The Anglo Saxons and Beowulf

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The Anglo Saxonsand Beowulf
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Table of Contents

1. Great Britain
2. The Celts
3. Invasion of Britain
4. Life
5. Questions
6. Christianity
7. Kings
8. 1066
9. Feudalism/chivalry
10. Language
11. OE Poetry
12. Beowulf
13. Culture in Beowulf
14. Did he exist?
15. Typical themes
16. Epic poem
17. Beliefs
18. Geats and Danes
19. Kennings

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Great Britain

• Great Britain
• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Ireland is NOT considered a part of Great Britain

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The First People

• Britain first settled by Celts
• Celts came from continental Europe between
  800-600 B.C.
• 2 tribes of Celts
• Britons (settled in what is now Great Britain)
• Gaels (settled in what is now Ireland)

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The Invasion

• In 43 A.D., Romans invaded and Britons were
  either forced northward or into slavery
  introduced the concept of Christianity
• Eventually (449), the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes
  invaded (these are Germanic tribes). They took
  over and called the island Angle-land. They
  enslaved the people who were there
• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes carved the land into
  tribal kingdoms, but they came to think of
  themselves as one people the English (a.k.a.
  Anglo-Saxons)
• By 650, most of England was Christian (but held
  onto pagan beliefs, too)

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• There was no written tradition
• People were farmers and hunters
• Warfare was a way of life
• People believed in many different gods
  (polytheistic)

Tyr (god of glory and honor)
Thunor (aid to warriors in battle)
Woden (protector of heroes)
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Questions

• Why were people illiterate?
• What qualities were most admired in this society?

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A/S Kings

• The small kingdoms fought amongst each other
  until 829King Egbert of Wessex won control of
  all A/S kingdoms. Unfortunately, by the end of
  Egberts reign, Vikings had captured much of the
  kingdom (Vikings were Scandinaviancalled Norse
  because they had crossed the North
  Seapredominantly Danes) Vikings had taken over
  much of France, and that area became known as
  Normandy.

In 878, Alfred, King of Wessex (Egberts
grandson) defeated the Danes at the Battle of
Edington. Alfred went on to recapture most of
England, as well as promote education and
literacy among his people. He became known as
Alfred the Great. Alfreds son and grandson won
back the rest of England and made peace with the
Vikings.
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1066

• King Edward died
• William (the Duke of Normandy) laid claim to
  the throne (Edward may have promised the throne
  to William)
• Instead, the English council of elders chose
  Harold II as king
• Duke William attacked, defeated the A/S and
  killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings. He
  became King William I
• Remember France Vikings

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This brought French culture to England

1. feudalismland is divided among lords who are
   loyal to the king. The lords give land to vassals
   in exchange for military duty.
2. chivalryknights are expected to be honorable,
   brave, generous, skillful in battle, respectful
   to women, and helpful to the weak.

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• 1066 marks the beginning of what we consider
  English culture.
• Old English a combination of the languages
  spoken by the Anglo-Saxons. Today it looks like a
  foreign language.
• Beowulf written in OE
• Oral tradition heroic themes of courage,
  goodness, loyalty, strength
• Stories passed down by a scop (traveling
  storyteller often accompanied by a harp)
• Heroism in stories gave people a model for
  living and a form of immortality (tales would be
  about them and their heroism, to be told for
  generations).Remember, most people couldnt read
  or write. They learned through stories, songs,
  and poems.
• Monks could read and write they focused on
  Christian themes and are responsible for
  recording most of the OE literature that survives
  today (they added a religious quality to the
  stories)

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Old English Poetry

• 3 major types of OE poetry
• heroic versecelebrates courage, honor, loyalty
• elegymourns a loss
• religious versefocuses on Christian teachings
  and stories
• Beowulf contains all three.

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Beowulf (the poem)

• 3200 lines
• Composed between 700-750 AD set in the early
  6th century
• Based on early Celtic and Scandinavian folk
  legends
• Only manuscript to survive Henry VIIIs
  dissolution of the monasteries and destruction of
  monastic libraries manuscript dates from 1000
  (but was composed before that) now in British
  Museum in London
• Deterioration of manuscript means that there
  are gaps scholars have to fill in by guesswork

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(No Transcript)
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Poem gives vital information about OE social life
politics

• society rigidly feudal, highly civilized, highly
  violent. The poem glorifies war, death, and fame
  (fame is the most precious thing a man can have
  because it is the only thing that survives).
• Male dominated society
• In this society, weapons had names but slaves did
  notthey valued warfare more than people
• Proven swords and helmets were passed down from
  fathers to sons
• In a warrior society, the most important
  relationship is between warrior (thane) and his
  lord based less on subordination than on mutual
  trust and respect. Warrior who pledged his
  loyalty became a voluntary companion to his
  lordtook pride in defending his lord and
  fighting in his wars. In return, the lord was
  expected to take affectionate care of his thanes,
  to reward them richly.
• Relationship between kinsmen also very important
  if ones kinsman was slain it was ones duty to
  kill the slayer or exact paymenteach rank of
  society was ranked at a price this price had to
  be paid to the family to avoid their vengeance,
  even if the killing was accidental.

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Did he really exist?

• The tribe in southern Sweden did exist, but
  Beowulf himself is fictitious.
• There was a real man named Beowulf (may mean
  bear) who helped the Danes and Geats fend off
  pirate attacks however, he was not king of the
  Geats nor a Danish hero (more of a regular guy)
• Higlac (king of Geats, Beowulfs king) and
  Hrothgar (king of the Danes, whom Beowulf helps)
  both based on real kings
• Significance of battle what makes a good fighter
  tick? God grants Beowulfs victory, but the good
  fighter (hero) is the one who becomes famous,
  never gives up, doesnt worry about the possible
  consequences of bravery

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Typical Themes

• Contains typical themes of seafaring warriors, a
  society bound by military/tribal loyalties
• bravery of warriors and generosity of rulers
  highly valued
• combines pagan folklore (monsters) with Christian
  themes (good vs. evil)
• ex Grendel is a monster, described as an enemy
  of God and descendent of Cain (first murderer in
  the Bible)

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Beowulf OE Superhero

• Beowulf is an epic hero courage, physical
  strength, wisdom in guiding others, loyalty to
  the king, and supreme self-confidence. He
  embodies the ideals of his people.
• Story of Beowulf is an epic poemlong narrative
  poem written in formal language that tells of the
  adventures of a larger-than-life hero.
• Beowulf is a folk epic story rises from the
  people and is passed by word of mouth from
  generation to generation until it is ultimately
  written down (contrast with literary epic, like
  the Aeneid, which is the work of one author
  setting out to follow a literary form).
• Epic plots contain supernatural events, span long
  time periods, involve distant journeys, and life
  and death struggles of good vs. evil.
• The hero always represents good
• The forces that threaten the people always
  represent evil

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• Beowulf is set in a time when warriors gathered
  in mead/banquet halls
• (meadfermented honey wine)
• for great feasts, told of their adventures
  (raiding, looting, burning settlements).
• Kings gave riches to their bravest warriors in
  exchange for loyalty.
• People believed in monsters and dragons.

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Mead Hall
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REMEMBER

• Beowulf is NOT set in England, and the
  characters are NOT English its set in
  Scandinavia and involves the Geats of southern
  Sweden and the Danes of Denmark.

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Lament An expression of sorrow song or
literary composition that mourns A loss or death
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Infamous having a bad reputation or being
notorious
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Shroud A burial cloth
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Writhing twisting as in pain
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Forged formed or shaped, often with blows or
pressure after heating.
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Caesura A break, pause, or Interruption in a
line of a poem
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Kenning a descriptive poetic phrase used in
place of a name for a person or thing whale
road the sea Higlacs follower Beowulf
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epic poem a long narrative poem telling of a
heros deeds
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Epithet a word or phrase which describes
a persons character in place of a name or title
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Boast an exaggerated speech bragging
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Archetype an idea, personality, or image that
is copied throughout literature regardless of
time, religion, or culture
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Motif recurring subject or theme within a
literary work
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Elegy funeral song or lament for the dead
mournful poem