Beowulf Literary Notes and Historical Background Background Information

Beowulf : Literary Notes and Historical Background

*Background Information *Written c. 700 C. E. *Author unknown *Often called the beginning of English literature *Written in what is now called Old English *Only one complete original copy remains

* *One of the oldest existing poems in the English language. *Many scholars debate whether Christian elements were later additions to poem or part of the original text. J. R. R. Tolkein was one of the first to recognize it as one unified work. *Sutton Hoo – 7 th century ship discovered in 1939 that had both Christian and Pagan artifacts on board.

* *Manuscript kept in a monastery until Henry VIII dissolved the orders. Monastic books then shipped to Europe to be used as butcher paper. *Beowulf was saved by Lawrence Nowell, a 16 th century humanist. *Later saved from book burnings in the English civil war of 1642 -46 by a sheriff. *Almost destroyed in a fire in 1731 and some of the pages were charred.

* *Luckily, a Danish scholar had made two copies of Beowulf so the damaged pieces could be restored. *Original copy obtained by British Museum in 1753. *Events in Beowulf occurred nearly 200 years before the poem was written and another 250 years passed before the current copy was written down.

The Invaders: The groups and approximate time period of their invasions of Britain include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 600 BC 55 BC 410 AD 793 AD 1066 AD Celts (from different parts of Europe) Romans (from Italy) Anglo-Saxons (from modern Germany) Vikings (from modern Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) Normans (from modern France) RESULT: Fusion of Greco-Roman, Christian, and Germanic traditions Textbooks frequently refer to the Anglo-Saxons as the “first Englishmen”

1066: Normans (Northmen who had conquered France) conquer Anglo. Saxon England under William the Conqueror (duke of Normandy) Anglo-Saxon England 441 -793 In 441, the Anglo-Saxons were a tribal culture like the Celts. Their culture is chronicled in the epic poem, Beowulf.

Life in the times of Beowulf and the Tribal Culture of the Anglo-Saxons • Each tribe had their own king • They built walled farms and wood-hut villages • They used bronze and iron tools, and grew crops • They also warred with each other • Since war was always a possibility, life was unstable and often violent

* warriors were loyal to a king and would fight to the death for him, surrender was cowardly * these were oral cultures (there was no writing or recorded history) * these cultures were non-Christian; they were “pagans”, worshipping many gods * Scholars say that these invasions happened because of Britain’s fertile land; the land in Northern Europe being less fertile and subject to flooding from the North Sea.

Additional Notes on Anglo-Saxon Culture The mead-hall: within the tribal cluster of wooden buildings surrounded by a strong wooden fence, stood the mead-hall. Here the king and his warriors (called thanes) feasted and drank mead (Anglo. Saxon beer). In the mead-hall, they were entertained by a scop (shope), a poet/story teller/historian.

The scop: the job of the scop was very important. Besides telling a story, his job was to retell current and past events, to record, remember, and retell history all from the record of his mind. Fame and honor meant a lot to these people; it was the scop’s job to preserve a record of their achievements for later generations.

Comitatus – Latin word that represents the loyalty between the Thanes and their lords, the code that dictates their loyalty till death. If the lord is killed, his death must be avenged. Exile meant a warrior was without a home, friends, affection, livelihood, and respect.

*Anglo-Saxons subscribed to the “eye for an eye” philosophy of life and revenge was a common occurrence. *A solution to this problem (in addition to giving away daughters) was paying wergild (man price) or a large sum of money to the victim’s family (essentially buying them off!). If a thane died, *he passed his oath of loyalty *on to his son.

They were also very materialistic and placed great value on treasure, such as gold and rare jewels. Lords were frequently “buried” (set out onto open ocean in a flaming ship or burned on a pyre) with their material possessions. Wealthy men were considered great men, and poets often described a lord’s wealth in detail.

*The spread of CHRISTIANITY to the Anglo- Saxon’s, benefited the Anglo-Saxon culture in many ways: *1. it brought writing to this formerly oral culture, an essential skill for an “advanced culture” *2. it brought new values (peace, compassion, cooperation--instead of arrogance and violence) *3. books were copied, records were written by monks, thus preserving their culture in writing

*Beowulf : The Epic Poem *An EPIC is a long narrative poem which follows a hero’s struggle against universal issues. * The epic will contain 5 elements:

* 1. Epic hero– an character of imposing stature with a trait or characteristic that is valued by his society. • (E. g. – Superman’s bravery or valor) 2. Quest– A journey through which the character or the reader learns something 3. Valorous Deeds– Doing something bravely. His/her actions take place on a grand scale and are important nationally, internationally, or worldwide

4. Divine Intervention– The hand of supernatural forces (gods, angels, demons) help the hero, proving his value. 5. Great events– The hero has a hand in something important in the history or mythology of a culture.

* 1. Invoke a muse 2. Plot begins “en media res” (in the middle of the action) 3. Serious tone It is not necessary to have all of these but need most of them

* Since these stories were often told orally by travelers, often, if a heroic deed had occurred in the area, it might be blended into the stories he told. Other influences played a part in the changing of epics. For example, the spread of Christianity and its influence is evident in the blending of Norse pagan beliefs and Christian beliefs in Beowulf, often in the same line. When these stories were later written down, they were also subject to many changes: * mistakes in translation * misunderstandings of out-of-date slang * political correctness *intentional changes, especially by monks

• Gilgamesh (Babylonian, unknown) • The Odyssey and the Iliad (Greek, Homer) • The Aeneid (Roman, Virgil)

Epics often tend to follow a similar pattern in their plotlines.

*Special circumstances surrounding his/her birth Superman was born on Krypton *Special qualities revealed in his/her youth Super strength used to save Pa on the farm *Has a tragic flaw/weakness Kryptonite *

*Status/place is challenged Lex Luther tries to kill Superman *Goes on a quest Superman goes to the ? ? ? *Heroic death *

Outside of that definition we learn what the idea of the HERO/GOOD LEADER in Anglo-Saxon Society meant. BEOWULF was: 1. STRONG. He was the “real deal. ” He could back up his promises with action and heroic deeds. 2. WISE/SPOKE WELL. Knew the right thing to say at the right time. He could win a battle with words, avoiding violence. Was a gracious and humble speaker as well. 3. LED BY EXAMPLE, not by boasting.

4. HUMBLE. He was not too prideful (note his contrast with the big-talking Unferth; thanking Unferth for his lending the sword and not mentioning it failed. Gave credit to God for his success, realizing he was not all powerful. 5. LOYAL and obedient to his own king (Hygelac) as well as Hrothgar.

* There is often a character flaw or other weakness Which brings problems to the epic hero.

Beowulf would have been the ideal leader in Anglo-Saxon times mainly because of 1, 2, and 5. Hrothgar was also an ideal leader because he treated his people well. Remember, in Anglo-Saxon times it was important to be loyal to your own people, to be able to fight, and to take care of your own. It was also important to be remembered well. Doing these things would mean you were remembered well. Doing what Beowulf did makes you a legend for all time. As we all know, only a select few people in every day and age get to be the “Beowulf”.

Main Characters in Beowulf (The hero. A Geat who leads his band of warriors to find and kill Grendel) Grendel (man-monster who raids Hrothgar’s mead-hall, eating his people) Hrothgar (King of the Scyldings in Denmark) Hygelac (King of the Geats-Beowulf’s king back in Sweden) Unferth (one of Hrothgar’s thanes--he questions Beowulf’s strength and ability ) Wealhtheow (Hrothgar’s wife)

Important Relationships to Remember for Understanding: *Son of Ecgtheow--Beowulf (also called Hygelac’s thane) *Son of Ecglaf--Unferth (also called Hrothgar’s herald) *Son of Healfdene--Hrothgar

* *Beowulf vs. Grendel’s Mother *Beowulf vs. Dragon 3 Aspects of each Combat: *Nature of the enemy *Beowulf’s motivation *Weapons involved

* *Hybrid: man vs. supernatural *Most human-like of the supernatural fights

* *Less “human” than son *An older and more animal-like evil *Before Beowulf can even battle her, he must face the water creatures

* *The oldest and most base form of evil *Referred to as the worm *Man vs. Supernatural

Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon Poetry (The skill and style of the Scop) An important fact to remember about the style of Beowulf is the matter of ANCESTRY. The writer of Beowulf often mentions details that do not seem to relate to the main plot, (mainly commentary on ancestors: “son of. . . ”; so-andso’s “thane”). This is done for a few reasons:

a. as an oral marker -- stories were often told in more than one sitting. The scop might leave off one spot and repeat some information the next day to remind listeners were he left off.

b. as a retelling of history and a chronicle of ancestry. When the writer mentions relationships (i. e. calling Beowulf “Hygelac’s thane” in line 131 or calling Hrothgar “the son of Healfdene” in line 125) he may do this to remind listeners of who came from where and who is related to who. They had no writing or history books to chronicle these things. Being remembered was very important in Anglo-Saxon society.

c. to keep rhythm. The scop told the poem to a beat, rhythm, and with alliteration. Words may be shortened or elongated for this purpose.

Kenning: two or more words which, when put together, serve as a symbol or metaphor for another word. These were often used for entertainment, variety, and to keep the beat and rhythm. Sometimes they are obvious to us. Other times, they are more obscure. Examples: candle of heaven -- the sun peace-weaver -- women light of battle-- sword

Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Also used for entertainment, variety, and to keep the beat and rhythm. Incidentally, Beowulf doesn’t rhyme--not all poems have to rhyme. Anglo-Saxon poetry is known more for alliteration than rhyme. Example from lines (4 -7): Many a mead-hall Scyld, son of Sceaf, Snatched from the forces of savage foes, From a friendless foundling, feeble and wretched, He grew to a terror as time brought change

In the Anglo-Saxon culture, the group, the community was valued over the individual. The worst thing that could happen to a person was to have their tribe wiped out, or to be banished. Joy, security, and survival came from the group.

Grendel was alone, “banished from men, a cursed and ugly creature. ” Perhaps Grendel was sorrowful and bitter that he had been banished as the seed of Cain. He sees the men sleeping “fast in slumber, forgetting grief, /Forgetting the woe of the world of men. ” Perhaps he wants to have a community, to have happiness, to cure his loneliness. This is all speculation; however, we definitely see that he does not like it that Hrothgar’s people were so joyous.

Speeches In lines 163 - 190 we see the first of what seems to be long-winded speeches in Beowulf. The coast guard is both visually impressed with the stature of Beowulf and his men, but also must challenge them so that he may know if they are friends or enemies. The information in these speeches could be said more economically, but we must remember that these long (epic) speeches fulfill several purposes:

1. )They provide story information (in this speech we learn how impressive Beowulf and his men look). 2. )They can chronicle ancestry (important to know where someone came from both for the characters in the story, but for the scop to provide a oral history of important people, deeds, and battles in his culture).

3. )An oral marker. The scop may have left off at a certain point (these stories were told in more than one sitting, perhaps over days) so people needed to be reminded, say the next day of where a story left off. 4. )Being able to speak well was valued by the Anglo-Saxon culture. We will see that Beowulf speaks well and thus is a valued leader. *Beowulf responds with his own “wordy speech”. We see the coast guard is once again impressed and he agrees to allow Beowulf into his country.

Let the journey begin. . .