Beowulf The Germanic tribes in Scandinavia ~ 4 th -6 th C

History of Beowulf  ~ poem composed orally  1000 only extant manuscript of Beowulf written and tucked away in a monastery, rescued by private collector when Henry 8 destroys the monasteries ~ 1530’s  1731 manuscript damaged by fire; rebound with some letters lost in margin  ~ Beowulf studied by linguists for clues to language and historians for clues to lifestyle of Dark Age Germanic peoples--no literary study only lengthy lit work from Dark Ages (~500 - ~1100)  1936 J.R.R. Tolkien publishes literary essay on Beowulf and it enters the literary canon.

Beowulf: Who’s Who  Beowulf--a Geat, Hygelac’s thane  Hygelac, king of Geats, Beowulf’s people, probably living in southern Sweden  Hrothgar--a Dane, elderly king of Danes, descendant of Scyld Scefing whose funeral begins poem  Wealtheow--wife of Hrothgar  Grendel--half man, half monster, descended from Cain  Grendel’s mother--all monster (not a lovely lady)  Unferth--a Dane who taunts Beowulf, then lends him sword Hrunting  Wiglaf--helps Beowulf slay dragon at end

Beowulf: Plot of 2 Early Battles  Beowulf hears of Grendel’s assault on Heorot and quests with 14 companions.  Hrothgar welcomes Beowulf and reminds him of old favors he did Ecgtheow, B’s dad.  Beowulf pulls out Grendel’s arm and nails it to the lintel of the Heorot’s door.  Grendel’s mother gets revenge.  Beowulf gets Grendel’s mother.  Hrothgar rewards Beowulf, who returns to share his plunder with Hygelac, his lord.

Beowulf: fifty years later  Hygelac and his son had both died in war.  Hygelac’s widow offered Beowulf the throne. He became a good protector of the people, but had no heir.  A slave steals from a sleeping dragon in Beowulf’s kingdom, riling said dragon  The dragon burns Beowulf’s hall.  Beowulf needs help from Wiglaf to slay the dragon, and dies killing the dragon.  Wiglaf predicts that Beowulf’s death and the cowardice of the people will lead outsiders to invade the Geats.

Beowulf: Poetic structure  Alliteration--each line of poem alliterates gomban gyldan þæt wæs göd cyning! (tribute of gold that was a good king!)  Caesura--pause within line  use of kennings “whale road” for sea; “night flier” for dragon; “hall’s mouth” for door  substantives = use of adjectives in place of nouns as in “hot and battle-grim seized all his neck with his sharp fangs” (2691)  Repetitions and appositives

Beowulf: Human interactions  Humans caught in two possible intergroupings of people “giving” cycle in which gold, loyalty in battle, women, food and drink are all circulated “revenge” cycle in which blood is repaid in blood  Grendel not allowed entry into the first cycle, so he transforms a giving into a revenge cycle which necessarily includes him

Beowulf: three tribes  Geats Hygelac’s (and later Beowulf’s) tribe living in southern Sweden  Danes Hrothgar rescued from Grendel and his dam by Beowulf. Prior history of Hrothgar’s taking in Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow during his exile.  Swedes Not on the best terms with either the Geats or the Danes

Beowulf not influenced by classical epic  What’s alike? values of the warrior culture  desire to revenge wrongs  desire for plunder many pagan values--see selves ruled by Fate  What’s different? poetic structure  short alliterative lines rather than long metrical lines  much shorter epic 3000 lines vs. 15,000+ lines poetic device of kennings rather than extended similes no unified structure: Beowulf tells of three great battles in hero’s life. Iliad unified around Achilles’ anger. Odyssey around journey. Aeneid around Aeneas’ sacrifices.

Beowulf: discussion questions  What are the values of Beowulf’s warrior culture?  Are these values partially Christian? Pagan?  How does understanding wergild (man gold) help you understand this culture?  What is the role of women in this culture?  How is Grendel’s cannibalism ironic?  What are the attributes of a good king? A bad king?  What are the attributes of a good thane?