1. Anglo-Saxons
449 BCE-1066 BCE

2. The Anglo Saxons and Beowulf

3. Great Britain Great Britain England Scotland Wales
Ireland is NOT considered a part of Great Britain

4. The First People Britain first settled by Celts
Celts came from continental Europe between B.C.
2 tribes of Celts:
Britons (settled in what is now Great Britain)
Gaels (settled in what is now Ireland)

5. The Invasion
In 43 A.D., Romans invaded and Britons were either forced northward or into slavery; introduced the concept of Christianity
Eventually (449), the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded (these are Germanic tribes). They took over and called the island “Angle-land.” They enslaved the people who were there
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes carved the land into tribal kingdoms, but they came to think of themselves as one people: the English (a.k.a. Anglo-Saxons)
By 650, most of England was Christian (but held onto pagan beliefs, too)

6. Society Feudal Society has four classes
The earls are a hereditary class of ruling warlords who owed their position to the king
Freeman are allowed to own land and engage in commerce

7. 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

8. Thralls
Slaves
Military prisoners
People being punished

9. King Descendant of Woden Warrior who relied on his strength to control
Advised by a council called the Witan, which was made up of influential earls
Hereditary but the tribe could remove the king if he was too old, weak or unsatisfactory in any way
Known as Ring-Giver

10. Qualities of a King Brave Strong
Generosity-expected to give gifts to his followers

11. 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

12. Women Unimportant Domestic and child-bearing duties
Occasionally had some influence on Thanes

13. 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

14. 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.

15. Beowulf Epic poem Composed 740 CE Danes and Geats Denmark and Sweden
Author is unknown
The most important work in Old English

16. Poems Recited for entertainment
Sometimes to celebrate a military victory
Poems were performed by Scops
Gleemen were their assistants
Scops
Would speak, chant, sing the poem
May also use a harp
Scops stayed with a king until they were disfavored
Some traveled telling stories
Memorized and changed stories to fit the situation

17. Pagan and Christian Beliefs
The society had become Christian about 100 years before the poem was composed.
Drew on pagan legends and folk tales
Christian beliefs of poets also enter the poem
Beowulf is a pagan warrior and a Christian hero
Beowulf:
Celebrates pagan life but contains references to Christian beliefs
Types of burial
Pagan Ideas-loyalty, valor, unselfishness, and a sense of justice to all
Beowulf cuts off Grendal’s head
Dragons and monsters
Christian idea- good vs. evil (Beowulf vs. Grendal)
Monks may have added some of the Christian ideas when they wrote the poem down
Grendal “fiend from Hell”

18. Features of Anglo Saxon poetry
Two part line
Each line separated by a pause (caesura)
The halves are linked by alliteration of two or three of the accented syllables
Usually has four accented syllables per line
Indefinite number of unaccented syllables
Kenning

19. 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

20. 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

21. alliteration The repetition of consonant sounds
Anglo Saxon poetry uses the alliteration of stressed syllables
Used to emphasize words
Creates a musical sound

22. 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.

23. 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

24. Setting
Vast in scope covering great nations, the world, or the universe.

25. Struggles
Concerns human problems
Example: Good vs. evil

26. Style
Serious
Uses elevated language

27. There was no written tradition People were farmers and hunters
Warfare was a way of life
People believed in many different gods (polytheistic)
Tyr
(god of glory and honor)
Woden
(protector of heroes)
Thunor
(aid to warriors in battle)

28. 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.

29. **Remember: France = 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

30. This brought French culture to England
feudalism—land is divided among lords who are loyal to the king. The lords give land to vassals in exchange for military duty.
chivalry—knights are expected to be honorable, brave, generous, skillful in battle, respectful to women, and helpful to the weak.

31. 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)

32. *****Beowulf contains all three.
Old English Poetry
3 major types of OE poetry:
heroic verse—celebrates courage, honor, loyalty
elegy—mourns a loss
religious verse—focuses on Christian teachings and stories
*****Beowulf contains all three.

33. Beowulf (the poem)
• 3200 lines • Composed between 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

35. 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.

36. Did he really exist?
The tribe in southern Sweden did exist, but Beowulf himself is fictitious.
There was a real man named Beowulf (may mean “bear”) who helped the Danes and Geats fend off pirate attacks; however, he was not king of the Geats nor a Danish hero (more of a regular guy)
Higlac (king of Geats, Beowulf’s king) and Hrothgar (king of the Danes, whom Beowulf helps) both based on real kings
Significance of battle: what makes a good fighter tick? God grants Beowulf’s victory, but the good fighter (hero) is the one who becomes famous, never gives up, doesn’t worry about the possible consequences of bravery

37. Typical Themes
Contains typical themes of seafaring warriors, a society bound by military/tribal loyalties
bravery of warriors and generosity of rulers highly valued
combines pagan folklore (monsters) with Christian themes (good vs. evil)
ex: Grendel is a monster, described as an enemy of God and descendent of Cain (first murderer in the Bible)

38. Beowulf: OE Superhero
Beowulf is an epic hero: courage, physical strength, wisdom in guiding others, loyalty to the king, and supreme self-confidence. He embodies the ideals of his people.
Story of Beowulf is an epic poem—long narrative poem written in formal language that tells of the adventures of a larger-than-life hero.
Beowulf is a folk epic: story rises from the people and is passed by word of mouth from generation to generation until it is ultimately written down (contrast with literary epic, like the Aeneid, which is the work of one author setting out to follow a literary form).
Epic plots contain supernatural events, span long time periods, involve distant journeys, and life and death struggles of good vs. evil.
The hero always represents good
The forces that threaten the people always represent evil

39. 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.

40. Mead Hall

41. 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.