an introduction to beowulf the first epic poem in the english language

An Introduction to BeowulfThe first epic poem in the English Language

Literary Eras we StudyAs determined by the Brits!

• Anglo-Saxon: 450AD – 1066AD• Medieval: 1066- 1453• Renaissance: 1453 – 1620• Enlightenment: 1620 – late 1700s• Romantic: Late 1798 –1800s• Victorian: 1837-1901• Modern: 1900s• Contemporary: Late 1900s - Present

Opening Questions• Why “Anglo-Saxon” anyway? What does it even

mean?

• Why is the first major “English” poem set in ancient Denmark?

• Why does Old English resemble German more than it does Modern English?

Mwahahaaaaa…Keep watching!

In the beginning…

• “Celts” lived in “Albion” then• “Bretons” lived in

“Brittania”

… so there was no such thing as “the English” or “England”!

And it was all part of Rome

• From 43-410, the Romans held Britain as one of its many colonies

• Latin was the official language of the governing class

But Rome didn’t last

• Germanic Tribes gain power in the 400s

• The Roman troops pulled out of Britain from 450-on, leaving the country essentially defenseless…

Help!!

Enter the ANGLES and the SAXONS and the JUTES!

Angles, Saxons, and Jutes!

King Arthur!

And by 600…

Switching Things Up

Too many Angles... It’s no longer the land of the Celts or the Bretons… it’s the land of the

Angles.

In other words…..

And a new culture began to evolve…

• New leaders = New Language

• Anglo-Saxon!– Also known as Old English

Say What?

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,

monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra

ofer hronrade hyran scolde, gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning!

But We Don’t Speak That! Why Not?

• 1066 – The French (Norman) Invasion

So If we weren’t French, we’d be German! .. Er?

• About 85 percent of the 30,000 Anglo-Saxon words died out after the onslaught of the Scandinavians and Normans; Only about 4,500 Old English words survived.

• Yet, among those surviving words are some of the most fundamental words in English: and, at, brother, but, child, drink, eat, fight, for, house, in, live, love, man, on, sister, sleep, to, and wife.

• According to the book The Story of English (McCrum, Robert, New York: Viking, 1986), every one of the 100 most common words in English is Anglo-Saxon.

But Back to the Angles & Saxons!

(Before she gets angry!)

Conversion to Christianity in 597

St. Augustine of Canterbury “converted” the land to Christianity (via missionaries) in 597 – about the same time that the new Anglo-Saxon leaders were gaining authority.

790• A Viking Invasion! Eep!

• Vikings rule, but A-S language remains

Vikings are…

Scandinavian!

And Beowulf, our British story, is actually about a bunch of Danes and Swedes!

Why might a man living in England at this time write a story about Scandinavians, and not fellow

Englishmen?

How does Beowulf fit into all this?• If it’s true, when did it take

place?

• When was it written?

• How did it the story get passed down all those years?

You will see the conflicts that arise when an author of one culture attempts to tell the story of another from centuries before.

If the people are real… Is the story real?

• Again, we’re not sure. The only incident that has definitely been confirmed as historically true is the death of King Hygelac (which occurs towards the end of Beowulf).

• HOWEVER, we DO know that the villain of the story, unfortunately, looks nothing like Angelina Jolie. Sorry, fellas.

So who wrote this business?

• We also don’t know who wrote Beowulf. All that we really know about the poet is that he was probably a Christian.

• In the 1800s, Beowulf was regarded for its historical value, telling details about the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture

• It was not until 1936, when Oxford scholar J.R.R. Tolkien (ring any bells?) published a paper about Beowulf that the manuscript gained recognition as a piece to be studied for its literary merit.

Why Study It?

Things to remember to avoid confusion!

• While Beowulf was recorded in England by an English person, it is a Scandinavian tale. The latter is also where the story takes place.

• When the story was first told, Christianity was not in the picture (tellers were Pagan). However, when it was recorded, England had been converted, and so many people in England were Christian.

Heroes and Leaders

Thoughts on what an Anglo-Saxon hero will be like?

What about a leader?

Do you think they will be the same, or different?