BeowulfBeowulf the Anglo- the Anglo-SaxonSaxonEpicEpic

Mrs. Mateyka English IIIMrs. Mateyka English III

Celtic InvasionCeltic Invasion

• Beaker People• Celts – (800-600 BC)

Gaels, Picts, Scots, etc.

• Viking Raids

Roman InvasionRoman Invasion

• Romans – (55 BC – 55 AD)– Hadrians’s Wall– Left ~ 410

• Incorporated Celtic Culture

• Many Remained• Ambrousius

Aurelianus (550)

Viking InvasionViking Invasion

• Used longboats to cross oceans

• Used axes, swords and shields

Viking InvasionViking Invasion

• Longboats• Angles –

– South Danish Penninsula

• Saxons – West of Angles

• Start Settling• Weapons• Culture, stories

Making it ClearerMaking it Clearer

• Angles and Saxons tell the story in England about Danes and Geats including historic figures from 500’s

• Written down by West Saxon Scribe about 1000AD

• Vikings were Pagan, Celtic/Romans were largely Christianized

Cultural BackgroundCultural Background

• Viking Warlord Structure

• Meadhalls

• Wergild

• Wyrd

• Women’s roles

• Scop

The StructureThe Structure

• Epic– Heroic, Elegiac

• Rigid Structure, 4 stresses per line

• Stock Phrases, Tangents

• Caesura

• Alliteration

• Kennings

How it soundsHow it sounds

The StoryThe Story

• Beowulf – Geat

• Hrothgar – Dane

• Herot – Hart

• Values – Bravery, Dignity, Prowess, Boasting

• Weird and Cool Monster Story

The ManuscriptThe Manuscript

• Cotton Library – Fire

• British Library

• Copied, Preserved, X-Rayed, UV Scanned, Digitized, Uploaded

• Legal Document, Mrs. Pretty vs. British Gov’t

The The EpicEpic

Three Major Battles

One HeroTwo Settings -

Sweden and Denmark

How it sounds todayHow it sounds today

Sources of ImagesSources of Images

• http://www.osterholm.info/vikings/

• http://www.intuitivewebdesigns.com/comics/graphics/superman/index.htm

• http://www.awerty.com/beowulf2.html

• http://www.jnanam.net/beowulf_art/

• http://www.hartleyfamily.org.uk/VikingMap.jpg