The Anglo Saxonsand

Beowulf

Table of Contents1. Great Britain2. The Celts3. Invasion of Britain4. Life5. Questions6. Christianity7. Kings8. 10669. Feudalism/chivalry10. Language11. OE Poetry12. Beowulf13. Culture in Beowulf14. Did he exist?15. Typical themes16. Epic poem17. Beliefs18. Geats and Danes19. Kennings

Great Britain

• Great Britain– England– Scotland– Wales

• Ireland is NOT considered a part of Great Britain

The First People

• Britain first settled by Celts

• Celts came from continental Europe between 800-600 B.C.

• 2 tribes of Celts:– Britons (settled in

what is now Great Britain)

– Gaels (settled in what is now Ireland)

The Invasion• In 43 A.D., Romans invaded and

Britons were either forced northward or into slavery; introduced the concept of Christianity

• Eventually (449), the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded (these are Germanic tribes). They took over and called the island “Angle-land.” They enslaved the people who were there

• Angles, Saxons, and Jutes carved the land into tribal kingdoms, but they came to think of themselves as one people: the English (a.k.a. Anglo-Saxons)

• By 650, most of England was Christian (but held onto pagan beliefs, too)

•There was no written tradition•People were farmers and hunters

•Warfare was a way of life•People believed in many different gods (polytheistic)

Thunor

(aid to warriors in battle)

Tir

(god of glory and honor)

Woden

(protector of heroes)

Questions

• Why were people illiterate?

• What qualities were most admired in this society?

A/S Kings

In 878, Alfred, King of Wessex (Egbert’s grandson) defeated the Danes at the Battle of Edington. Alfred went on to recapture most of England, as well as promote education and literacy among his people. He became known as “Alfred the Great.” Alfred’s son and grandson won back the rest of England and made peace with the Vikings.

The small kingdoms fought amongst each other until 829—King Egbert of Wessex won control of all A/S kingdoms. Unfortunately, by the end of Egbert’s reign, Vikings had captured much of the kingdom (Vikings were Scandinavian—called Norse because they had crossed the North Sea—predominantly Danes); Vikings had taken over much of France, and that area became known as Normandy.

1066• King Edward died• William (the Duke of

Normandy)** laid claim to the throne (Edward may have promised the throne to William)

• Instead, the English council of elders chose Harold II as king

• Duke William attacked, defeated the A/S and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings. He became King William I

**Remember: France = Vikings

This brought French culture to England

1. feudalism—land is divided among lords who are loyal to the king. The lords give land to vassals in exchange for military duty.

2. chivalry—knights are expected to be honorable, brave, generous, skillful in battle, respectful to women, and helpful to the weak.

1066 marks the beginning of what we consider English culture.

Old English: a combination of the languages spoken by the Anglo-Saxons. Today it looks like a foreign language.

Beowulf written in OE

Oral tradition: heroic themes of courage, goodness, loyalty, strength

Stories passed down by a scop (traveling storyteller often accompanied by a harp)

Heroism in stories gave people a model for living and a form of immortality (tales would be about them and their heroism, to be told for generations).Remember, most people couldn’t read or write. They learned through stories, songs, and poems.

Monks could read and write; they focused on Christian themes and are responsible for recording most of the OE literature that survives today (they added a religious quality to the stories)

Old English Poetry3 major types of OE poetry:

1. heroic verse—celebrates courage, honor, loyalty

2. elegy—mourns a loss

3. religious verse—focuses on Christian teachings and stories

*****Beowulf contains all three.

Beowulf (the poem)• 3200 lines• Composed between 700-750 AD; set in the

early 6th century• Based on early Celtic and Scandinavian folk

legends• Only manuscript to survive Henry VIII’s

dissolution of the monasteries and destruction of monastic libraries; manuscript dates from 1000 (but was composed before that); now in British Museum in London

• Deterioration of manuscript means that there are gaps scholars have to fill in by guesswork

Poem gives vital information about OE social life & politics

• society rigidly feudal, highly civilized, highly violent. The poem glorifies war, death, and fame (fame is the most precious thing a man can have because it is the only thing that survives).

• Male dominated society• In this society, weapons had names but slaves did not—they valued

warfare more than people• Proven swords and helmets were passed down from fathers to sons• In a warrior society, the most important relationship is between

warrior (thane) and his lord: based less on subordination than on mutual trust and respect. Warrior who pledged his loyalty became a voluntary companion to his lord—took pride in defending his lord and fighting in his wars. In return, the lord was expected to take affectionate care of his thanes, to reward them richly.

• Relationship between kinsmen also very important: if one’s kinsman was slain it was one’s duty to kill the slayer or exact payment—each rank of society was ranked at a price; this price had to be paid to the family to avoid their vengeance, even if the killing was accidental.

Did he really exist?• The tribe in southern Sweden did exist, but

Beowulf himself is fictitious. • There was a real man named Beowulf (may mean

“bear”) who helped the Danes and Geats fend off pirate attacks; however, he was not king of the Geats nor a Danish hero (more of a regular guy)

• Higlac (king of Geats, Beowulf’s king) and Hrothgar (king of the Danes, whom Beowulf helps) both based on real kings

• Significance of battle: what makes a good fighter tick? God grants Beowulf’s victory, but the good fighter (hero) is the one who becomes famous, never gives up, doesn’t worry about the possible consequences of bravery

Typical Themes• Contains typical themes of

seafaring warriors, a society bound by military/tribal loyalties

• bravery of warriors and generosity of rulers highly valued

• combines pagan folklore (monsters) with Christian themes (good vs. evil)– ex: Grendel is a monster, described as an

enemy of God and descendent of Cain (first murderer in the Bible)

Beowulf: OE Superhero• Beowulf is an epic hero: courage, physical strength,

wisdom in guiding others, loyalty to the king, and supreme self-confidence. He embodies the ideals of his people.

• Story of Beowulf is an epic poem—long narrative poem written in formal language that tells of the adventures of a larger-than-life hero.

• Beowulf is a folk epic: story rises from the people and is passed by word of mouth from generation to generation until it is ultimately written down (contrast with literary epic, like the Aeneid, which is the work of one author setting out to follow a literary form).

• Epic plots contain supernatural events, span long time periods, involve distant journeys, and life and death struggles of good vs. evil.– The hero always represents good– The forces that threaten the people always represent

evil

Beowulf is set in a time when warriors gathered in mead/banquet halls (mead=fermented honey wine) for great feasts, told of their adventures (raiding, looting, burning settlements). Kings gave riches to their bravest warriors in exchange for loyalty. People believed in monsters and dragons.

Mead Hall

REMEMBER

**Beowulf is NOT set in England, and the characters are NOT English: it’s set in Scandinavia and involves the Geats of southern Sweden and the Danes of Denmark.

Kenning

• metaphorical circumlocution (talking around something without using its specific name) signifying a person or thing by a characteristic or quality of that person or thing.

• “whale road” = the sea• “Higlac’s follower” = Beowulf