Beowulf

1
Beowulf

• The poem and life in not-so merry old England

2
Say Mean Matter

• Read the story provided
• What does it
• say (summary)
• mean (what is its theme)
• matter (why do we care)

3
Myth (Mythology)

• Set in the remote past or even before time
• Offer some explanation or origin of a natural
  phenomenon or other event
• Typically held as sacred and/or symbolic
• Have little to no basis in historical events
• Characters are typically non-human (gods)

4
Legend

• Set in the near past
• Are set durring a particular, recognizable time
  period
• Are regarded as historical events
• Can be sacred or secular
• Characters are typically human, but larger than
  life

5
Your stories

• Is your story a myth or a legend?
• What evidence do you have for this?
• What is the possible purpose(s) of your story?

6
The Anglo-Saxon Cronicle

• Written by the Venerable Bede, a way cool monk
  living in Britain (673-735 AD).
• He recorded the first historical accounts of
  Britain and its people, in Latin.
• Read the selection on p. 79 in the text.
• Respond to the question provided.

7
I need a hero

• Andrea (Galileos student) "Unhappy is the land
  that has no heroes."
• Galileo "No Andrea, unhappy is the land that
  needs a hero."
• From Bertolt Brechts Galileo

8
A Brief History

• The Brythons began invading the island in about
  800 BC.
• Beginning in 600 BC, the Celts had begun to move
  from the continent on to the island of Britain.
• Like all good barbarians, the tribes were warlike
  and prone to fighting amongst themselves.

9
And they kept coming

• The Romans invaded as part of Caesars grab for
  power in 55 BC.
• The Roman invasion was finally complete about a
  century later.
• Christianity also began to spread at this time.
• As the empire fell, the Roman legions withdrew
  from Britain in 407 AD.
• Barbarians from the continent saw the opportunity
  and invaded (of course).

10
Are they done yet?

• The Angles and the Saxons invaded from what is
  now Germany.
• Angle-land, by the by, became England.
• They and the Jutes, another tribe, divided up the
  island.
• Vikings also began raiding the coast in the 800s.

11
Finally

• 1066 The Battle of Hastings
• William the Conqueror, in a stretch of a claim to
  the throne of England, invades the island.
• He wins a decisive victory and the throne after
  crossing the channel from his native Normandy
  (France).

12
Why do we care?

• The short version of this is that Britain up to
  this point has been a mess of tribal invasions,
  civil wars and generic violent living.
• The citizens felt little unity or sense of shared
  history.
• English underwent three major changes based on
  who was invading at the time (Germanic, Latin,
  French, etc.).