1. BEOWULF NOTES

2. Write down any words/phrases/people that come to mind when you see these two words…
HERO
LOYALTY

3. The Original Manuscript

4. BEOWULF THE POEM Beowulf is an epic poem
Oral tradition, composed by a scop
Composed c CE
THE MANUSCRIPT
Recorded c CE, probably by a monk
Written in Old English
There is only one copy of Beowulf which was badly damaged in a fire in the 1700s.
The manuscript of Beowulf now resides in the British Museum in London, England

5. Literary Terms FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF EPIC POETRY EPIC POEM:
The hero is of noble birth or high social position
2. The hero reflects values that are important to his society.
3. The hero's actions consist of courageous, even superhuman deeds.
4. Supernatural forces are often involved.
5. The action is on an immense scale and involves the fate of a whole people or even the entire human race.
EPIC POEM:
a long narrative poem presented in an elevated style, relating the heroic deeds of noble or semi-divine personages
The author usually announces his theme at the opening and calls on the muses to help him in his task of narration.
The style is noble and majestic; the characters speak ceremoniously in long set speeches. .

6. KENNING: metaphorical compound word used as a poetic device.
ALLITERATION: The repetition of initial identical consonant or vowel sounds in succession or closely associated syllables, especially stressed syllables.
CAESURA: A caesura is a pause near the middle in a line --indicated by punctuation– and is used to add emphasis to certain words.
KENNING: metaphorical compound word used as a poetic device.
In Beowulf, there are many examples of kennings. The king is the "ring-giver," the rough sea is the "whale-road," and the calm sea is the "swan-road."
LITOTES: A form of understatement.
To say "She was not unmindful" when one means that "She gave careful attention" is to employ litotes.
Litotes were a staple of Old English poetry, although often used by more modern poets.

7. METONYMY: A figure of speech characterized by the substitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself.
In this way we commonly speak of the king/queen as "the crown," an object closely associated with the monarchy thus being made to stand for the monarch. In Beowulf, iron = military power.
SYNECDOCHE: A literary term in which a part signifies the whole or the whole signifies the part.
In order to be clear, a good synecdoche must be based on an important part of the whole and not a minor part, and usually, the part selected to stand for the whole must be one directly associated with the subject under discussion. Ex: Lend an ear/hand = attention/help or “wheels” for a car or “threads” for clothes

8. Cultural Terms, Concepts, and Vocabulary
FORTUNA: the goddess who determines changes in life. Fortuna sits in the middle of a wheel which spins arbitrarily thus changing the fortunes of everyone in life. Therefore, one should never be too comfortable or too unhappy
WYRD: the word used by the Anglo-Saxons to represent one's lot in life (sometimes mistranslated as Fate). Since the Anglo-Saxons did not believe strongly in an afterlife, it was mostly through personal fame, attained through heroic actions, that one lived on and thus resisted Wyrd.
WERGILD: literally--man payment or man price. Sufficient financial payment was considered satisfactory recompense to the relatives of a slain man. This was suspended during war. However, this payment could not be made if one killed one's kindred. Death of kindred by kindred could not be appeased.

9. ELEGIAC: expressing sorrow or lamentation; coming from the word “elegy” which refers to a death song or death poem
FEUDAL: system of social and political organization that prevailed in Western Europe during a large part of the Medieval period. In theory, every landholder was merely the tenant of some greater landlord. Peasant answers to farmer who answers to knight who answers to lord who answers to baron who answers to king who answers to God. Some confusion of status of clergy.
HART: a stag or deer
LAIR: an animal's den
MERE: a mountain lake
THANE: in early English history, a man who ranked between an earl and an ordinary freeman. Thanes held lands of the king or lord and gave military service in return. In Scottish history, a baron or a lord.

10. COMITATUS: Latin term; military adherents and dependents around a warrior king, bound by mutual ties of fidelity
LOYAL DEPENDENCE: uncertainty of life in a hostile climate/environment; the way to live with honor is to be willing to die
NORDIC DAY: began with night and ended with sunset
NORDIC YEAR: began with winter and ended with fall

11. Look at the Hero Log… G.O.E.S!
EPIC HERO
Look at the Hero Log… G.O.E.S!