Beowulf
Beowulf timeline
Beowulf was written around 700
A.D. but the events took place
between 515 -570 A.D. The
story tells of a Germanic tribe,
the Danes, who is routinely
attacked by a monster,
Grendel.
Beowulf
The King of the Danes,
Hrothgar, asks for help from
neighboring tribes. Beowulf,
of the Geats, responds and
brings a band of warriors with
him.
Who are the Danes?
The Danes were one of many
Germanic groups living in Northern
Europe in the years of the late
Roman Empire. Around 500, The
Swedes, Geats, Danes, and Jutes
(all native to Scandinavia) were
actively migrating to Britain.
Anglo-Saxons
Three Germanic groups: the Jutes, the
Angles, and the Saxons became the
dominant inhabitants of the island. The
Germanic immigrants blended
cultures with the existing British and
became what we know as the AngloSaxons.
Dates
1st century A.D- Romans conquer the Britons
(Celts)
410- Romans leave the island of G.B.
419- Jutes arrive, followed by Angles, Saxons
* During this time there were separate
kingdoms (Northumbria, Kent, Mercia,
Wessex) These separate tribes banded
together to fight the Norsemen (Vikings)
1066- Invasion by William the Conqueror of
Normandy
Anglo-Saxon Culture
The early groups were pagan,
worshipping the Earth and gods
like Thor. However, because of St.
Patrick in the 400s and Catholic
missionaries in the late 500s, many
of the Anglo-Saxons were exposed
to Christianity, and by 700, most
pagan practices were gone.
Religion in Beowulf
Beowulf remains
unique in that the
poem is a mixture
of Pagan concepts
and Christian
teachings.
Anglo-Saxon Culture
The German tribes who settled in Great
Britain also brought a “code” with them,
with the strongest belief in loyalty.
•
Loyalty within a family (protect kinsmen
at all costs, revenge a crime against kin)
•
Loyalty to a king (fight (and possibly die)
for a king in return for treasures.)
Loyalty to family

Because family
loyalty was so highly
honored, marriages
were often arranged
between tribes as a
way to bring peace.
Husbands and wives
had different roles,
but were treated
equally in marriage.
Loyalty to King

War leaders (often kings) usually
had a band of warriors who would
be loyal to the death. In return, kings
would share treasure (jewelry,
horses, cookware) that had been
pillaged from battles. The higher the
rank of the warrior, the greater the
treasure.
Anglo-Saxon Culture
With this Germanic honor code, the most
shocking acts in their oral tales involve
betrayal of these ties.

Grendel is said to be a descendent of the Biblical Cain.
Cain betrayed his kinsman by murdering his brother,
Abel.

Grendel’s mother seeks revenge for her son’s death,
and Beowulf sees this as completely justifiable.
Anglo-Saxon Culture- Wryd

Wyrd (Old English for “fate”) is the
Anglo-Saxon word to mean the “the
inescapable decree of the day of one’s
death.” The Germanic peoples believes
that if a warrior is fated to die, then he
will die, but if he is not fated to die, then
he will be courageous. Bold actions
were favored over passive acceptance.
Anglo-Saxon Culture - Wergeld

A wergeld was a price set on a
person’s life for the purpose of
compensating the victim’s family for
their loss. The slayer was expected to
pay the wergeld to avoid further
punishment/obligation and to avoid a
tribal war.
Beowulf Manuscript
Who wrote Beowulf?

The author of Beowulf is unknown but
is believed to be an Anglo-Saxon
poet. Scholars believe the true
Beowulf manuscript had been
changed by Christian monks who
rewrote parts to incorporate religious
morals into the story.
Who wrote Beowulf?
Anglo-Saxon poetry was an oral art,
much like the Greek oral
traditions. Poems were sung,
usually accompanied by a harp.
Scop- the “professional poet”
whose duty it was to be the
“memory and historian of the
tribe.”
The saga of the manuscript

No one knows how many copies (if any) of
Beowulf there were. Only one copy has
survived. Scholars believed the surviving
manuscript was originally in a monastery.
During the Reformation in England, many
monasteries were closed and private
collectors took possession of large collections
of books. Sir Robert Cotton had the original
manuscript in his personal library.
The saga of the manuscript
In 1700, Cotton’s grandson donated the entire
library to the British government. In 1786,
and Icelander, Grim Johnson Thorkelin, was
searching though old manuscripts for
anything pertaining to Danish history.
Thorkelin was able to understand some of
what he read and immediately hired sribes
to make two copies. Beowulf was finally
published in 1815.
Elements of Beowulf
Alliteration
Because Old English poetry has no stanzic form
or rhyme, the poet used alliteration heavily
to create a rhythm of phonetic sounds rather
than a tune.
ellenmæþum.
Denum
Geatmecga leod
Nihtweorce gefeh,
Hæfde Eastgilp gelæsted...
[He rejoiced in his night's work, the fame his courage won. The
man of the Geats had fulfilled his boast to the East-Danes.]
Kennings
A kenning is a metaphorical appellation which
is typically written as a two-word compound.
The kennings use metonymy to create poetic
language.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts beyond
the whale-road had to yield to him and begin to
pay tribute.
whale-road = ocean
Caesura
Characters
Beowulf
- Prince of the Geats/
nephew to King
Hygelac
- epitomizes “hero
code”- brave, loyal,
generous
- fully accepts the fate of
his own death (and is
not afraid)
Hrothgar
- King of the Danes
- Beloved by his people
because of his
generosity
- Builds mead-hall:
Heorot
- Because of his age, he
cannot fight off attacks
from Grendel
Grendel
- a monster who is half-man/half-fiend
- lives in the bottom of a lake near Heorot
- despises human joy
- has been attacking the Danes for twelve
years
- is a descendent of Cain
Wealtheow
- Wife to Hrothgar
- considered a “generous” queen because
of the rewards she gives
- younger than Hrothgar; probably given
in marriage as part of a peace treaty
between two groups
Unferth
- a “thylee”- a spokesman in a Danish
court
- feels intimidated by Beowulf’s presence
- becomes drunk and challenges Beowulf
- some scholars believe that Unferth’s
name means “anti-peace” (ferth =
peace), but others contend the name
Hunferth is clear in the original text, and
someone changed it to fit the alliteration
pattern because “H” would be silent
Wiglaf (WEE-lahf)
- young Geatish warrior
- relative of Beowulf
- helps Beowulf against the dragon
Prologue
Scyld Scefing
Beo
Why the history?
Many scholars
Healfdane
believe the poet
wanted to create a history
in order to give credibility to his story- as
would be in an oral tradition fashion.
Throughout the poem, the poet is
Hrothgar
careful to avoid anachronisms to question
the truth in his writings.