1. Epic Poetry - Anglo-Saxon Culture - Emerging Christianity
Beowulf
Epic Poetry - Anglo-Saxon Culture - Emerging Christianity

2. Epic Poetry Epic poetry began as an oral tradition
Poets would recite great stories in a rhythmic fashion to entertain people
These stories would often be of some cultural or national importance
Epic poems also discussed heroic deeds
Epic poems exist in various cultures around the globe

3. Epic Poetry
Ramayana
The quest of Rama (an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu) to rescue his wife Sita. The story explores humanity and the concept of dharma (duty)

4. Epic Poetry
Iliad
Greek epic poem about the Trojan War. Contains the hero Achilles, Helen of Troy, and the Trojan Horse

5. Epic Poetry Os Lusíadas
Portuguese epic about exploration during the 15th and 16th Centuries

6. Epic Poetry Beowulf English epic detailing Anglo-Saxon culture
The oldest existing document written in English
Recorded on paper sometime between 700 and 750
Oral tradition most likely existed much earlier

7. Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons lived in England from 550-1066
They were made up of Germanic tribes that settled in modern day England and Scotland
Anglo-Saxon culture was violent and men actively sought fame through battles and races with each other
Social life revolved around communities that lived in great Mead Halls (big barns where people drank lots of mead)

8. Mead Hall

9. Emergence of Christianity
Anglo-Saxon culture also began to adapt the Christian faith into society
This is reflected in the many references to God and stories of the Old Testament that exist in Beowulf

10. The Legacy of Beowulf
Beowulf has become to England what the Iliad and Odyssey are to Ancient Greece
Beowulf serves as the prototype for a national hero and can be seen in characters like King Arthur