Beowulf &
Old English
The Manuscript
• Epic poem dates between:
– 700 oral presentation
– 1000 written in Old English
• 3000 lines written on treated animal
skins & membranes.
• Ink made from oak-gall & lamp-black.
• Decorated with paint made from
minerals such as gold & lapis.
• Only one Anglo-Saxon manuscript of
Beowulf exists from which all modern
translations of Beowulf have been
composed.
The Manuscript
• Owned by British Library in London.
• Originally created by two scribes dated about
1000 CE.
• One scribe thought to be Christian & altered
poem to use as a tool for converting others.
• Originally found in The Library of Sir Robert
Cotton (1571-1631).
• 1731 damaged in fire.
• 1845 pasted into frames for protection.
What Does Old English Look Like?
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Old English (OE) was spoken from 449-1100
OE alphabet derived from runic alphabet
OE alphabet did not have the letters J, K, Q, Z
OE had 4 letters our alphabet does not:
– thorn, eth, ash, wyn(n)
OE Sounds
• Thorn = “th” as in thorn, thistle
• Eth = “th” as in the, this, that
• Ash = “a” as in Cat
• Wynn = “W” as in word, watch
What does Old English Sound Like?
• Professor Alexander Arguelles
•
http://www.youtube.com/user/ProfASAr#p/search/0/RLJGTYkEKLI
• How Do You Say That in Old English?
•
http://wandership.ca/projects/eow/
Poetics in the Poem
• Alliteration – repetition of stressed sounds, especially
consonants from beginning of words.
– Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
• Compounding – combining of two words to make a
new word.
– Mead-benches, boy-child, hall-troops
• Kenning – special forms of compounding that are
metaphoric in meaning.
– Hronrad = “whale’s road” = sea
Poetics in the Poem
• Versification – lines separated by a strong
pause called caesura:
Example:
Hwæt! We Gar-Dena
in geardagum,
þeodcyninga,
þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas
ellen fremedon.
The Story
• Tells the story of a noble warrior, Beowulf
• Beowulf fights three battles:
– Vs. Grendel
– Vs. Grendel’s mom
– Vs. a dragon
Part 1 = Young Man Proving Self
Part 2 = Old, Great King protecting his kingdom
• Beowulf’s kingdom/home = Sweden (Geats)
• Hrothgar’s kingdom/home = Denmark (Danes)
• Story takes place in 6th century & based on
historical facts and people although Beowulf is
not real.
• http://www.abdn.ac.uk/english/beowulf/
– Use this web site to complete the handout.
Preparing to Read
• We will begin reading one of the oldest writings
to survive from the Anglo-Saxon time period,
Beowulf. Because this epic poem is written in Old
English, we will be reading a translation. Even
though our translation is written in Modern
English, it will also be helpful to have a basic
understanding of the epic poem’s plot by reading
a summary before jumping into the translation. It
will also be helpful to know some of the
traditions of the Anglo-Saxon Geat and Dane
cultures in order to understand why characters
react as they do.
Preparing to Read
• Whenever we study literature the goal is not
only to understand the story but to also gain a
glimpse of the culture and compare/contrast
this with what we call ‘human nature’.
• This leads to an essential question: Why is it
that people who read Beowulf can still view
him as a hero? What valued qualities of a
human being were important both during the
Anglo-Saxon time and in our own time?
Preparing to Read
• Another topic that will be explored is the
implementation of Christianity. As
Christianity gained strength, did poets add
elements of Christianity to the telling of
Beowulf to help spread the general beliefs of a
new religion? Can you find any evidence of
this in our translation?
Preparing to Read
• To begin this study, we will use a web site entitled
“Beowulf for Beginners”
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/english/beowulf/contents.htm.
• As you explore the pages of this web site, look for the
answers to the questions on the handout. Answers are
to be written using pen, but do not need to be written
in complete sentences (no formal register needed). The
information will be used to generate a final test over
the Old English Unit. So don’t think that because
formal register is not required the information is not
important.