The AngloSaxons and Beowulf Quit Table of Contents

The Anglo-Saxons and Beowulf Quit

Table of Contents • • Anglo-Saxon Era: Timeline Anglo-Saxon society Pagan vs. Christianity Anglo-Saxon Literature Beowulf Resources Author’s slide Concept Map Quit

The Anglo-Saxon Era: Timeline • 43 CE Romans invade Britain. – Encountered the Celts. – Romans build roads, villas, huge buildings, and forts. – Introduced Christianity. • 420 CE Romans leave.

Timeline Continued • 450 CE Jutes from Denmark, and the Angles and Saxons from Northern Germany invade England. • 597 CE Anglo-Saxons become Christian Quit

Timeline Continued • 787 CE Viking raids begin • 871 -899 CE King Alfred the Great becomes King of England. – Established education systems, rebuilt monasteries. – Fought Danes and forced them from Wessex. – Unified Anglo-Saxons under one king to resist the Viking invasions. – Danes ruled in the North, Anglo-Saxons in the South. • 1066 CE Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror. – From Norman French. – Defeated Danes and Anglo-Saxons. – Officially ended Anglo-Saxon era and brought about the beginning of the Medieval Period. Quit

Anglo-Saxon Society • Anglo-Saxon society. – Lived in tribal groups with a high class of warriors. – Kings emerged as society developed. • Spoke Old English. This was the language that Beowulf was written in. • Became Christian but still valued heroic ideals and traditional heroes. • Their culture valued human contact, family, virtue, and a good story. They feared humiliation and loneliness in their lives. In addition, the Anglo-Saxons desired richness, power, and appreciated heroic actions of warriors. Quit

Pagan vs. Christianity in Beowulf The Anglo-Saxons mixed both pagan and Christian traditions. Beowulf contains traces of both beliefs. Pagan • Strong nature presence • Strength of the warrior Christianity • God is mentioned by two of the main characters in the poem: Beowulf and Hrothgar. • Grendel as Lucifer – Both are outcasts – Perform a task for God – Grendel is described as a son or descendant of Cain, a clear Biblical reference. Quit

Anglo-Saxon Literature • Anglo-Saxon literature began as an oral tradition. Stories, poems, and songs were all told aloud and passed from generation to generation orally through minstrels (also called scops). • Poems traditionally had a strong beat, alliteration, and no rhyme. • Caesura: “a cutting. ” A break in a line of poetry, used in Old English to depict a half line. We use a comma for a modern effect. – i. e. Da com of more under mistheleopum “Out from the marsh, from the foot of the hills. ” • Kenning: derived from the Norse word “kenna” which means “to know, to recognize. ” It is a compact metaphor that functions as a name. • i. e. helmberend: “Helm bearer” or “warrior” • Old English example Quit

The Epic! • Beowulf is the most well-known Anglo-Saxon poem, and is a form of poetry called the epic. Such other examples are Homer’s The Iliad and The Odessey. • Long narrative that celebrates a hero’s long journeys and heroic deeds. • J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ring series and George Lucas’ Stars Wars could be called modern epics. • Characteristics include a noble hero whose character traits reflect their society’s ideals. The hero performs brave acts and appears superhuman. Quit

Heroic Code • The epic poem Beowulf strengthens the Heroic Code. This code was derived from the Anglo-Saxons’ Germanic roots, and called for strength, courage, and loyalty in warriors. It also required kings to be hospitable, generous, and have great political skills. This code was a basis for Anglo-Saxon honor. Quit

Common Themes Of an Epic Poem • Universal themes of epic poetry – Good vs. evil • Beowulf vs. Grendel – Isolation – Courage and honor • Beowulf is fearless and brave while fighting the monsters. – Gods or semi-divine creatures • Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the dragon – Tale involves the fate of an entire race • Beowulf saves Hrothgar’s village from Grendel. Quit

Beowulf • Most famous of early Germanic poems • Written anywhere between 4001000, but most likely after the 500 s. • The author is unknown, but likely to be Christian. It is likely that a few different authors elaborated on the tale. • Takes place in Sweden, Denmark, and Frisia. – The Norse were at this time attacking Britain, thus allowing knowledge of places, people, and ancestors to be available. Quit

Characters • Beowulf: main character, a hero featuring all the qualities of an epic hero. He has superhuman strength and is fearless and brave in battler. • Hrothgar: the king of the village that Beowulf saves from Grendel. • Grendel: a monster terrorizing Hrothgar’s village. • Grendel’s mother: a monster set out to avenge her son’s death. Quit

Resources • “The Anglo-Saxon Invasions of Britain” and “The Spread of Christianity” • http: //player. discoveryeducation. com/index. cfm? guid. Asset. Id=1 A 5 DF 869 F 81 A-463 A-8 E 03 -495 F 774 C 68 EF&bln. From. Search=1&productcode=US • “Life After the Romans” • http: //player. discoveryeducation. com/index. cfm? guid. Asset. Id=BD 1245 FC 89 CF-4423 -A 217 -E 0 EBC 8 FF 62 A 6&bln. From. Search=1&productcode=US • Old English sample • http: //mockingbird. creighton. edu/english/fajardo/teaching/eng 520/langsamples-small. jpg • Information of the Anglo-Saxon period and of Beowulf – Anderson, Rachel. “Medieval Context: Beowulf. ” ENG 220 British Literature I. Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI. 10 Jan. 2008. – Schneider, Daniel. “English Literature: Anglo-Saxon Era and Beowulf. ” Honors English Literature. Linden High School, Linden, MI. 30 Aug. 2005. Quit