Beowulf

1. Beowulf A hero for all times …

2. A long narrative poem that celebrates the adventures and accomplishments of a hero • Examples of epics: The Odyssey, The Lion King, Gladiator, and Braveheart What is an epic?

3. Who wrote this piece of literature? • This early Anglo-Saxon poem was created around 500 A.D. At first, it was passed-down and performed from memory by traveling poets. Beowulf wasn’t actually written down, until . . . • Somewhere between the 8th and 9th centuries A.D., “The Beowulf-Poet” (his identity is unknown) wrote down the poem. • The Beowulf-poet, scholars believe, was an English monk (therefore, a Christian) who probably lived in one of the Anglo-Saxon settlements in Western England. That person made changes which reflected Christian values. Who?

4. Even though the poet, himself, was English (and Christian), the poem is not about Englishmen or (full-fledged) Christians. • It is the story of several Scandinavian peoples (tribes, really), mainly the Geats and the Danes, but also the Swedes. Beowulf was a Geat. He went to the aid of the Danes, whose king was Hrothgar. • They lived in this region . . . Who was it about?

5. Map of Baltic Region of Scandinavia and the Viking Invasions (700-800)

6. The poem’s hero is Beowulf, a Geat who lives in Scandinavia. He is probably a fictional character. He is certainly an epic hero. The poem is also about three races or tribes: • The Geats • The Danes • The Swedes • It is written by an English (Anglo-Saxon) monk who is looking back in time to the days when his ancestors still lived in Scandinavia and had different values. (The Anglo-Saxon code was on its way out, soon to be replaced by Christian values). • The original audiences would have heard the poem, and they would probably have been distant relatives of those tribes who play major roles in the poem. “Who?” in Review

7. What is Beowulf considered? An epic poem. It is considered an epic because: • It is a long narrative poem • It tells about a larger-than-life hero • This hero represents the values of his society • What is he? Beowulf is an epic hero. This character represents the values the Anglo-Saxon people. What?

8. When was it written? Around 800 - 900 A.D. • When did the events in it take place? In the fifth century A.D. in the Baltic region. Some events in the poem did happen: • There really was a raid against the Franks by Hygelac, Beowulf’s lord. • Most important thing to remember is that it is a poem that reminisces about a previous, “dead” world. When?

9. Where was it written? It was written down, most likely, in the kingdom of Mercia (East Central England today). • What is the setting of Beowulf? In the modern world, it is Denmark and Sweden and the islands in the Baltic between the two countries. • Also consider more specific settings: • The sea, Heorot (the mead-hall), the swamp, the cliff, and the battlefield. Where?

10. In the introduction of one version of Beowulf it is suggested that the story taps into “three of our basic sites of fear”: • The barricaded house at night • The infested dark, underwater current • Reptile-haunted rocks of a wilderness The Scary, Horror Movie “Where”