Introduction to Beowulf-Anglo Saxon

Introduction to

Beowulf

The Anglo Saxon

Period

449-1066 BCE

BCE = Before Common Era

(Before Christ)
CE = Common Era

​Historical Background

• Although the Beowulf manuscript was written in about 1000 A.D. it was not discovered until the seventeenth century. Scholars do not know whether Beowulf is the sole surviving epic form a flourishing Anglo-Saxon literary period that produced other great epics or whether it was unique even in its own time.

• Many scholars think that the epic was written sometime between the late seventh century and early ninth century. However, other scholars think that the poet's favorable attitude toward the Danes must place the epic's composition after the Viking invasions and at the start of the eleventh century.

England Before the Anglo Saxons

●Celtic speakers arrived in
England in about 900 BCE

●Two Tribes:

○The Brythons (Bre-Tons), inhabited
what is now Britain

○The Geals (Gales, think Gaelic),
ultimately settled in present day
Ireland

●Both spoke Celtic languages,
(which is different from
Germanic…)

Multiple Choice

English is said to be derived
from what language?

• Germanic

• Spanish

• Hindi

• Anglo-Saxon

Multiple Choice

Beowulf is from what time period?

• Tokugawa

• Anglo-Saxon

• Elizabethan

• Roman

The Celts-- 900 BCE

●Celts leaders were often druids

●Druids were priests (Pagan)

●They recited their myths and legends of
heroes prior to writing

●Without the druids, laws and stories
would have been lost

The Romans 55 BCE - 407 CE

● Next group to invade were

the Romans

● Roads
● Towns
● 1 Wall-- like border
● Ruled 300 years

The Anglo Saxons 449 CE-1066 CE

●Germanic Tribes: Angles, Saxons, Jutes

●Used rivers (taking over
the )

●We think of the ships as
Viking ships, but they are Anglo Saxon
Ships

Common Setting = The Mead Hall

●Heavy setting even in Beowulf

●Warmth

●Brought guests

●Parties

●Hosting dinners

●Social center of Anglo Saxon Culture

●Drunkenness

●Music

●Food

Open Ended

Why do you think The Mead Hall is a common setting in Beowulf?

Anglo Saxon- Hierarchy

●Hierarchy

○One at the top, some in the middle, many at the
bottom

■King

●Generous to loyal subjects

●Powerful warrior

●But to keep power, had to serve his
people (give gold, horses, land)

■Thanes

●Kings warriors

●Related to the king (often)

●LOYAL LOYAL LOYAL

■Commoners

●Regular people

●slaves/servants

●families

Multiple Choice

A system of organizing people into ranks where power and privileges are organized from the top to bottom.

• socialism

• castes

• hierarchy

• aristocracy

The Anglo Saxon Religion & Christianity

●Many Celts were
converted

●Irish monks helped
keep Christianity firm

●Scots were converted
easily and the
monasteries were built
in

The Anglo Saxons = Religion

●Roman cleric St. Augustine arrives is 597

●Converted King Ethelbert of Kent

●Tribe must convert to Christianity

●S. England is now accepting Christianity

●Anglo Saxons now converting to Christianity
to support the king

●This promoted peace

●We all are Christians, why should we fight?

●Brought literature and writing

●Monks acted as scribes

●Did all work by hand

●Pagans had memorized, monks wrote it down

Multiple Choice

Why was Beowulf thought to have biblical and Christian allusions?

• It was taken from the Bible

• It was thought to be written by a Christian Monk

• It was told by Jesus Christ

• It was a bedtime story for Christian children

Common Tales of The Anglo Saxons

●Beowulf had been an oral tale

●Monks input influence as they wrote it down officially

●Epic poems were heroic or literary

●Easy to memorize

●Read as a sing songy flow

●Preliterate people

○They had no reading

○They had no writing

●Considered as honorable as fighting

●Considered as important as hunting and farming

Multiple Choice

What is “oral tradition”?

• Performing stories by speaking them from memory

• Stories recorded in scrolls

• A dance number that tells the story of something

• The tradition of caring for one’s mouth

Multiple Choice

What kind of poem was Beowulf originally?

• Oral

• Written

• Song

• Graphic

Multiple Choice

Beowulf is one of the earliest pieces in English literature?

• True

• False

Characteristics of Epic Poetry

• Long narrative poem

• Hero embodies ideals of nation/culture

• Hero also showcases weaknesses of nation/culture

• Struggle symbolizes a value of the culture

• Heroes are aided by divine or supernatural forces

• Written in an elevated style

• Descriptions of armor: aspects of physical appearance, history, magical powers

Lit Terms and Anglo Saxon Poetry

●Epic Poem

○Long and tells a Story

○Has a Extraordinary Person in it.

○Intense Adventures and Heroism

●Epic Hero Traits

○Noble Birth

○Superhuman Capabilities

○Vast Traveler / Long Complicated Journey

○Unmatched Warrior / or has battled
Supernatural Enemies

○Cultural Legend

○Loyal to King and Country

○Extreme Pride

○Often Ends in Tragedy

●Caesuras

○Pause in a line

○Looks like a sentence and is continued to
the next line

○Forced rhythm to the poetry

●Alliteration

○Repetition of consonant sounds

●Kenning

○Metaphorical phrases

○Used to avoid repetition

○Stock epithet-- characterizing a phrase
for a person or thing

Multiple Choice

An epic is a long poem about a _______________ subject

• serious

• silly

• very specific

• adventurous