Beowulf Background

The Setting Imagine a time when tribes from northern Europe regularly raided one another’s shores to loot and burn each other’s settlements; when great warriors feasted, drank, and bragged of their bloody conquests in huge mead halls- banquet halls named after the fermented honey wine drunk there; when kings bestowed riches upon their bravest warriors to retain their allegiance; and when people believed in monsters and dragons. That time was the sixth or seventh century- the period in while Beowulf, the oldest known literary work, is set

The Setting The tale of Beowulf is not set in England, however, nor are its characters English. The story, which takes place in Scandinavia, involves Geats, a tribe from southern Sweden, and the Danes, a tribes from Denmark. This is the most vivid account of the social world and life experiences of these people

Background So how did Beowulf come to be the first great literary work of England? During the 500’s and 600’s, Scandinavian tribes, later know collectively as the Anglo-Saxons, invaded and settled the territory that would become known as England. Wherever they settled, stories like Beowulf traveled with them. Scholars believe that a scop, storyteller, among these tribes probably first set Beowulf down in writing sometime in the 700’s. However, the oldest known manuscript that exists today was written nearly 300 years later by an unknown author.

Background The most important fact about Germanic tribal society is its violence, which is why the poet describes that society by means of a narrative of monster-killing. Paradox of violence in the poem, violence can only control violence- no one in the poem is able to escape Individuals find meaning through loyalty and community- hero

The Plot The poem is a fairy-tale story of how the hero, Beowulf, conquered three monsters: first a man eating, troll like creature named Grendel, then Grendel’s vengeance seeking mother, and finally- when Beowulf has become an old man- a fire breathing dragon.

Opening Lines Beowulf- Old English Beowulf- Old English with text