BEOWULF

1
BEOWULF

• FROM ORAL TRADITION TO WRITTEN NARRATIVE

Picture from saxons.etrusia.co.uk
2
The Dark Ages

• A time of bloody conflicts, ignorance, violence,
  and barbarism. (23)
• Very few works of literature exist from this time
  period. These were the days before the printing
  press.
• There was no unified language in the early years.
  
• Stories often featured an epic hero and his
  struggles in battle.

3
Roman Invasion

• The Romans invaded in 55 B.C.
• After Caesar achieved victory, he quickly
  returned to Rome, leaving the Britons to fend for
  themselves.
• A century later, the Romans returned and
  introduced cities, roads, written scholarship,
  and Christianity.
• When the Roman empire fell, the Romans pulled out
  of Britain in 409 A.D. and it was left
  defenseless against invaders.
• As a result of no central government, much of the
  developed civilization disappeared as other
  invaders entered the country.

4
The Anglo- Saxons

• The Anglos and the Saxons were two German tribes
  that migrated to England in 449 A.D.
• The Britons were driven to the outer providences
  such as Wales and Scotland as the Anglo-Saxons
  claimed land across England.
• The name changed from Briton to Angle-land or
  England.
• Anglo-Saxon culture took over as the basis for
  English culture, and the universal language
  across the country became Old English.

5
The Vikings

• In the 790s A.D. the Vikings from Norway and
  Denmark invaded England.
• The Vikings raided, looted, and burned down
  entire villages (24).
• In the south, the Vikings were finally defeated
  by Alfred the Great, an Anglo-Saxon king.
• Alfred unified England with Christianity and
  learning and culture thrived.

6
The Norman Conquest

• The conflict After Alfred died, Edward the
  Confessor took the throne. Once Edward died, he
  had no children so the Anglo-Saxons decided to
  make Harold, an English Earl, king of England.
  William, Duke of Normandy, claimed that Edward
  stated he should be king before he died. A church
  council of nobles and church officials decided to
  make Harold king.
• As a result, William waged war on the English and
  defeated them at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
  Harold was killed and William, known as William
  the Conqueror, became King of England.
• The Norman Conquest, as it became known, ended
  the Anglo-Saxon rule in England. The once nobles
  of Anglo-Saxon England became peasants as Norman
  nobles took their place.

7
Christianity

• The early invader of Anglo-Saxon England believed
  in paganism. There was the belief in wyrd, or
  fate, and that life ended at death.
• Christianity brought new hope for the
  Anglo-Saxons by allowing a belief of an after
  life.
• In 597 A.D., St. Augustine arrived in Kent and
  created a monastery in Canterbury.
• By 690 A.D. virtually all of Britain believed in
  Christianity, but many held on to Pagan beliefs.
• Organized schools were unknown, so monasteries
  served as a center for learning, culture, and
  entertainment.
• Many literary works were created in the
  monasteries, the most famous being A History of
  the Church and People and The Anglo-Saxon
  Chronicles by the Venerable Bede.
• When the Vikings invaded, they destroyed most of
  the monasteries and threatened to extinct all
  traces of cultural refinement, but Christianity
  thrived despite all of this.

8
Mead Halls and Anglo-Saxon Entertainment

• Mead Hall large reception buildings that were a
  social gathering space for kings to entertain
  nobles and other honored guests.
• Often large banquets with lots of food and ale.
• Entertained by Scops.

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Scops and the Epic Poem

• Scops Professional poet
• They often used a musical instrument and
  entertained the nobles with lengthy poems.
• The Scops performance was a history lesson,
  moral sermon, and pep talk all rolled into one,
  instilling cultural pride and teaching how a true
  hero should behave (26).
• Symbols such as gold (symbolizing honor) were
  often used.
• Epic Poems were memorized and recited as an oral
  art form. They were only recorded after
  Christianity spread and the monks in the
  monasteries decided to write them down.
• Example Beowulf
• Lyric Poems reflect a more everyday reality
• Example The Seafarer

10
Characteristics of an Epic Poem

• Beowulf is an epic poem. Characteristics of an
  epic poem include
• The hero is a great leader who is identified with
  a particular people or society
• The setting is broad and often includes upper and
  lower worlds
• The hero does great deeds in battle or undertakes
  an extraordinary journey
• There are supernatural elements
• The story is told in heightened language

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Other Epics

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

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Characteristics of an Epic Hero

• Excels in skill, strength and courage
• Succeeds in war and adventure
• Values honor and duty
• Usually has a guide or a mentor
• Battles demons or monsters
• Descends into darkness
• Achieves his goal

• Is generous with followers, but ruthless with
  enemies
• Is a man of action
• Accepts challenges and sometimes invites problems
• Sometimes makes rash decisions and takes
  unnecessary risks
• Encounters women who tempt him

13
The Poems Beginning

• Composed sometime around the 8th century (700 AD)
• Tells the loose history of events that were to
  have occurred previously.
• Part of the oral narrative tradition.

14
Creating the Poem

• First, the story line and whole of the poem was
  created by a poet.
• Then, the original poet performed his poem for
  audiences as he traveled.
• Bards used stories to not only entertain, but
  also to retain their cultures history.
• The stories gradually spread from village to
  village, bard to bard

15
The Poets Tellings

• As the story of Beowulf became popular, it was
  told and retold by other performers and bards.
• This is what the first three lines of the poem
  sound like in Old English.

Map of Anglo Saxon England courtesy of
www.bible-researcher.com
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What Beowulf Sounds Like

• Hwæt! We Gar-dena   in gear-dagum, þeod-cyninga,
          þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas  
   ellen fremedon.

So, The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings
who ruled them had courage and greatness. We have
heard of those princes heroic campaigns.
Sound from www.engl.virgina.edu
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The Poets Accomplishments

• Early Anglo-Saxons in England had no written
  language.
• The poet had to compose it and remember it
  entirely in his head.
• Beowulf is very complex.
• stories within the story
• intricate details of family lineage
• centuries-old feuds
• extremely detailed descriptions of settings and
  events.

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Oral Transmission of Texts

• Since the story was told from memory, changes
  occurred.
• Have you ever played Telephone?

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Effects of Transmission

• Altered slightly with each telling and
  re-telling.
• The collective work of many different poets and
  bards by the time is was written
• At least twoand possibly morescribes
  responsible for the surviving manuscript
• Human interpretation, addition, omission and
  error can only be expected.

20
The Beowulf Manuscript

• The Poets skill at remembering the poem and
  retelling it similarly every time led to Beowulf
  becoming a complete and significant part of the
  oral tradition of Anglo-Saxon Britain.
• The original Old English text has 3,182 lines.
• Around the later 10th or early 11th centuries,
  two scribes recorded the story on vellum, a type
  of early paper made from animal skin.

Beowulf manuscript from the British Library
online gallery.
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Effects of Transmission Oral Tradition to
Written Manuscript

• Monastic scribes most likely created the written
  manuscript, since monks were the first literates
• The Beowulf poet infuses clear references to
  Christian beliefs.
• Pre-Christian elements are still present,
  demonstrating that cultural change is gradual and
  not immediate.

22
Pagan v. Christian Concepts

• Pagan Concepts
• elaborate Germanic sea-burials, grand feasts in
  the mead-halls, belief in fate, material rewards.
  
• Christian Concepts
• reference to Cain (used in connection to
  Grendel), reference to the Flood, Gods will be
  done

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Significance of the Manuscript

• That the story was substantial enough to be
  written down is a testament to the importance of
  the oral tradition in Anglo-Saxon culture.
• The Beowulf manuscript is
• the only surviving written record of the story
• written in Old English
• one of the first ever recorded stories written in
  vernacular (language of the people) and not Latin.

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Survival of the Manuscript

• No one is sure where the Beowulf manuscript was
  until the 16th century, though it was most likely
  held in monasteries.
• At that point, it showed up in the collection of
  Laurence Nowell, a historian primarily interested
  in Anglo-Saxon Britain.
• In the 17th century, Sir Robert Cotton, a
  collector, acquired the manuscript for his
  personal library.

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Survival of the Manuscript

• In 1700, Sir Cottons grandson gave the library
  collection including the manuscript to the nation
  as a gift.
• On October 23, 1731, a fire destroyed the house
  where the manuscript was held.
• Though the edges of the manuscripts pages were
  heavily damaged, Beowulf survived.

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Home at the British Library

• In 1753, the manuscript was acquired by the
  British Library.
• Since its acquisition of Beowulf, the Library has
  restored the manuscript and produced an
  Electronic Beowulf project so that readers may
  see and read the original textin Old English!

Photo courtesy of www.urban75.org
www.bl.uk
27
Translation

• Turning Old English text from a damaged
  manuscript to modern English is no easy task.
• Every time Beowulf is translated, the result is
  slightly different.
• For example, the first word of Beowulf in Old
  English is Hwæt.

• This one word has been given countless
  translations. The Seamus Heaney translation
  begins with So. Variations include Lo,
  Hark, Behold, and Attend.

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Beowulf Today

• The surviving manuscript is still viewable today
  at the St Pancras location of the British Library
  in London.
• There are countless translations of the text
  available in audio and print. Of course, you can
  still buy the original Old English too.
• The story has been adapted for childrens books,
  cartoons, and full-length feature movies.

29
Themes, continued

• Violence--this is a bloody and descriptive story.
  Violence is seen as valid in this society.
  Consider the historical significance behind the
  violence.
• Good vs. Evil--the idea behind good conquering
  evil is played out between Beowulf and the
  enemies he fights.
• Beowulf vs. Grendel, Beowulf vs. Grendels
  mother, Beowulf vs. the Dragon.

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Themes cont

• Kinship--The close relationship between groups of
  men like the Danes and the Geats. Men who are
  willing to die for each other without question.
• Heroism--Beowulf is the ultimate hero of his time
  demonstrating kinship and fearless leadership.
• Consider how heroism is defined today. Why is
  Beowulf still considered a hero today?

31
BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
The Anglo-Saxon oral poet also used the poetic
device of alliteration.
Grendel gongan,         godes yrre bær mynte
se manscaða         manna cynnes
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BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
Alliteration the repetition of consonant sounds
in words close together.
And with old woes new wail my dear times waste.
The emphasis on the w sound in this line from
Shakespeares Sonnet 30 creates a melancholy tone.
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BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
Find examples of alliteration in Burton Raffels
translation of lines 1-5
Out from the marsh, from the foot of
misty Hills and bogs, bearing Gods
hatred, Grendel came, hoping to kill Anyone he
could trap on this trip to high Herot.
34
BeowulfThe Poetry of Beowulf
Find examples of alliteration in Burton Raffels
translation of lines 1-5
Out from the marsh, from the foot of
misty Hills and bogs, bearing Gods
hatred, Grendel came, hoping to kill Anyone he
could trap on this trip to high Herot.