Transcript Slide 1
Beowulf Historical and Literary Background Map of presentday Europe. Europe:p re-6th Century The British Isles Pre-A.D. to 400 A.D. Inhabited by: • The Britons (Celtic) • The Picts (Pre-Celtic) •The Gaels (Celtic, Ireland) Druids •Intellectual class of Britons •Responsible for many elements of society •philosophers, judges, educators, historians, doctors, seers, astronomers, and astrologers. Did the Druids really have anything to do with this? The Roman Empire 150 A.D. Roman Invasion •Invaded by Julius Caesar, 55 B.C. •Firmly brought under Roman control by the Emperor Claudius, A.D. 43 •Romans brought roads, running water, heating systems, writing •Also brought armour, axes, etc. •System of worship, including, although not for a few hundred years, Christianity Early 400s AD, the Roman legions withdrew from the British Isles to return to Rome. Without the protection of the Roman Army, this led to the invasion of: •Angles •Saxons •Jutes Throughout the 5th and 6th Century (400s-500s AD) Known as Germanic tribes-from Northern Holland, Northern Germany, and Denmark. War-oriented culture They were obviously a sea-faring people. Burial site found in England called Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk. Dates to 7th Century. Believed to be the burial site of a king. The Anglo-Saxons were heathens or pagans upon their arrival in Britain, meaning they did not worship the traditional Judeo-Christian God. Click here to go to slide # 65 Woden (Odin in Norse) was the God of War, poetry, magic, and learning. He was usually the chief of the gods. The Anglo-Saxons did not necessarily believe in an afterlife. They did, however, believe in WYRD- FATE. For a true warrior, his fate was to fight and die in great battles. This would enable him to go to an eternal battle hall, called Valhalla (in the Norse tradition). They were an oral culture. Story telling was very important to them. The only system of writing was the Runic alphabet. The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc, as their Runic Alphabet is called, was brought into Britain by the various tribes of Anglos, Saxons, Jutes, and Frisians. This would have been around the 5th Century, and it was used until the 11th Century. These were used for inscriptions on jewelry, stones, weapons, money, and monuments. Runes would have also been used to perform rituals and rites. In the Germanic languages of the time, rune meant mystery or secret. Most Runic alphabets are thought to be based on the Etruscan alphabet. Runic alphabets • • • • • • • Elder Futhark Gothic Runes Anglo-Saxon Futhorc Younger Futhork Hungarian Runes Turkic Runes Cirth (Tolkein) Once in Briton, the Anglo-Saxons settled down considerably and became more civilized. Some historians believe that this is due to Christianity and its influence. St Patrick is one of the more influential Christians in the history of this time. •Originally from Briton but from a Romanized family. •Kidnapped and taken to Ireland. •Turned to Christianity to comfort him. •Walked nearly 200 miles to escape after 6 years •Went back to Ireland as a missionary Another Christian influence was Augustine*, who was sent by the Pope in the late 500s as a missionary. He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and baptized the king of Kent. *Not Augustine of Hippo, the world famous philosopher and saint. The “invasion” continues. Cornwall and Brittany. Heptarchy-comprised of seven kingdoms EA-East Anglia C-Cornwall K-Kent N-Northumbria S-Sussex M-Mercia W-Wessex Heptarchy Enter the Danes The Vikings The Normans The Norse •Like the Anglo-Saxons, many of the Danes were a fierce and war-oriented, sea-faring people when they first arrived. •At first they raided unprotected monasteries. •The “Berserkers” were the most feared Viking. They were named after the bear shirts they wore. Prior to each battle they would work themselves into a frenzy so they could fight regardless of any pain or injury. •They did not just invade the British Isles. We now know for sure that they made it as far as Nova Scotia in their pioneering longships. Viking Settlements during the Viking Age: AD 750-1050. This is the only true Viking helmet ever found. Absolutely no evidence exists suggesting they wore horned helmets. Alfred the Great (871-899) •Alfred was a Saxon and Christian king of Wessex. •His battles with the Danes were numerous and legendary. •Eventually took London from their control. •Forced many Danes to convert to Christianity in one of his treaties/truces. Alfred the Great encouraged people to read and write in the spoken language. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began in his reign. Much of what we know today about the history comes from this document. This was written in Old English and was a timeline of British history written by monks. After the initial raids, the Vikings began to settle various areas of the British Isles. Their settlements were agricultural and trading areas. The next 100 years were very turbulent. Canute I (Cnut): 1016-1035 •Canute invaded from Denmark and took over as king. •He was supposed to divide the land with Edmund II, his predecessor. •Edmund died within a month. •Married the widow of the Duke of Normandy. •Became King of Denmark around 1018. •In 1028 he conquered Norway. Edward the Confessor •1044-1066 •Very religious •No children •Father was Anglo-Saxon, mother Norman Harold, Earl of Wessex •Took claim of the throne upon the death of Edward the Confessor in 1066, supported by witan •Other claims to the throne included Prince Edgar and William, Duke of Normandy •Fought battle in the North against the King of Norway William the Conqueror • Duke of Normandy • Claimed that Edward promised him ascension • Took advantage of Harold’s fight in the North to invade • This is known as the Norman Conquest The Battle of Hastings • Establishes William as King of England • Approximately 300 years of Norman Rule • Aristocracy speaks Anglo-Norman (French dialect) • Lower class speaks Anglo-Saxon (Old English) Old English • Language that Beowulf was written in. • Sprung from the Germanic settlers and their various dialects. • Harsher in sound than today’s English. • Written phonetically-no silent letters. • More grammatically complex than Modern English. A. Word changed form with function. B. Word order was more flexible. For entertainment and education: •They sang songs •Had epic and lyric poems •Authors of the poems were known as scops. •Glee men traveled from place to place to sing the song of the scops. Beowulf • An epic poem • A folk-epic, which is a long narrative poem relating stories of a hero that embodies all the culture’s most important values. • Written in the Wessex dialect. • Divided into three primary episodes. • Takes place in Denmark and Sweden, not in England. Written by: We don’t know! Written in: We’re not sure! Original Intended Audience: Uh, we’re not sure about that either . . . •Only one manuscript survived •Badly burned in the 1700s •Some repairs made in the 1800s •Dates from around 1000 A.D. •May have been composed as early as 750 A.D. •Author was probably a Christian addressing a royal audience. •One historical figure: Hygelac, Beowulf’s uncle. Raided the Frisian coast around A.D. 516. Beowulf Prologue Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. •Anglo Saxon Poetry had four beats or accents in every line. •No fixed number of unaccented syllables. •Each line is divided by a caesura. •Alliteration on the accented beats on each side. •Used kennings-hyphenated expressions of metaphor-wave-traveler-ship. J R R Tolkien •Was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University •Was profoundly interested in and influenced by Beowulf •Claimed that the story was “a heroic celebration of the lives of mortal men in a dangerous and transient world. “ •Once said in a letter, 'Beowulf is among my most valued sources ...' (Letters, no.25) Table 1: A list in alphabetical order of Old English words from Beowulf that appear in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Old English word from Beowulf Beowulf reference Definition Tolkien’s equivalent Beorn* ll: 1299 Warrior, hero Beorn Beor ll: 609 Bright, shining Beor the Old Eotenas ll: 112 Giant / troll Ent/ Ettenmoors / Ettendales Flet ll: 1540 Floor Flet Fródan / fróda* ll: 2025, 2928 The wise one / old Frodo Fyrgen-holt ll: 1393 Mountain-wood Firienfeld Grimmon ll: 306 Mask Grima Hádor ll: 497 Blithe Hador Háma ll: 1198 Skin, covering (?) Hama ll: 49-50 ‘sad was their heart and mourning in their soul’ ‘has pity in her heart and mourning in her soul’ ‘him wæs géomeor sefa murnende mód’ Old English word from Beowulf Tolkien’s equivalent Beowulf reference Definition ‘iúmonna gold, galdre bewunden’ ll: 3052 ‘the gold of men of long ago enmeshed in enchantment’ Lord of those rings* ll: 1507 Lord of those rings The Lord of the rings Máthmas ll: 1867 Treasure Mathom Méaras ll: 1035 War-horses Mearas Medu-seld ll: 3065 Mead-hall Meduseld Middan-geard ll: 75 Middle-Earth Middle-Earth Myrcan* ll: 1405 Dark, gloomy Mirkwood Orc-néas ll: 112 Evil shades Orc Orþancum ll: 406 Skill / ingenuity Orthanc Searo- ll: 406 Iron / metal Saruman Thenga ll: 2033 A noble Thane Ylfe ll: 112 Elves Elf ‘The Hoard’ Elvish Right click to end the show. •In Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons, the word Wodnesdaeg meant Woden’s Day. •Constantine the Great gave names to each day of the week, naming the third day after the day of rest as the day which belongs to Mercury. This meant that the first hour of that day would be influenced by that celestial body. •Woden is the Germanic equivalent of Mercury, the Roman god, because he was quick and eloquent. •Thus, Dies Mercuri became Wodnesdaeg. witan • From Old English witenagemot, meeting • A council summoned by Anglo-Saxon kings • Nobles and church officials • Discussed royal grants of land, church matters, charters, taxation, customary law, defense and foreign policy • Size of the council varied