Beowulf present the roles and place
of women? Has the Anglo-Saxons’ viewpoints
contributed to those society has had
regarding women's roles today? Explain.
• How did men deal with the emotions of anger,
revenge and fear?
…just when you thought you were
done!
• The existence of almost continual feuds is prevalent
in Beowulf. Discuss how those feuds can be seen as
similar to those between some nations and peoples
today.
• With the existence of monsters, pillaging and feuds,
we are presented with differing attitudes that the
Anglo-Saxons must have possessed toward life,
death, and material possessions. Discuss.
• Archetype—the original pattern or model of
all things of the same type.
– Explain how Beowulf fits the archetype of the
Anglo-Saxon hero.
– How is Hrothgar the archetype of the Anglo-Saxon
king?
• Foil-one who serves as a contrast to another.
– Who is the foil for Beowulf?
– List their similarities.
– List their differences.
• Theme-fundamental ideas explored in a
literary work
– One of the prevalent themes in Beowulf is: the
importance of establishing identity (ancestral
heritage & individual reputation). Discuss.
• Motifs-are recurring structures, contrasts, or
literary devices that can help to develop and
inform the text’s major themes.
• Discuss how these motifs help to develop the
theme of establishing identity:
• Monsters
• The oral tradition
• The mead-hall
Caedmon’s Hymn
• You have read Beowulf, a pagan poem with
Christian add-ons.
• Caedmon’s Hymn is a lyric poem that was
written after the Anglo-Saxons were
Christianized.
• Check out the difference for yourself…the
poem is not nearly as disjointed!
Cædmon's Hymn
c. 737
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Nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard
metudæs maecti end his modgidanc
uerc uuldurfadur sue he uundra gihuaes
eci dryctin or astelidæ
he aerist scop aelda barnum
heben til hrofe haleg scepen.
tha middungeard moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin æfter tiadæ
firum foldu frea allmectig
Caedmon’s Hymn
Now let me praise the keeper of Heaven’s kingdom,
the might of the Creator, and his thought,
the work of the Father of glory, how each of wonders
the Eternal Lord established in the beginning.
He first created for the sons of men
Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator,
then Middle-earth the keeper of mankind,
the Eternal Lord, afterwards made,
the earth for men, the Almighty Lord.
Background info…
• Who is Caedmon?
– A guy who tended to livestock at a monastery.
– He and his co-workers would sit around, eat their
meal together and entertain each other by singing
lyrics (while a hand-held harp was passed around.)
– They sang about battles, mythic heroes like
Beowulf, lonely wanderers by land and sea and
riddles.
– Caedmon never wanted to sing, and would often
depart before his turn came.
– One night, while he slept, he had a dream…a man
told him to sing about the “creation of all things.”
Upon awakening, he remembered the whole song
and added more to it.
– He probably never wrote it down (it’s unlikely that
a herdsman was educated-therefore, he was most
likely illiterate.) However, this poem is astonishing
in the fact that it keeps with the Anglo-Saxons’
divided hemistichs with two accented syllables
and alliteration.
– When he performed it later for the religious
monks, they attributed his singing as a gift by
God’s grace.
Analysis of form/content:
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Find 2 kennings and translate them.
Determine where the hemistichs would be.
Find the alliteration in 2 lines of this poem.
How is this poem typical of the Anglo-Saxon
period?
• What is the theme or main idea of this poem?
• What is a lyric? How does this poem fit the
definition of a lyric?
• Lyric-a type of poem marked by emotion,
melody, imagination and a unified effect. (In
informal English, lyrics are the words of a
song.)
• Originally, lyric poetry was sung to the
accompaniment of a lyre.
Say goodbye to the Anglo Saxon Period…and hello to
the Middle English Period!
Just how does the Anglo Saxon
period end?
• Vikings became an enormous threat to the
differing tribes during the 700s.
• Alfred the Great (871-899)- King of the West
Saxons- offered the only effective defense
against the invading Danes (Vikings). He
established a treaty with the Danes and united
the Anglo-Saxons into a single nation under
his rule. (Danes ruled the north; AS ruled the
south.)
This treaty with the Danes worked for awhile until…
• In 1066 William the Conqueror defeated the Danes
and the Anglo Saxons. It was called the Norman
Conquest (Norman meaning French. )
• Can you guess how this influenced our English
language???
– This officially ended the Anglo-Saxon era and
brought about the beginning of the Medieval
Period/ Middle English.