Transcript The Anglo Saxons and Beowulf

Anglo-Saxons
449 BCE-1066 BCE
The Anglo Saxons
and
Beowulf
Great Britain
 Great Britain
 England
 Scotland
 Wales
The First People
 Britain first settled
by Celts
 Celts came from
continental Europe
between 800-600 B.C.
The Invasion
 In 43 A.D., Romans
invaded and Britons were
either forced northward or
into slavery; introduced
the concept of Christianity
Society
Churls
 Bonded servants who worked the land in return for
military protection
 Responsible for hard labor
 Agricultural work, hunting, fishing, metalworking,
weaving
 Bound to the earls unless they could earn possessions or
special royal favor that would transform them into
freemen
Thralls
 Slaves
 Military prisoners
 People being punished
King
Qualities of a King
 Brave
 Strong
 Generosity-expected to give gifts to his followers
Qualities of a Follower
 Brave
 Strong
 Loyal to king and family
 Does not complain about struggles
 Felt small and insignificant, pitted against hostile elements
 Warrior
 Struggles with the forces of nature
 Brags about deeds and boasts about future deeds
 Once a promise is made it must be kept or he will die trying
Women
 Unimportant
 Domestic and child-bearing duties
 Occasionally had some influence on
Thanes
Life
Civilized yet violent
the sea is a part of life
Glorification of war and death
Fame-attain glory, be brave
Slavery
Male dominated
Weapons are important and handed
down
Swords may have names
Wyrd-fate
Battle is a way of life
How it Works
 Battle determines worthiness
 The most important people are the kings and warriors
 Werguild-monetary payment for a wrong
 If the werguild was not paid to the family, each member
had to seek revenge for a wrong inflicted on a kinsmen.
Beowulf
 Epic poem
 Composed 740 CE
 Danes and Geats
 Denmark and Sweden
 Author is unknown
 The most important
work in Old English
Poems
 Recited for
entertainment
 Sometimes to
celebrate a military
victory
 Poems were
performed by Scops
 Gleemen were their
assistants
Pagan and Christian Beliefs
Features of Anglo Saxon poetry
 Two part line
 Usually has four accented
 Each line separated by a pause
syllables per line
 Indefinite number of
unaccented syllables
 Kenning
(caesura)
 The halves are linked by
alliteration of two or three of
the accented syllables
Caesura
 Pause or break in the middle of a line of poetry
 Can draw attention to a word by placing it before or after a
caesura
 In Anglo-Saxon poetry it divides each four- stress line in
half, and creates rhythm
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
alliteration
 The repetition of
consonant sounds
 Anglo Saxon poetry
uses the alliteration of
stressed syllables
 Used to emphasize
words
 Creates a musical
sound
Epic Poem
 A long narrative poem in epic style presenting characters
of high position in a series of adventures which form a
whole through their relation to a central figure of heroic
proportions and through their development of episodes
important to the history of a nation or race of people.
Main Character
 A hero is a figure of
heroic stature, of
national importance,
and of great historical
or legendary
significance.
 Represents national
and cultural values
Setting
Struggles
 Concerns human
problems
 Example: Good vs. evil
Style
 Serious
 Uses elevated language
•There was no written tradition
•People were farmers and hunters
•Warfare was a way of life
•People believed in many different gods (polytheistic)
Woden
Tyr
(protector of heroes)
(god of glory and honor)
Thunor
(aid to warriors in battle)
A/S Kings
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.
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.
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 Poetry
3 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?
Typical Themes

Beowulf: OE Superhero
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.