Beowulf

The Epic before Epics!

Old English Literature: An Overview
• Period from the 7th century to the Battle of Hastings
(Norman Conquest) of 1066
• Poetry chanted by a scop (bard) to the accompaniment
of a harp
• The period was characterized by the imposing
scholarship of the Christian monasteries
• Major genres
– Epic poetry, Hagiography, Sermons, Bible translations,
Chronicles
• Greatest work: Beowulf
• Major authors: Caedmon, Cynewulf, Venerable Bede
 Old English Manuscripts
• Four major Manuscript collections
– Junius Manuscript
– Exeter Book
– Vericelli Book
– Nowell Codex (or Beowulf Manuscript)
 Old English Poetry
• General Features
– Bold and strong
– Mournful and elegiac
– Sings of sorrows and the ultimate futility of human
life
– Two types: (i) Heroic Germanic and (ii) Christian
– Portrays the helplessness of man before the power of
fate
– Alliteration and kenning (elaborate descriptive
phrases)
– Internal rhyme
– Poems are mostly anonymous
 Beowulf
• England’s oldest extant national epic
• Written probably in the 7th century AD
• Survives in a 10th century manuscript called
Cotton Vitellius A.xv (or Nowell Codex)
– The manuscript was badly damaged in a fire in 1731
• Contains 3,182 lines
• Scandinavian story of the Geatish hero Beowulf
• Translated by Seamus Heaney in 1999
 Context
• Composed in around 700 AD; unknown Anglo-
Saxon author
• Action dates around 500 AD—before Anglo-
Saxon & Scandinavian people reached Britain
• Swedish and Danish royal family members in
story correspond to actual historical figures
• Poet tries to attribute Christian motives and
thoughts to characters and actions; indicate
pagan origins and subsequent conversion in 6C
 The Terror
• King Hrothgar of Denmark, descendant of
great king Shield Sheafson
• Builds a great mead-hall Heorot where
warriors drink, receive gifts and listen to bards
• But the noise angers Grendel, a swamp
monster
– He terrorises Danes every night
• Beowulf, a young warrior from Geatland,
arrives to rid Danes of Grendel
– Years ago, Hrothgar had settled Beowulf’s father,
Ecgtheow’s blood feud with Wulfings
 The Fight
• Hrothgar holds a feast in Beowulf’s honour
• Unferth, an envious Dane, taunts Beowulf
• Beowulf recounts some past accomplishments
– Soldiers get boosted by these stories
– Merriment continues into the night
• Grendel arrives at night
• Beowulf fights him unarmed; proves stronger
• Grendel tries to escape; Beowulf tears an arm
off the monster; hangs it high up in the hall as
trophy
• Grendel slinks back to the swamp to die
 Mother’s Fury
• Celebrations galore include songs praising Beowulf
• Grendel’s mother, a swamp-hag, gets to Heorot seeking
revenge
– She kills Aeschere, one of Hrothgar’s trusted advisors
• Beowulf is provoked into action
– He dives to her underwater lair; Hrunting, the sword gifted by
Unferth, fails to bruise her
– Finds an ancient sword in the lair, forged for giants; kills her
with that
• Finds Grendel’s corpse and bring its head for Hrothgar
– Blade of the sword melts to the hilt from Grendel’s blood
– Hrothgar honours Beowulf with gifts that include the sword
Naegling, his heirloom—used to fight the dragon
– Hrothgar gives a sermon to be wary of pride & rewards his men
 Homebound
• Beowulf returns to Geatland
• Meets King Hygelac, his uncle and Queen Hygd,
recounts his adventures
– Beowulf hands over his gifts to Hygelac
– Hygelac also rewards him for his heroics
• Eventually, Hygelac is killed fighting Shylfings
• After Hygelac’s son Heardred dies, Beowulf
becomes king
• Rules wisely for 50 years, brings prosperity
 Loyalty & Trust
• Hrothgar’s Queen, Wealhtheow, compared to
mythical wicked queen Modthryth
• She fears Beowulf might usurp the throne
from Hrothgar’s sons, Hredric and Hrodmond
• But, Hrodulf, their cousin, snatches the
throne
• The ever-so-loyal Beowulf offers to protect
and train the young prince to regain charge
of the throne
 The Second Part
• In Geatland, a slave steals from a dragon guarding
its mound of treasure; triggers fiery destruction
• Old Beowulf fights the dragon with Naegling, but
the sword breaks, senses his death but still persists
• Wiglaf (“remnant of valour”) aids him in the fight,
even when others flee
• Beowulf is bitten in the neck and poisoned by
dragon fire
• Finally Wiglaf slays the dragon
• As per his wish, Beowulf is burned in a huge pyre
and buried in a mound of treasure overlooking the
sea
 The Last Words
Beowulf spoke. The old man was full of pain:
'I thank God that I can give my people these gifts of gold. But
you must see to the people's needs now, Wiglaf. I cannot be
here any more.
After they burn my body, tell my warriors to build a great
burial mound on the cliffs that stick out into the sea. The
sailors steering their ships on the gloomy waters will see it and
call it Beowulf's Barrow, and my people will remember me.
You are the last of our family, Wiglaf. All the others fell when
Fate decided they must. Now I must follow them.'
These were the last words from the thoughts of the old man's
heart. It was hard for Wiglaf when he saw his lord was dead.
He shook him and spoke to him and tried to wake him, but it
was no use, and he wept. The dragon too lay without moving.
Each had met the end that was meant for it.
 The Ending
• Beowulf’s end is heroic
• Nevertheless even a truly great warrior-king, like
Beowulf, can do nothing to protect his people in the
end.
• In fact, the Geats are left especially vulnerable
because their king killed so many enemies, who
might now seek revenge.
• The lament of the Geatish woman
– Shows community feeling and the creation of
collective history
– Elements of pagan, oral culture
 Other aspects of the epic
• The interactions between the young Beowulf and the
aged Hrothgar beautifully portrayed
• Grendel’s mother a powerful figure of blood revenge
• Hrothgar’s queen Wealhtheow warns her husband about
granting Beowulf a role in the future of the kingdom.
• Beowulf’s patron Hygelac is a father-figure; Hrothgar is
a model of kingship
• One evening, a scop, or court poet, recounts the
disaster of a woman who is married by one tribe to an
enemy tribe in order to make peace.
• The image of dragon (symbolizing evil) was becoming
very important in Europe at this time, and Beowulf is
the first dragon-slayer in English literature
 Features of Beowulf
• Sustained grandeur
• Brilliant style
• Baroque diction
• Set the standards for heroism
• Offers lessons in moderation and humility
• Warns about the transitory nature of worldly glories
• Fascinating representation of court culture
• Use of communal memory and shared tribal history
• Digressions, moving back and forth in time
• Pagan philosophical poem rather than a Christian work
• However, Biblical narrative is woven into the poem through
references to Cain
 Themes of Beowulf
Warrior culture its associated values of
• Loyalty
• Beowulf (through a family debt) proves more loyal to
Hrothgar, than Unferth, one of his own men
• Unwavering bravery and fearlessness
• As against the malice and revenge of Grendel and his
mother
• Generosity and hospitality of kings
• Of Hrothgar and his wife, and later Beowulf
• Heritage and reputation as basic to a warrior’s identity
 Christian motives
• Supposedly added after the composition
• Grendel traces lineage back to Cain
• Hrothgar’s instructions to Beowulf are typically
Christian touching upon humility, sacrifice, faith;
to share not covet as in Ten Commandments
• Beowulf warned of undue heroic pride and
arrogance
• The great, ancient sword found in Grendel’s
mother’s lair is seen as God’s grace to help
Beowulf rid the world of the menace