Elements of Old English Heroic Culture and Poetry

Elements of Old English Heroic Culture and Poetry A heroic poem celebrates the exploits of a great warrior whose courage, character, and actions are held up as a model of aristocratic virtue. The most important element of this is the notion of excellence: the way the hero surpasses or excels (literally “rises up” [Latin ex cellere]) above others. Actions consist of responses to catastrophic situations in which the supernatural often intervenes. Code of conduct forces him to challenge any threat to society Destiny discovered through a series of episodes punctuated by violent incidents interspersed with idyllic descriptions.

Elements of Old English Heroic Culture and Poetry Noblemen (men of rank) are received with grave courtesy, and noblewomen are treated with great respect. The leader, liege, king, or lord (OE dryhten) is known for his generosity in gift-giving. The dryhten’s followers—his gedryht, a troop of liegemen, vassals, thanes, retainers—give him loyalty in return. They are all part of the comitatus, the warring band or group. And without the dryhten, who leads the comitatus, the warrior is nothing.

Elements of Old English Heroic Culture and Poetry There is solemn boasting of warriors before and after battle. There is thirst for fame, OE lof, and the good judgment of men, OE dōm, through deeds of courage and endurance. There is interest in genealogies and the pride in a noble heredity (hence “gentleman” and “gentlelady,” from Greek gen [γεν], meaning origin [one of high birth]). In OE heroic poetry, there is a mood of special gravitas, or weightiness. This is the great tone of OE heroic poetry: underneath everything are the shortness of life and its emptiness, except for the fame a man leaves behind.

Elements of Old English Heroic Culture and Poetry The essence of this shortness and emptiness is expressed in the OE phrase “līf is lœne”: “life is transitory.” Emphasis is placed on the individual hero, and his national origin is unimportant. He is one of the heroes of Germania and as such claims the admiration of all the Teutonic peoples. (Hence Beowulf is written in England by an English poet but celebrates a man who was a Geat [a Scandinavian/Germanic people from southern Sweden].)

Elements of Old English Heroic Culture and Poetry The Anglo-Saxons wrote what we call alliterative poetry after its most salient feature, the system of alliteration that binds its verses together and is largely responsible for its distinctive sound. Two poetic figures commonly found in Old English poetry kenning, an often formulaic phrase that describes one thing in terms of another (e.g. in Beowulf, the sea is called the whale's road, the sun is sky-candle, light of battle is a sword) litotes, a dramatic understatement employed by the author for ironic effect (.

Elements of Old English Heroic Culture and Poetry Chant-like effect of the four-beat line Alliteration (“Then the grim man in green gathers his strength”) Caesura-pause or break in a line of poetry(“Oft to the wanderer weary of exile”) Epithet-description name to characterize something (“keen-edge sword”) Hyperbole-exaggeration Elegy = “a mournful poem; a lament for the dead” = a poem or other work of literature that laments that passing of a time Elegiac = “Of, relating to, or involving elegy or mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past” Theme of temporality and mutability Memento mori = remember death—even during celebrations, the characters hear stories of death

AND NOW…

Title of Epic Poem Anglo-Saxon word Beo means “bright” or “noble” Anglo-Saxon word wulf means “wolf” Beowulf means bright or noble wolf Other sources say Beo means “bear”

Why read Beowulf? I thought we were talking about Norse Mythology… Germanic cultures share source mythology & beliefs systems Share the same root language, although different dialects have cropped up over the centuries Setting is the same as that of Norse gods/goddesses Look at stories of Signy & Sigurd; paint a picture of who the Norse/Germanic people are

Setting: Beowulf’s time and place Insert: Time of Beowulf Europe today

Background Information 30,000 lines of Anglo-Saxon poetry survive today 3, 182 (10%) of the lines are from Beowulf Setting - Denmark and Sweden Author - Unknown, probably a monk Composed in the 7th or 8th century Oldest surviving English poem Only one copy exists Written by 2 different people Damaged by fire in 1731 Resides in British Museum

Epic Poem Long narrative poem that recounts the adventures of a hero Elevated language Extended/epic metaphor Lots of figurative language Does not sermonize Invokes a muse Begins in media res Latin term; in the middle Mysterious origin, super powers, vulnerability, rite of passage

Some terms you’ll want to know scop A bard or story-teller. The scop was responsible for praising deeds of past heroes, for recording history, and for providing entertainment

Terms: Thane and Mead-Hall A warrior, a land holder, who owes allegiance to a king or military leader mead-hall The large hall where the lord and his warriors slept, ate, held ceremonies, etc.

Term: Wyrd wyrd Fate. This idea crops up a lot in the poem, while at the same time there are Christian references to God’s will.

Main Characters

Beowulf Epic hero Geat (from southern Sweden) Nephew of Higlac (King at story’s start) Sails to Denmark to help Hrothgar

Hrothgar Danish king Builds Herot (banquet hall) for men Tormented by Grendel for 12 years Loses many men to Grendel Joyless before Beowulf’s arrival

Grendel Referred to as demon and fiend Haunts the moors (swampy land) Descendant of Cain Feasts on 30 men the night of 1st attack

Grendel’s Mother Referred to as she-wolf Lives under a lake Challenges Hrothgar when she kills one of his best men

Fire Dragon Lives in Beowulf’s kingdom Wakes up when thief steals cup Guards countless treasures