 Early inhabitants of Britain were Celts.
 During the 1st century they were invaded by
Romans—Julius Caesar in fact!
 In 450 Romans were called home to protect
their Empire against barbarian attacks, leaving
Britain open for invasions.
 At that time, Celts were attacked by Angles,
Saxon,(Germanic) & Jutes(Denmark)
 Christianity
 A common language was created which is
referred to as Old English.
 Education began to spread as well.
 Latin and the concept of writing the oral
histories now began.
 Angleland=Anglo-Saxon England
 Each person in society had a price related to
their position in society=Wergild. Families were
entitled to a sum of money if a relative was
murdered.
 Women were expected to be moral and
domestic. They had full legal rights & some
aristocratic women were expected to be
peacemakers or arbitrators.
 Loyalty
 fighting for one’s king
 Avenging one’s kinsmen
 Keeping one’s word
 Generosity – gifts symbolize bonds and power
 Heroism
 Physical strength
 Skill and resourcefulness in battle
 courage
 Reputation
 Hospitality, kings were expected to be hospitable
and generous
 Honor through deeds
 Fierce warriors
 Expert seafarers
 Fishermen, farmers
 Master craftsman
 Strong sense of community
 Male-dominated society
 Comitatus : Germanic code of loyalty
 Scop: poet in oral culture
 Preserves history
 Entertains court
 Spreads hero’s fame
 Thane: warrior who swears loyalty to the king
 Wergild: “man price”
 Substitute for violence
 Wyrd: fate (to the poet = God’s will
 Unfortunately, no one knows when Beowulf was
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composed, or by whom, or why!
Handwritten by a monk around 1000AD
Obtained by Sir Robert Cotton
Damaged in fire in 1731
Currently at British Museum
 The earliest literature in all languages comes
from oral traditions or songs sung and tales
told.
 During Anglo-Saxon times the wandering
poet or scop( pronounced shop) would
entertain the upper class during
feasts/celebrations held in the mead hall.
Pagan
 the worship of idols or false
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gods, or the system of
religious opinions and
worship maintained by
pagans; heathenism.
Polytheistic (worshipped
more than one God).
See life as a blessing, not a
sin.
Male and Female Divinity
Nature Centered.
No soliciting converts.
Seek inspiration in preChristian sources, folklore,
and mythology
Christian
 The worship of one God and
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his son Jesus Christ
We are born sinners
Adam and Eve and the
Garden of Eden
Good vs. Evil or God vs.
Satan
Baptism
Jesus saved the Jewish
people
Loyalty and fairness are
important qualities
 Courage of hero
 Emulation of Anglo-Saxon ideals
 Briefness and sadness of life
 Mystery and cruelty of the sea
 Exile
 Ruin
 Lament
 Beowulf’s father– Edgetho
 In most cases, the son is named after the father
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Don
Donald (son of Don)
McDonald (son of son of Don)
McDonaldson (son of son of son of Don)
 Proves Beowulf is own individual with own powers
and abilities (and more important than his father)
 Beo– Bear
 Bears are known as Great Protectors in Norse mythology
 Strong
 Wulf– Wolf
 Wolves are also great protectors, but are also cunning and
speedy
 Assonance- the repetition or a pattern of similar
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vowel sounds, but with different end consonants in a
line
Alliterative verse – repetition of consonant sound at
the beginning of words
Caesura – mid line pause
Kenning – descriptive compound word that evokes
vivid images (ring-giver, whale road)
Formula phrases – ready made formulas used to
describe particular activities (i.e., voyage at sea,
eating a feast, giving riches); allows poet to think
ahead to next part of story
 Long narrative poem that relates the
great deeds of a larger-than-life
hero who embodies the values of a
particular society.
 Sometimes called a heroic poem
 Concern eternal human problems such as
the conflict between GOOD and EVIL
grand scale and
often in ceremonial style
 Written or told on a
1. Folk Epic- oral compositions
passed on from storyteller to storyteller
and has changed over time. Ex. Beowulf, the Iliad, and the Odyssey
2. Literary Epic- written
compositions that are unchanged
over time. Ex. -Aeneid and Paradise Lost

The hero is a great leader
who is identified strongly
with a particular people or
society.
 The setting is broad and
often includes
supernatural realms,
especially the land of
the dead.
 The hero does great
deeds in battle or
undertakes an
extraordinary journey or
quest.
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Sometimes gods or other
supernatural or fantastic
beings take part in the
action.
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The story is told in
heightened
language
 There is an
INVOCATION or
formal plea for aid/help.
 This plea is usually to a deity
or some other spiritual
power.
 The action begins
IN MEDIA RES…
 literally meaning
“in the middle of things”
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The epic begins in media res
and then flashes back to
events that took place
before the narrator’s current
time setting
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Epic Similes- elaborately
extended comparisons
relating heroic events to
simple, everyday events
“LARGER
THAN LIFE PERSON” who
 The epic hero is a
embodies the highest ideals
of his culture
The epic hero usually undertakes a
QUEST/ JOURNEY
to achieve something of great
value to themselves or society
 The epic hero usually undertakes a
QUEST/JOURNEY
 Epic heroes achieve a type of IMMORTALITY
 NOT SUPER: regular human being whose
aspirations and accomplishments set him/her
apart
 Maintains HUMANITY throughout journey
The epic hero is an
ARCHETYPAL
character.
 An archetype is a pattern that appears
in literature across cultures and is
repeated through the ages.
 An archetype can be a character, a
plot, an image, or a setting.
 In Beowulf, the hero archetype is the
dragon slayer.