Beowulf : Literary Notes and Historical Background

Beowulf: a Study in Intertextuality

3 Major Elements of Concentration:

1. Historical Background of Britiain

2. Literary History (genre, terminology)

3. Evolution of text

Historical Background

Old English Period (428 A.D. – 1100 A. D.) Beowulf (725? A.D.)

Anglo-Norman Period (1100 A.D. – 1350 A. D.)

The Invaders:

1. 600 BC  Celts (from different parts of Europe) 2. 55 BC Romans (from Italy) 3. 410 AD Anglo-Saxons (from modern Germany) 4. 793 AD Vikings (from modern Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) 5. 1066 AD  Normans (from modern France)

RESULT: Fusion of Greco-Roman, Christian, and Germanic traditions 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.

The Tribal Culture of the Celts and other Northern Europeans Tribes• Each tribe had their own king• Walled farms and wood-hut villages• Bronze and iron tools, and grew

crops• Warred with each other• Life was unstable and often violent • Warriors loyal to a king and fight to

the death for him• Oral cultures• Non-Christian; “pagans”• Invasions happened because of

Britain’s fertile land

Beowulf- In Denmark and

Sweden- 500 AD- Before one

king, Christianity, peace, and literacy.

- Tribal cultures (the Geats and the Scyldings) are much like those in early Anglo-Saxon England.

Results of CHRISTIANITY to the Anglo-Saxon’s:

1. Writing, an essential skill for an “advanced culture”

2. New values (peace, compassion, cooperation--instead of arrogance and violence)

3. Books were copied

Literary Genre of Beowulf

Epic: - Long narrative poem - Elevated style. - Presents a character (s) of high degree - Details important events that have a national,

worldwide, or cosmic setting. - The Odyssey, the Star Wars films - Oral cultures

Characteristics of Epics

1.) an epic hero of imposing stature and who is meaningful as a legend or historical figure

2.) his/her actions take place on a grand scale and are important nationally, internationally, or worldwide

3.) the action consists of a great deed( s) requiring superhuman courage & maybe superhuman strength

4.) supernatural forces (gods, angels, demons) are involved or interested in the action

5.) the style is grand or elevated 

Additional Notes on Anglo-Saxon Culture

The mead-hall: - Within a cluster of wooden buildings surrounded by a strong wooden

fence, stood the mead-hall. - The king and his warriors (called thanes) feasted and drank mead.- Entertained by a scop (shope), a poet/story teller/historian.

The scop: - Telling stories - Retell current and past events, to record, remember, and retell history

Fame and honor - meant a lot to these people

Main Characters in Beowulf

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 

3 Major Combats• Beowulf vs. Grendel• Beowulf vs. Grendel’s

Mother• Beowulf vs. Dragon

3 Aspects of each Combat:

• Nature of the enemy• Beowulf’s motivation• Weapons involved

Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon Poetry (The skill and style of the Scop) - ANCESTRY

- Details that do not seem to relate to the main plot, are done for a few reasons:

a. as an oral marker -- stories were often told in more than one sitting.

b. as a retelling of history and a chronicle of ancestry; remind listeners of who came from where and who is related to who.

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 

Caesura: the building block of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Each line had a pause in the middle to create a kind of beat. By my count, each line had 8 syllables with the pause or the caesura in the middle.

In meter, caesura (alternative spellings are cæsura or cesura) is a term to denote an audible pause that breaks up a line of verse. In most cases, caesura is indicated by punctuation marks which cause a pause in speech: a comma, a semicolon, a full stop, a dash, etc. Punctuation, however, is not necessary for a caesura to occur.

There are two types of caesurae: masculine and feminine. A masculine caesura is a pause that follows a stressed syllable; a feminine caesura follows an unstressed syllable.

Consider the opening line of Beowulf:Hwæt! we Gar-Dena || on geardagum ("Lo! we Spear-Danes, in days of yore. . .")

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.

Once he had his men land safely, they “gave thanks to God” for a safe journey.This mentioning of God would have taught the audience that even great heroes must acknowledge a higher power greater than themselves, and perhaps even to avoid boasting too much, getting too big of a head.

(*God is also mention in the following lines:234-235, 288, 361-362, 439 500, 516, 530, 677-678, 684, 698, 707, 717, 906, 1090-1093, 1093, 1103, 1130, 1132, 1169-1225

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 oralhistory 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. In lines 191 - 210, 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, saying in lines 234-235 “The mighty Lord in His mercy shield you and hold you safe.”

The Hero Theme Epic Hero:

1.) An epic hero of imposing stature and who is meaningful as a legend or historical figure

2.)  The hero’s actions take place on a grand scale and are important nationally, internationally, or worldwide.

3.)  The action consists of a great deed( s) requiring superhuman courage & maybe superhuman strength. 

4.) Supernatural forces (gods, angels, demons) are involved or interested in the action

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

5. LOYAL and obedient to his own king (Hygelac) as well as Hrothgar.

Beowulf would have been the ideal leader in Anglo-Saxon times mainly because of 1, 2, and 5.