Beowulf , Anglo-Saxon, and Literary Terms
How you will be assessed:
 General vocabulary: You will be given word banks and sentences in which you will fill in the blank with
the correct vocabulary word.
 Period terms: know the definitions
 Literary terms: you will be asked to recognize which term is being used in a sentence or scenario, and/or
you will be asked to produce original examples of these terms.
*Knowledge of vocabulary is cumulative. Once you have been assigned and quizzed over the material, you are
expected to know these words and terms, and they will appear on assessments again and again.
General Vocabulary:
Affliction (n): persistent pain or distress; great suffering
For twelve long winters the Danes suffered the affliction of Grendel’s murderous attacks.
Avenge (v): inflict harm in return for an injury or wrong done to oneself or another; inflict harm on behalf of
oneself or someone else previously wronged or harmed.
Beowulf sought to avenge the burning of his town, but he knew that his strength was not
what it once had been.
Camaraderie (n): a spirit of friendliness and fellowship between two or more people.
The thanes gathered in the hall, and the evening was punctuated with the laughter and
camaraderie of men who often put their lives in harm’s way for one another.
Comrade (n): an intimate friend or companion; fellow soldier
Beowulf’s men, comrades who risked their lives for him, wait anxiously for Beowulf
to return from the bottom of the fiery lake.
Hoard (n): a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away
The dragon sits atop his hoard of golden cups, dulling gems, and other stolen treasures.
Hoard (v): to lay up (some form of “treasure”) / keep (“treasure”) to one’s self
The dragon hoards all the gold he can find, and he takes great pleasure in staring for
hours at his distorted reflection in the gleaming mass.
Juxtapose (v): to place side by side—usually for the purpose of examining contrasts
King Hrothgar cannot help but to juxtapose Beowulf’s heroism with Unferth’s
ineffectiveness.
Juxtaposition (n): a position in which two things or ideas have been placed next to one another for the
purpose of examining differences.
The juxtaposition of Anglo-Saxon and modern American lifestyles underscores the AngloSaxon community’s dependence on authority, and the contemporary American’s
independence from authority.
Lament (v): to express deep mourning, grief, or sorrow
King Hrothgar laments his inability to protect his best friend from the evil devices of
Grendel’s mother.
Lamentations (n): the expression of deep mourning, grief, or sorrow
Beowulf chastises King Hrothgar, insisting that Hrothgar turn his grief to anger.
Lugubrious (adj): looking or sounding sad or dismal
When Beowulf awoke to the lugubrious sound of King Hrothgar’s wailing, Beowulf knew
that the Danes’ joy had been short-lived.
Moor (n): A tract of open, uncultivated land; a heath
Grendel haunted the moors and byways of the lonely Danish landscape.
Pagan (n): Heathen, especially a follower of polytheistic religion; one who has little or no religion and who
delights in sensual pleasures and material goods; an irreligious or hedonistic person.
As pagans, the Danes prayed to idols hoping to rid Herot of Grendel.
Purge (v): to clear of guilt; to free from moral or other defilement
Beowulf travels to Denmark to purge all evil from Herot.
Pyre (n): a heap of combustibles for burning a corpse as a funeral rite
The early Anglo-Saxons typically cremated their dead on a pyre, but by the 4th and 5th
centuries, inhumation came into wide use—most likely through Roman influence.
Reparation (n): the act of making amends or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury
Grendel refused to make reparation for the unprovoked murders of many Danish
warriors.
Zeal (n): Eagerness / ardent interest in pursuit of something; fervor
Although Beowulf was young, King Hrothgar was impressed by his zeal and his resume.
Zealous (adj): marked by fervent partisanship for a person, cause, or ideal
Beowulf’s zealous commitment to rid Herot of Grendel inspired and delighted King
Hrothgar.
Period / Text Based Vocabulary
Comitatus (n): the bond of loyalty between a king and his thane (thanes were expected to give their lives to
protect their kings; in turn, kings were to reward their thanes with wealth [land and treasure] commensurate
with fealty and service).
Mead /Mead hall (n): a fermented beverage made of water, honey, malt, and yeast (think ale) / the building in
which thanes gather for a variety of purposes (a type of community hall)
Scop (n): an Old English bard or poet; the scop was often a type of tribal historian whose songs contained a
tribe’s history and promoted tribal values. The scop often functioned as the “collective memory” of the tribe.
The importance of the scop should not be underestimated. Some sources indicate the scop was considered as
valuable to the community as the tribe’s greatest warriors.
Thane (n): Anglo-Saxon warrior selected or chosen by the king for proving one’s self in battle
Wergild (n): in Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law—the value set upon human life in accordance with rank and
paid as compensation to the kindred or lord of a slain person.
Wyrd (n): the Anglo-Saxon concept of fate or personal destiny. At times, “wyrd” is spoken of as if a god or
god-power of sorts but without anthropomorphic qualities.
Literary Terms:
Archetype (n): a universal pattern, template, or symbol. Consider, for example, the archetypal portrayal of
women in Beowulf: women are seen as either angelic or demonic
Caesura (n): a break or interruption in the flow of sound in the middle of a line of verse.
Þǣr æt hȳðe stōd hringedstefna
brūnfāgne helm, hringde byrnan
(Beowulf, ll. 32, 2615)
Epithet (n): a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or in place of the name of a person or thing.
He whose name was obeyed over all the earth called his mead hall Herot. (Hrothgar
called his mead hall Herot.)
Kenning (n): a metaphorical compound word or phrase used especially in Old English and Old Norse (i.e.
whale-road for ocean; bone-locker for body)
Lyric (n): expressing intense personal emotion, especially in the form of a song or poem