October 6, 2025 • 62 mins
Unlock the mysteries of Anglo-Saxon England and gain a new appreciation for the epic poem Beowulf in our latest episode. We promise to take you on a riveting exploration through the poem's origins, its depiction of the legendary hero Beowulf, and the cultural intersections that shaped its storytelling. Drawing inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien's influential essay, "Beowulf, the Monsters and the Critics," we shift the focus from simply a collection of tales to a cohesive masterpiece that has deeply influenced English literature.
Embark on a journey through the rich tapestry of Anglo-Saxon society, where archaeology meets epic narrative. We shed light on the profound archaeological discoveries at Sutton Hoo that reveal secrets of burial traditions and societal hierarchies, intertwining historical facts with Beowulf's narrative. Explore the communal life within mead halls, the pagan-Christian dichotomy, and the vibrant social customs that defined a warrior's existence in this fascinating era. Our insights draw from both historical records and archaeological evidence, painting a complex portrait of this bygone world.
Witness the enduring legacy of Beowulf and its impact on the English cultural landscape. We trace the poem's influence through time, from its role in the development of the English language to its presence alongside literary titans such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. Discover how the merging of Britons, Angles, Jutes, and Saxons shaped a unified identity, only to be transformed by the Norman Conquest. Join us as we unravel Beowulf's symbolic significance and its lasting contribution to the English literary canon.
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(00:08):
Komon wand renicked sridan shadowyenger shioton swayvantar
that horn wretched yeldan Sheldon yalla Bhutan that was
ildham kuf that him the muster they might told Nolda sasin
shera under shadow Bregdon hey wagchanda radamonandam bad
(00:34):
bullion mood the adwaya dinges Darkomora under miss Leo them
Grendel gongan goddess Ereba Mentos a man shader man of Kunas
sonna basarian in Seladam ayaan ward and the welcome to thus
(00:55):
that hareen wretched gold sailorgumina yerawast whisa vatom
fakhne nay was that for the mercy that hey Krothgaras and
yusukta Navrahi on alda Dagon and nesidan Yadran hala
Yaltena's fund calm down to wretcheda.
(01:20):
Ring. Scythian dramum bed island Dora
suno Anand ferra bendum fast sithan hey here of formum at
Fran on brand the bilaluhigti the heiya bolyanwas wretchers
muthan Ras after the on Falcon floor fiord treader eod eremuth
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him of the Aragon stood. Leah Yelikoff.
Layocked on fire. He came in dark night, the
striding shadow goer. The Archers slept.
Who that horned gabled hall should guard all but one.
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It was to men known that then hecould not.
When the Lord wished not the thin scaler under the shadows
bind, But he watching wrathful in horror, waited in boiling
mood. The battles meeting then came
from Moore under the mist shadows, Grendel walking God's
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anger, he bore the crime skater meant to ensnare 1 of mankind in
that high hall went under cloudsto where he the wine hall, the
gold hall of men readily knew golden gleaming.
Nor was that the first time thathe Rothgar's home had sought.
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Yet never in his life, before orsince harder luck and all things
did he find. He came then to the hall, a
venturing warrior deprived of dreams.
The door soon gave way, though fast, with forged iron bands.
When he touched it with his hands, he broke open.
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Then baleful hearted the Hall's mouth.
Now he was angry. Right after that, on the shining
floor the fiend trod. He entered in irate mood.
From his eyes stood flame like abaleful light.
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We have heard how the spear Danes excelled in fight.
Noble was Beowulf and bloomed wide His name by praise deed
shall one man thrive amongst mankind.
Whether or not the Beowulf epic was based upon an heroic warrior
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who actually lived, his legendary deeds were recorded in
an Anglo-Saxon romantic poem putinto written form sometime
between AD 997 and 1016. The work of two different
scribes is apparent, the second of whom appears more accurate,
the manuscript recording a poem likely to been created long
before. Although Northern European in
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origin, Beowulf's poem was both composed and inscribed on a
manuscript in an Anglo-Saxon England, with its 6356 short
lines out of the total body of Anglo-Saxon poetry, comprising
some 30,000 portals of the poem for the study of their language
has always been self-evident. More recently, the poem has been
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recognised as a significant workof art.
Only in 1936 did Professor Jr. Tolkien, more popularly famous
for his Lord of the Rings trilogy than his scholarly
achievements, produce a masterlyessay Beowulf the Monsters and
the Critics that revolutionize Beowulf criticism.
Where previously the poem had been regarded as little more
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than a rich mind for linguists, made-up from 2 unrelated stories
and containing a number of historically interesting but
artistically valueless digressions, Tolkien perceived
it as a unified work of art. It is very much a whole work of
literary art. It is a composition, and
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certainly it contains what seemed to be digressions, which
is very much a modern critical label.
But I think it's fair to say that all these things have been
shown to be, in various ways, either contrasting or amplifying
or otherwise enhancing our appreciation of the world of the
poem and the central narrative, which is the life of the hero.
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Whoever was responsible for the work, it was the product of a
Christian England, drawing inspiration from Germanic Pagan
warrior culture, in which monsters were believed to roam
dark forests or dwell beneath the lakes.
Although possessing No title as such, the epic has been known
simply as Beowulf since at leastthe early 19th century, its hero
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presented as a Hercules like figure whose struggles with
monstrous creatures helped inspire a race whose impact upon
Britain and the world was enormous.
Out of the manuscripts, Old English Tongue developed Modern
English now in common use aroundthe globe.
The first section of Beowulf saga tells how this renowned
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warrior of the yachts, A Germanic tribe occupying
southern Sweden, journeyed to Denmark across the Baltic Sea to
offer assistance. A Wrath Guards king together
with 12 companions number may have had some religious
significance. The hero travelled in a ship
broad, beamed and newly tarred, loading their weapons into the
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hold, one that with a wind behind her flew like a bird.
Making landfall in Zealand, now part of modern Denmark, the
group was challenged by 1 of Rothgar's warriors who after
escorting them to his King's Mead hall, returned to his
duties. Were the words I am a way to the
sea to watch out for Raiders. These northern Danes Utes Angles
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and Saxons were warlike and aggressive peoples who fought
not only on land but used the sea for piracy and raiding.
Bravery in combat was greatly honoured.
Raid into the country of Frisia,now remembered chiefly for his
Frisian cattle, provides historic date and Beowulf story.
Such warfare bred fierce tribes capable of defeating Roman
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legions to inhabitants of gentlest southern lands.
This was an alien world beyond civilizations pale, whose people
were Barbarians, An 11th centurychronicler would record.
And while the whole land of Germany is frightful with thick
forests, your land is still morefrightful.
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Where the land is shunned on account of the poverty of its
produce, and the sea on account of the infestation of pirates,
cultivation is found hardly anywhere.
Hardly any place exists suitablefor human habitation, but
wherever there are arms of the sea, the country has large
settlements. Such impressions long remained.
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As late as the 20th century, author Alastair McClain would
describe parts of these lands asthe hell of our ancient northern
European ancestors of the Vikings, the Danes, the utes of
Beowulf and the monster haunted Meares, the hell of eternal
cold. Beowulf and his companions
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arrived safely in Zealand, whereformerly King Rothgar's Great
Mead Hall had been, one where joblets had passed among
seasoned warriors, flushed with beer, who pledged themselves to
protect hereot, for this building was so wondrous as to
be given a name. But Hereot had been abandoned
and no warriors feasted and drank within what had become a
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place of terror. Grendel, a great troll like
monster of lake and forest, angered by the singing of
Brothgar's warriors, had attacked the hall, killing and
devouring its occupants so none now dared enter.
But Werewolf did not fear such creatures, and with the King's
permission, he and his companions went into the hall to
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eat and rest during the Black night in off the Moors Downs,
with a mist bands, Grendel came loping, entering the Mead hall
to kill and eat one of its sleeping warriors.
Beowulf was not asleep and rising, wrestled so mightily
with a monster that here Rot's thick timber walls shook and
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trembled before he tore off Grendel's arm, causing the
creature to run away and die. Great were celebrations,
feasting, poetry and song that followed wondrous The gifts King
Rothgar heaped upon Beowulf, although unbeknown to all the
peril had not yet ended, but increased.
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Grendel's mother, monstrous hellbride brooding on her wrongs,
entered here rocked in furious vengeful rage, seeking victims,
tearing down her son Savadan from where it would be nails
trophy she seized and at one of the Danes greatest fighting men
before retiring to a home at thebottom of a blood stained lake.
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Asleep in a neighboring hall, Beowulf walked to discover the
monster returned back to a dreadabode, slaughtering all who
dared follow. Beowulf was unafraid and
armoured with a fine coat of chain mail dived into the lake,
swimming down to kill the evil creature in a cavern deep below
its monster infested waters. Greatly honoured yet again by
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Rothgar and laden with gold and precious gifts.
Beowulf's return to Sweden ends the first section of his saga.
This Beowulf epic was probably typical those told in Germanic
royal halls, especially during winter, when howling gales or
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steadily falling snow made raiding and warfare impossible.
Warriors would feast and drink, listening to stories of great
bravery against enemies or even monsters like those the mighty
Beowulf had confronted and killed.
Northern tribes are defeated anddestroyed. 2 powerful Roman
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legions. And when Britain was abandoned
by Rome in the 5th century Ute Angle and Saxon increased their
raiding against its now defenseless peoples.
Long ships grounding on undefended British beaches
brought within a blood lust thatcaused great suffering the
coastal's Renan peoples. But raiding led the migration
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and settlement, and soon much ofsoutheastern England was in the
hands of peoples European chroniclers would name
Anglo-Saxon. Like Beowulf, these warriors
often wore chainmail bearing axe, spear, or sea axe, the
short sword that gave Saxons their name.
Unlike their hero, few could withstand them.
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Much of Roman Britain occupied by Beowulf's Pagan peoples had
already converted to Christianity, but it seems only
more westerly British regions retain their faith, and so it
recorded, held great hatred for these newcomers with their old
gods and evil waves. Possibly this was reason why
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Rome's Pope Gregory dispatched St.
Augustine to England in 8597, where, after landing at
Ebbsfleet, Kent, he would convert its king Ethelbert and
many of his people. Augustine built his first church
at Canterbury, not the great stone edifice of today, but a
relatively simple wooden structure that reflected his new
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converts timber building tradition.
Canterbury Cathedral now stands upon the site and from its
cathedral of Bishop's throne spread church organization and
influence that would soon greatly affect the whole
country. Yet this was not modern
Christianity with its 2000 yearsof evolution, but one developing
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out of paganism, often with bloodshed, since the Old Gods
had powerful followers. The the poem as a whole, it
provides such a very good response to a question, a
rhetorical question which a hardline Bishop called Alquin
famously asks in a letter which he has written to the monks, the
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Abbot of an Abbey, not quite sure which one who where the the
monks have been listening to heroic poetry in their
effectories instead of the gospels, and Alquin tells them
off for this and ask the rhetorical question, what has
the hero ingaled to do with Christ?
And in Beowulf we have references to this very hero
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ingaled. At Bury St.
Edmunds in East Anglia, Siegbert, its first Christian
Anglo-Saxon king, founded a religious community only to be
challenged by Mercier's Pagan king Pender, who hated the new
faith. Siegbert would be killed in
battle, seemingly bearing no weapons, for he had become a man
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of peace and maybe his body was carried here for burial.
Yet Christianity would continue to extend its influence.
King Edmund, also a Christian, was certainly buried here in AD
869 after being murdered by Danes.
Although Bury has nothing to do with his Interment being derived
from the Saxon borough or fortified settlement, so many
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events considered miraculous occurred before and after
Edmund's burial. He became a St.
Amongst these it was claimed that his severed head, hidden
deep in the forest by the Vikings and guarded by a wolf,
instructed the faithful as to its whereabouts so it could be
buried on sanctified ground. St.
Edmund was the last of the woofing King AS who ruled the
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Kingdom of East Anglia. Shortly afterwards, an AD 1020,
the Danish king Canute, He who is said to have ordered the tide
to turn back but failed in restitution, made the Saints
burial place an Abbey, one at whose high altar, 200 years
later rebellious Baron swore to false King John's acceptance of
Magna Carta, yet another turningpoint in British and world
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history. Even though few traces of its
original Saxon work remain, a ruined Bury St.
Edmunds still displays somethingof a medieval magnificence
inspired by the faith of these converted Germanic peoples.
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Southeast of Bury St. Edmunds and near the town of
Woodbridge, Suffolk lies Sutton who?
Another Anglo-Saxon site, but here on a grassy terrace
overlooking the River Deep Ancestry.
Now part of a National Trust exhibition complex, this 250
acre tree fringed open area was obviously a place of great
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significance for Anglo-Saxon peoples, it's undulations and
mounds marking burial sites of their great leaders and
chieftains. In 1939, just three years after
Tolkien celebrated essay 2 funeral ships were discovered
here, 1 containing the richest horde of grave goods ever to be
discovered within Britain. This was burial sites of the
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Wolfing Kings, close relations of the yacht tribe to which
Beowulf belonged, and descendingfrom the Wolfings, Sons of the
Wolf were the yacht's northern neighbors, ships with an
integral part of northern culture.
Beer was people at once occupiedislands or coastal areas whose
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few pockets of good land had to be defended against enemies.
Baltic forests provided materials for vessels essential
to the trading, raiding and piracy that were an essential
part of Nordic life. Skilled shipbuilders use the
region's fine timber to produce shallow, draft long ships that
could both survive treacherous open waters and negotiate
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winding inland rivers. The evidence suggests that the
Anglo Saxons, when they travelled about, actually use
rivers rather than roads. The people who came before them,
the Romans, famous for their roads, but everything leads us
to believe that the Anglo Saxonspreferred rivers to move around.
They had small boats which they could pass up the rivers.
We believe that they came to West Stowe through a river
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system. When it came to big expanses of
water, like they had to cross the North Sea, a lot of
archaeologists believe that whatthey did was coast hopped.
They they stayed close to the coast, moved down to the
narrowest point and then made a dash across that narrow point.
Beowulf's people traditionally honoured heroic dead, either
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cremating their bodies in blazing funeral pyres or
interning them beneath earthen mounds that marked their status.
The afterlife was important to those living in a harsh world,
and especially significant leaders might be placed in a
funeral ship to journey there. Tolkin celebrated the Lord of
the Rings. Has the warrior Boromia been
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dispatched to the ocean in this manner?
Then let us lay him in a boat with his weapons and the weapons
of his vanquished foes, said Aragon.
So no evil creature dishonours his bones.
Although Anglo Saxons have been settled in England for some 200
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years, during which time many had converted to Christianity.
Sutton who? In the early 7th century they
followed Pagan tradition although burying 2 funeral ships
rather than sending them out to sea.
Amongst other items recovered there was a hold of superb
armor, weaponry and ornamented grave goods.
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The vessel itself had all but vanished, but soil impressions
revealed it had been of great size.
This was a burial site of the highest status.
It's accompanying treasure hold containing a shield emblazoned
with eagle and dragon, magnificent sword with the
jewelled hilt, together with fighting Spears and axe.
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Perhaps of even greater significance was a coat of the
finest ring mail of such worth that it's deliberate burial
reveals the great honour being bestowed.
Male coats then and later were so difficult to manufacture.
They're so precious they were usually handed on for reuse.
The Bay of Tapestry shows dead being stripped of their male
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coats after the Battle of Hastings in AD 1066.
This Sutton Who burial also contained A superb ceremonial or
parade helmet ornamented with snake like Crest, face mask and
cheek guards. There were fine bowls, drinking
horns and cups, cauldrons and lamps that would be needed by
the hero in his afterlife. Everything discovered here,
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whether armor or weapons or the clothes, shoes and belts adorned
with superb enameling and jewellery, revealed this to have
been a leader of great wealth and even greater honour.
This would probably the grave ofRad, world King of East Anglia,
who died early in the 7th century, slightly before the
Beowulf epic was written. Religious practices suggested by
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his burial shed light on the mixture of Pagan and Christian
elements that Beowulf contains. Burials and grave goods, Mead
halls and kingly gifts tell the bills people that organize
themselves, and a close knit andwell ordered societies in which,
although predominantly masculine, through love of war,
women were able to exercise great influence.
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At this society's head was a king whose power, although not
always hereditary, was exercisedthrough his things.
A personal band of warriors selected from a noble class of
Earls below. These were freeman commoners who
provided essential skills and service, all being seasoned
fighters. The whole social structure
supported by slaves or serfs were also expected to play a
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part in battle. Loyalty and service was owed to
king or queen and one another. Heroic and historian scale
Beowulf emphasizes more than masculine and military than
everyday domestic aspects of what became an Anglo-Saxon
society. Even so, there's clear evidence
for much domesticity since thesepeoples had come at colonizers,
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not Raiders. Anglo Saxons seem to have
occupied villages much like those of their ancestral lands,
ignoring former Romano British settlements, creating new
dwelling places, and shunning earlier towns and fortifications
been suggested. They may have regarded such
places with superstitious awe. At West Snow, not far from
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Sutton Hoo, the discovery of an early Anglo-Saxon settlement
dating from between about 8420 and 650 led to the
reconstruction of some of its 70or so former buildings that,
together with visitor centre displays, help bring this period
of migration and settlement to life.
What is known as the Oldest House was built in 1974 and
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used, amongst other things, to test the concept that these
dwellings have been constructed above pits.
The Sukton House nearby was created on the same assumption.
Although the concept is no longer supported.
There is also a reasonably substantial family house
providing insight regarding furnishings and living
conditions of the day. Next is the hall, hardly a Great
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Hall, illustrating that in a small community such as this it
was little larger than many other buildings.
These reconstructions were aidedby archaeologists interpretation
of Beowulf's point. Beowulf's struggle with Grendel
took place in the King's Mead Hall.
It's name indicating this alcoholic drink at an important
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role in ceremony is carried out here.
Seamus Heaney's outstanding Beowulf translation.
An attendant stood by with a decorated picture, pouring
bright helpings of Mead, and theminstrel sang, filling the hall
with his clear voice. But that was a far larger
structure than existed W Stowe. Well, the interesting thing
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about West Stowe is, is that archaeology can only give us so
much of the information from that.
We get burned posts, we get someremains about the houses, but
the Beowulf story gives us much more information on things that
archaeology can't. For example, in the Beowulf
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story, we get this idea of a hall surrounded by houses, and
that's how we've reconstructed West stone.
At Witchurst, close to the Kentish coast, where the
earliest Saxon warriors landed, another hall being reconstructed
formerly covered 200 square metres over 1800 square feet in
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area more resembling here rottenscale, although in the poet's
rich imagination the latter surpassed all.
Yet there would have been similarities, even though King's
Hall must have contained finely carved furniture and been hung
with colourful tapestries, Rothgars here ought to been
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wonder of the world forever, a hall of halls where he doled out
rings and talks at the table. Gold threads shone in the wall
hangings WO buildings help understand Anglo-Saxon daily
life, their weaving house indicating that this was a
society dependent upon specialised skills, while the
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varying quality of other structures reveal not all
village dwellers were of the same social status.
Buildings and panels of wattle and daub between their timber
frames. A mixture of clay, woolow hair
and cow dung spread over into woven Hazel rods.
A system long continued in British rural areas, either
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washed with lime or spread with tallow to render them
waterproof. What people made-up this
apparently peaceful community? And how would the exploits of
Beowulf and his loyal band have affected them?
The people who lived here in, inWest Stowe, these early English,
these, these first Anglo Saxons were, were a mixture of, of
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different tribes from different places.
But archaeology tells us that they carried Spears and, and
Shields and the more importance of them actually had swords.
So in, in, in that way, they arevery, very similar to the, the,
the kind of warriors we hear about in the Beowulf story.
I think the other thing that is interesting is that we're
talking about a small village here with not that many people
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in it. And, and in these early times,
the times of Beowulf, a gang of maybe 10 men is quite a, a
formidable force. And so it's interesting that
the, the scale of these these early operations, 10 warriors
would indeed be a force to reckon with.
And if they were skilled warriors like Beowulf and his
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men, then they certainly would have been formidable adversary
for anybody. The fierce independent the
Anglo-Saxon is perhaps indicatedby British Christianity's ready
adoption of Pagan designs and traditions.
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Northern culture and its designswould spread widely, which is
appropriate since Beowulf's peoples believed a great serpent
lay tail and mouth beneath the sea, forming a circle
encompassing all mankind. From this may have developed the
convoluted ribbon like design seen in Christian manuscript
illustration, artwork, carving and jewellery.
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Probably originating in a Nordicinfluenced island.
In contrast with the often poor and sandy soils of former Baltic
homelands whose subsistence level economy inspired raiding
and warfare in order to survive,England's attraction lay in it
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being a naturally rich country possessing Woodlands and soils
that bestowed prosperity upon the newcomers.
This induced the mass immigration, although whether
Romano British peoples were absorbed or driven westwards is
still conjectural. Anglo-Saxon tribes would soon
lap against the Welsh mountains and like the Romans before them,
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conclude that containment of itswarlike peoples was better than
outright conquest. By the mid 8th century,
Mercier's still Pagan king author had marked and protected
his territories with what is still Europe's longest
earthwork. Arthur's Dyke runs along the
north-south length of Wales fromChepstow to near Prestatyn on
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the North Wales coast, much of its 170 miles of mound and ditch
still clearly visible crossing border valley and hill.
Arthur was one of the greatest kings of Mercia, a Kingdom that
frequently vied for the paramount position amongst all
British kingdoms. His dike drew a boundary between
Saxon and Welsh territory, Remains one of the greatest
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engineering works undertaken in Britain prior to the Industrial
Revolution, demonstrating the power and organization of these
so-called Dark Age kings. Indeed, Offer's Mercier has been
suggested as possible birthplaceof the Beowulf epic because the
poem contains a song of praise to an ancestral Nordic king
named Offer. Such fulsome praise, providing
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their monarch with reflected glory, appears to have been
typical Saxon practice. What we see in the case of Offer
the Old though he has subsumed to be a specifically Mercian
ancestor in the Mercian royal pedigree, almost certainly
because it suited Offers own political circumstance of the
8th century. We see evidence on a wider basis
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that Offer was regarded as a general English ancestor of the
people as a whole. And so we get offers in other
pedigrees. And this is important point.
I think it's sometimes overlooked by the mercy of local
patriots. Like its Nordic predecessors,
Offers Palace would have been a visible symbol of authority and
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wealth, wherein would gather theKing's personal warriors whose
loyalty depended much upon such gifts he could bestow when
raiding and warfare was impossible.
King and warriors would carouse in torched lit halls, at tables
laden with platters bearing pig meat or eels, while made bare
inside a float and copious measure.
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Food and drink was a required provision for service, but other
gifts also rewarded bravery, forthis was the glue that kept a
warlike society together. Armour and weapons were commonly
given, but most valued were objects of precious metals or
jewels, perhaps garnered the spoils of war or during raids
upon some Christian settlement or church.
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Gifts were presented with great ceremonial, while companions
applauded and ancient tales wereretold.
Lavish rewards. I received my part in battle,
beaten gold and other things. There was singing at the banquet
table. An old teller of stories
recalled the early days. A battle scarred warrior bowed
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with age would remember the deeds of his youth.
Pagan, bloodthirsty and warlike,who it was quick to seek revenge
for. Slight or wrong, it is better to
avenge dear ones and give way tomourning, said one of the worst
followers, always ready to fightfor honour or die in the
attempt. This society placed measurable
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value upon its individual members since all, even the
meanest form part of one social fabric.
They had developed the custom ofVergil that related human worth
and social status, so that loss of life, even injury, had to be
recompensed by the perpetrator in money or kind.
Here at Westoe the archaeologists have found out
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that the the people who lived here, these early Anglo Saxons
were a very interesting mix of people that were Angles, Saxons,
Frisians, Franks, a whole mixture of people who may be
joined together in the course oftheir their travelling to get
here. They came up the rivers in their
boats and they settled here in one of these very early
pioneering settlements next to ariver.
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We know there were plenty of other settlements up this river
not far from this one spread allalong the River Lark here in in
Suffolk. When they got here, they did
some things exactly the same as they'd done in their homelands,
like we found pottery and jewellery, which matches
perfectly, and other things thatwere rather different.
Because over here in in England,the the structures that they
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built, the houses and halls thatwe hear about in Beowulf, they
tend to be separate units where the archaeologists found out
that back in their homelands in Northern Europe, quite often
they lived in these long houses where the units were joined
together. So there are some subtle
differences between the way thatthey used to live on the
continent and and the new way that they lived over here.
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In Anglo-Saxon England, the King's residence surrounded by
lesser dwellings would stand within an earth ditched timber
palisaded enclosure that protected against human and
animal attack in its Mead halls.A warrior brotherhood would have
eaten and drank to the excess expected of such great fighters,
whose deeds of valor not only against man, animal or
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mythological demon, but at the table gave him status.
In one instance, the poem refersto a particular warrior as
wrecker of Mead benches. Great halls were common to both
Anglo Saxons and their Nordic forebears, playing a major role
in the life of the community. Werewolf fought the monster
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Grendel in such a hall and in a similar structure dedicated to
conviviality, a still Pagan Offer oversaw A treacherous
murder. In 8792, Ethelbert and the Saxon
and Christian king arrived at Offers Hall near Hereford
seeking the hand of his daughterin marriage, only to be killed
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and, according to legend, havinghis severed head used by Offers
men as a gruesome football. Buried at nearby Mon.
It was claimed a shaft of sunlight suddenly illuminating
the grave to together with a spring of water gushing from the
ground. So frightened author he not only
converted to Christianity but ordered the body be interred at
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Hereford in a timber church where now stands its cathedral.
Ethelbert's murder reveals that as late as the 8th century,
Christianity spread was not without problem, but today's
great church dedicated to the Saint proves paganism's defeat
was inevitable. Close by, Hereford Beyond offers
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Dyke layer, hostile western Britain, now Wales, whose hills,
lakes and forests were not dissimilar to some northern
homelands and might thus have prolonged or even inspired
beliefs that monstrous creaturesexisted.
Certainly, many wild animals mentioned in Beowulf were
considered either portents of orassociated with death.
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Craving for carrion, the dark Raven shall have its say and
tell the eagle how it fared at the feast.
When competing with the wolf, itlaid bare the bones of corpses.
Although the existence of the Beowulf manuscript had been
noted in the 16th century, it was an Icelandic scholar,
Thorkelin, who in 1787 first translated Beowulf's poem,
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perhaps not very accurately, from an original manuscript
already badly damaged by a library fire of 1753.
The hero's name is interesting. JRR Tolkien, whose own 1936
translation spurred great interest in Anglo-Saxon
literature, interpreted Beowulf as one who sought honey.
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Since wolf could mean either theanimal itself or one who
haunted, and since bears loved honey, Tolkien suggested this
was illusion and word play. All would have understood as
meaning bear hunter, that is, hunter of bears.
However interpreted, Beowulf's name must have indicated a man
of great physical power whose achievements were worthy of
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poetic record. He is essentially an Earth side
superhero. He has these bear like
tendencies as brought out in Tolkien, for example in the
character Bjorn in The Hobbit and many parallels in Old North
as well. Old N saga.
His his parallels in Old N saga,one of them actually turns into
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a a bear within the battle and helps win the day that way.
And this is a characteristic of Northern literature that
sometimes extremes of characteristic could be
explained by supposing that at some stage in the family's
history there'd been some kind of cross fertilization.
And the Old Norse puts it quite clearly when it says that the
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hero's grandmother was a she bear.
The title bear seems often to have been associated with
renowned warriors in the same dark ages, now early mediaeval,
the legendary King Arthur said to have derived his name from
the Latin artos for that animal.Interestingly, this British
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legend has also a hero fighting mythical beings.
The forest swarmed with giants until Arthur the good King
vanquished them all with his cross sword.
The last Roman legionary had only just departed when Arthur,
a possible 5th century Romano British war leader, is said to
have defeated the Anglo Saxons in a series of battles that
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gained 50 years of peace for western Britain.
There are surprising similarities between Beowulf and
Arthur here. Moreover, the roots of Beowulf
may lie as deep as the Arthuriantale of the Holy Grail, also
possibly linked to ancient cults.
It's been suggested by John Grimsby and other researchers
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that Grendel and his mother may have been a reinterpretation of
a fertility cult that preceded not only Christianity, but the
ancient gods of Nordic mythology.
These Viking gods, Wootton and Thor amongst others, are still
commemorated by our days of the week, Wednesday and Thursday.
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Prior to them, even more ancientdivinities named the Vaniat were
worshipped. These were essentially fertility
cult gods of a religion celebrating winter's end and the
coming of spring. Most fertility cults involved
human sacrifice to symbolize thedeath of winter, believing it
necessary to renew the harvest cycle.
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It appears the human victim represented the mysterious God
of fertility who died as the world died in winter in order to
be reborn. Christianity.
Such practices were abhorrent and damnable, and gods of old
religions considered demons. A screndal is traced back to
Cain and brought into biblical reference whereby the monster
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and his mother are seen as gods in their winter manifestation
who must be slaughtered for the world to begin its renewal.
It has pointed out that many secret rituals took place by the
side of lakes wherein female fertility goddesses were
believed to dwell, as did Grendel's mother, and where
sacrifice would have made their waters equally blood stained.
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The passing away of this religion at folk memory may have
been catalyst for Beowulf's epiccreation.
Within the poem itself, there may be another shift of
religious allegiance, which may account for the formation of
some of its narrative. I'm referring to particularly
the way Beowulf defeats Grendel and his mother in their
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submarine lair. There is an argument that it
represents a shift from the muchmore ancient fertility based
cult where a great goddess resided in a sacred lake.
We have a detailed account of this and the English
participation in it in the Romanhistorian Tacitus is Germania,
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chapter 40. Much of the poem relates to a
warrior race with keen appreciation and weaponry in
armor. Only those skilled in the use of
sword, axe, spear and bow would survive battle or the personal
combats by which great honour could be gained.
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Sutton, whose helmet was obviously not intended for war
but display. Although Beowulf is said to have
worn a helmet made of beaten gold embellished with boar
shapes. In reality any warrior's head
would have been protected by a round iron helmet furnished with
nasal and eyepiece, his face andneck protected by hinged metal
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straps. A decorated bore design
represented the wearer's fierceness and courage, for this
was an animal whose charge couldrun a spear shaft through the
length of its body and still be capable of rending and tearing
the hunter who held it. Warriors who had gained wealth
through combat or gifts would have worn valuable male coats
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made by northern Smiths renownedfor their metal working.
Beowulf's epic poem makes clear that coats of male armour was so
valuable as to be handed down from father to son, while that
buried at Sutton, who indicates the honour bestowed on this
particular warrior. A round wooden shield was also
carried it's bare as personal choice of decoration,
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foretelling later heraldic devices that identified in
battle. BOL's world traded widely and he
and his followers would have known and implied objects from
as far afield as the Middle Eastand even India.
Christian objects and materials would also circulate amongst
this Pagan society, booty gainedby ship borne warriors who had
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raided and looted defenceless religious sites and monastic
settlements. Even so, this Germanic society
seems to have possessed an innate grimness in far gentler
and sunnier Mediterranean lands.Roman and Greek could believe
heaven to be a place of golden fields in whose sun it glades.
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Nymphs and satyrs might frolic, but the landscape of darker
northern territories is 1 where human attack or accident might
readily be interpreted as the actions of evil creatures always
ready to rend or destroy. Seamus Heaney's outstanding
Beowulf translation reveals the influence of such dark beliefs.
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Sometimes at Pagan shrines they vowed offerings to idols, swore
oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aids and
save the people. That was their way, their
heathenish hope. Deep in their hearts they
remembered hell. Once again, the poet remembers
cults older than Christianity, for it was not the Christian
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devil these people were worshipping, but fertility gods,
A Christian Church are demonized.
Other fascinating insights into Germanic society are provided by
this poem. Beowulf is portrayed as an
honourable warrior who, althoughbrave and fierce in battle,
never took advantage of another's drunkenness and could
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always hold his temper in check.The fact it seemed necessary to
record this in such a work suggests it was an unusual
warrior characteristic and thus Beowulf's poem might be
considered as much a code of social and military behaviour
than a record of one man's courageous deeds.
There's evidence from this and other early societies.
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The drink and perhaps even some form of drugs were taken before
battle to inspire what now appears superhuman courage and
strength. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge
in 1066, A N Berserka, red bearded and mighty of limb,
probably in a drug induced frenzy, alone, held the River
Derwent's Bridge against the whole of an Anglo-Saxon army and
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all but changed the course of history.
Drug taking has also been tracedback to early religious
practices whereby it is believedthat drug induced ecstasies were
manifestations of possession by deity.
This could also take an animal form, including that of a boar
or a wolf, particularly admired for their courage and ferocity.
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So at what period did Pagan and Christian practice blend
together as displayed by the Beowulf narrative?
Whoever was the actual poet, hisknowledge of Pagan beliefs and
practices is intriguing. Since any educated person of
that period was almost certainlyChristian.
It is possible that his personalfaith was inextricably
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intertwined with pre Christian Pagan beliefs and in this he may
have resembled Red Wild, King ofthe Woofings in East Anglia,
greatest of the kings buried at Sutton Who?
Indeed, there are those who believe that the work would have
been composed not long after thetime of the ship burial.
Given that the Whopping has shared a common culture with the
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yachts, E Anglia has a strong claim to be the cradle of this
astonishing epic. It is certainly very likely that
when looking for an inspirational subject, the poet
would look to those with a strong affinity to the ancestors
of his race. All we have in terms of
arguments for the composition ofthe poem is the text of the poem
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itself. And I have argued in my own work
on Beowulf, neatly published in the little book The Origins of
Beowulf, that a number of independent indications point to
a composition several centuries before the surviving copying of
the manuscript. And in an Anglian Kingdom.
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And certainly Mercia is a possibility, but so is the
Kingdom of the Eastern Angles here in Norfolk and Suffolk.
And there are a number of independent genealogical
arguments which, as I say, converge on that possibility.
Whoever composed the work has certainly received a Christian
education, producing a version possibly less simple than the
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Pagan original, told or sang in Mead halls, and laying greater
emphasis upon Christian style, traditions and beliefs.
Even though Beowulf is not an historic figure as such, the
fact certain characters and events portrayed are real
suggests his fictional characterwas inspired by known heroes.
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There can be no doubt the poem was composed after Ute Angle and
Saxon tribes landed in Britain, though perhaps based upon more
ancient stories amended to suit period and audience.
According to the epic, after returning from what is now
Denmark to Sweden, Beowulf took part in a disastrous expedition
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led by King Hagalak into Frisia,largely modern Holland, recorded
by Gregory of Tours as taking place in AD 516.
With a historic Hagalak killed and his army destroyed in the
poem, his widow offered Beowulf the Kingdom in preference to her
own son. Instead, Beowulf chose to become
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the young King's guardian and advisor, accepting leadership
only when the boy was later killed in battle, thereafter
ruling his people in prosperity for some 50 years.
Poems second section concerns anolder Beowulf who as king of his
people, has ruled wisely and bravely for 50 years, a period
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that ends when treasure beneath an ancient burial mound was
robbed and it's guardian dragon woken.
This ancient funeral Barrow, resembling those often be seen
against British skylines, is clear reference to Nordic and
earlier burial practice. A treasure trove of great
richness, glittering gold spreadacross the ground.
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These ancient tombs are often associated in legend with dread
warnings. And so it was in Beowulf's land,
where the highborn chieftains who buried the treasure declared
it until doomsday to be so accursed.
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But one foolish man ignored thisancient threat and by stealing a
golden goblet from the sleeping Dragon's horde, aroused fire
breathing revenge that killed and destroyed Beowulf's people
and belongings. Gold obviously epitomised
wealth, often used as kingly gifts to great warriors or
placed in their burial hordes. Gold under gravel, gone to earth
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and useless to men, says the poem.
But it is significant. Dramatic folklore makes clear
the greed gold inspired could also make it accursed.
Gold's potential evil is revealed when it becomes cause
of Beowulf's death. Beowulf is now old but has to
protect his people. Approaching the tomb bearing a
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sword, an iron shield, the latter to protect him from the
Dragon's fiery breath. He proclaims if the evil
creature leaves his earthen lair, I shall pursue this fight
for the glory of winning. But the hero's personal warriors
run away in fear, only one remaining to help be a will face
the Dragon's fury. They followed a long and bitter
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struggle until the poem describes how once more the king
gathered his strength and, drawing a stabbing knife, dealt
it a deadly blow. The creature was killed, but in
its death throes delivered Beowulf a poisonous and mortal
wound. Those who might have saved him
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returned shamefaced from The Woodlands into which they had
fled, only to find their king dying, his one companion showing
Beowulf the gold he had taken from the tomb.
Knowing death is near, Beowulf gives instructions for his
funeral. Order my men to build a great
Barrow. When my pyre has cooled it will
become Beowulf Sparrow and mark the way for ships.
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The epic poem ends with a long description of the heroes
funeral ceremonies that provide epilogue to the whole work.
His body being burned on a pyre hung with helmets and war
Shields and shining armour, weaponry that typified his life
and people. Flames roar, accompanied by
sorrowful lamentations from all who witnessed.
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Like those at Sutton who Beowulf's remains were interred
under a great earthen mound hereraised high above the sea that
so influence these northern people's destiny.
The tragedy of this mighty work may mirror a tragic view of life
that underpinned Anglo-Saxon society and provided its very
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roots. What motivates all heroes of the
Nordic epic, to which Beowulf isno exception, is the eternal
human desire to gain recognitionas being of outstanding merit.
In this, the role of gifting andtreasure is crucial.
In the later, more sophisticatedand centrally organised society
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introduced by the Normans, it would be possession of land that
bound men together. Barons received lands from the
king in return for allegiance, as were their own followers from
them. In Beowulf's period, such
bonding was fulfilled by the gifting of rich goods, often in
the form of cups, rings, swords,and chainmail.
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The king is referred to as guardian of his people's
treasure and in return receives their loyalty in war and peace.
Considered worse than any tyrantwas a leader who did not reward
service with rich gifts. The whole society seems to have
been based on this idea that theLord, which means bread giver,
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he, he gives something to his household and to his family and
he gives them bread. He, he helps them, he
distributes his wealth and in return those people give him
back their, their loyalty, theirsupport, and if he needs help,
they provide it. And, and they were tied together
by, by gift giving, by exchanging, as we said, gifts in
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One Direction for loyalty in theother.
In the other direction, they built strong bonds through time.
And these may have been important things for the Anglo
Saxons, far more important than they they were.
They are for us today. But in the culmination of
Beowulf's epic, such treasure brings about the final
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catastrophe that is Beowulf's death.
Earth buried, gold useless to the ancients who have passed
away. Discovered by a dragon who
guards the rich trove fiercely. Even this creature has no use
for it but wreaks havoc when onesmall item is pilfered.
Nor is the treasure of any use to Beowulf himself, who dies
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because of its existence. Thus, by recording what seems a
simple fight with a dragon, the poet questions the bonding
material of his own world, finding within a deep emptiness
that bestows the poem with greatpoignancy.
To achieve his effect, the writer implied a number of
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poetic devices, although Anglo-Saxon poetry did not use
the rhyme that became commonest of poetic tools.
Instead, the poet implied constant alliteration, using the
same letter to begin the words that make up half of a short
line. Each line is a caesura, breaking
in the middle that provides a sense of tension.
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Certain phrases repeat themselves and in so doing bring
with them a richness of use fromtheir context and other parts of
the poem. Finally, kennings are used,
something between synonyms, thatis, words meaning the same
things, and guessing games. A sword becomes a battle friend.
A demon is a shadow Walker and the sea the Wales Rd.
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By their use, the poet encourages a creative attention
in his listeners, as well as opening up a richness of
vocabulary later English was never again to possess.
Further, the poet uses references once thought of as
digressions, but now seen to play an essential role in the
thick layering of a narrative who's hard caused the story of
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combat against three monstrous beasts.
That is the heart, if you boil it down, of our narrative.
But what our poet has done, he has taken this storyline and
turned it into much more than a mere folk tale.
It is one of the great epics of world literature, an epic in
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which these three monster hero combat scenes become three
moments in an exemplary life of our idealised mortal hero,
confronting the big questions oflife, the universe and
everything. And interwoven into that basic
threefold structure are the ancestral traditions and legends
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of the Old English people woven into it and gifted its great
geographical and historical perspective located in the 6th
century Northlands. Anglo-Saxon paganism would end
it's culture change and it's Christianity develops
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sophistication far beyond that of the Beowulf epic.
Even in what appears to be an essentially Pagan work, there
are strong Christian elements with much of the story being
told. In this context, many scriptural
references are made of the Old Testament.
Andy Orchard's book Critical Guide to Beowulf makes the point
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that apart from overt referencesto the Cain and Abel story,
there are 12 key points in whichthe battle with lake and fell
dwelling monsters parallels the story of David Goliath.
For example, Beowulf removes hisbreastplate, helmet and sword
before the battle, as does David, and both returned with a
sword and head of their opponent.
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England, where Britain, angle Ute and Saxon merged into one
race, waxed and prospered and invaded by the Normans, another
warrior people also originating in northern lands.
By AD 1066 and the Norman Conquest, Beowulf's once Pagan
saga had helped spread Christianity throughout the land
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to its fathermost regions. But like the Romano British
before them, a rich and largely civilized Anglo-Saxon society
would change suddenly and bloodily at the hand of warlike
invaders. In 1066, the people who had
conquered Britain and created epics such as Beowulf would fall
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before even more warlike, betterarmed, and better organized
Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror.
In 1066, Harold Godwinson, the last Saxon king, would be killed
by an arrow at the Battle of Hastings when his Nordic people
would be subjected by another defender and invader.
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Both of Nordic origin had been moulded by the lands their
ancestors had invaded and settled England, helping create
Harold's race. Normally those who followed
William during centuries after the Conquest, Anglo-Saxon and
Norman would meld it when English people possessing their
own particular language and culture.
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The rediscovery of Beowulf's epic proved it to be foundation
of this English tunnel. And part of a wonderfully varied
literary heritage containing such masterworks as Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's plays, and the King James Bible.
Churches and cathedrals that developed from the early faith
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of Beowulf's race still dominatethe land these peoples once
occupied, while much of their former Pagan beliefs remain
interwoven into British legend and folklore.
But even more important is that the tongue in which Beowulf was
written founded modern English, a worldwide international
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language whose continuing evolution provides A subtlety,
vocabulary and richness far beyond that of any other.
Part of me says that the the Beowulf story really is exactly
what the Anglo Saxons were about.
When you're talking about archaeology and evidence all the
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time, it's very difficult to getinto the minds of the people who
live then. But I think the Beowulf story is
a fantastic insight into their minds.
Even though no acknowledged funeral mound Marx where lies
the Spanish hero? Beowulf's greatest memorial is
the wondrous language his epic poem helped found.
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So lamented the Yayat's people, the fall of their love.
Lord his half companions. They said that he were of world
kings, of men the mildest and the gentlest, to his people the
kindest, and for fame the most earnest.
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Swab Begnauden, Yayata Laoder Clairford is queerer,
Yochiufnayatus, Quedon, Datiwara, Warold, Trininger,
Mana, Mildust and Mon Suaros, Laodon Ledos and Lof Yonos.
Komon wand renicked sridan shadowyenger shioton swayvantar
that horn wretched yeldan Sheldon yalla Bhutan that was
ildham kuf that him the muster they might told Nolda sasin
shera under shadow Bregdon hey wagchanda radamonandam bad
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bullion mood the adwaya dinges Darkomora under miss Leo them
Grendel gongan goddess Ereba Mentos a man shader man of Kunas
sonna basarian in Seladam ayaan ward and the welcome to thus
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that hareen wretched gold sailorgumina yerawast whisa vatom
fakhne nay was that for the mercy that hey Krothgaras and
yusukta Navrahi on alda Dagon and nesidan Yadran hala
Yaltena's fund calm down to wretcheda.
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Ring. Scythian dramum bed island Dora
suno Anand ferra bendum fast sithan hey here of formum at
Fran on brand the bilaluhigti the heiya bolyanwas wretchers
muthan Ras after the on Falcon floor fiord treader eod eremuth
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him of the Aragon stood. Leah Yelikoff.
Layocked on fire. He came in dark night, the
striding shadow goer. The Archers slept.
Who that horned gabled hall should guard all but one.
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It was to men known that then hecould not.
When the Lord wished not the thin scaler under the shadows
bind, But he watching wrathful in horror, waited in boiling
mood. The battles meeting then came
from Moore under the mist shadows, Grendel walking God's
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anger, he bore the crime skater meant to ensnare 1 of mankind in
that high hall went under cloudsto where he the wine hall, the
gold hall of men readily knew golden gleaming.
Nor was that the first time thathe Rothgar's home had sought.
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Yet never in his life, before orsince harder luck and all things
did he find. He came then to the hall, a
venturing warrior deprived of dreams.
The door soon gave way, though fast, with forged iron bands.
When he touched it with his hands, he broke open.
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Then baleful hearted the Hall's mouth.
Now he was angry. Right after that, on the shining
floor the fiend trod. He entered in irate mood.
From his eyes stood flame like abaleful light.
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We have heard how the spear Danes excelled in fight.
Noble was Beowulf and bloomed wide His name by praise deed
shall one man thrive amongst mankind.
Whether or not the Beowulf epic was based upon an heroic warrior
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who actually lived, his legendary deeds were recorded in
an Anglo-Saxon romantic poem putinto written form sometime
between AD 997 and 1016. The work of two different
scribes is apparent, the second of whom appears more accurate,
the manuscript recording a poem likely to been created long
before. Although Northern European in
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origin, Beowulf's poem was both composed and inscribed on a
manuscript in an Anglo-Saxon England, with its 6356 short
lines out of the total body of Anglo-Saxon poetry, comprising
some 30,000 portals of the poem for the study of their language
has always been self-evident. More recently, the poem has been
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recognised as a significant workof art.
Only in 1936 did Professor Jr. Tolkien, more popularly famous
for his Lord of the Rings trilogy than his scholarly
achievements, produce a masterlyessay Beowulf the Monsters and
the Critics that revolutionize Beowulf criticism.
Where previously the poem had been regarded as little more
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than a rich mind for linguists, made-up from 2 unrelated stories
and containing a number of historically interesting but
artistically valueless digressions, Tolkien perceived
it as a unified work of art. It is very much a whole work of
literary art. It is a composition, and
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certainly it contains what seemed to be digressions, which
is very much a modern critical label.
But I think it's fair to say that all these things have been
shown to be, in various ways, either contrasting or amplifying
or otherwise enhancing our appreciation of the world of the
poem and the central narrative, which is the life of the hero.
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Whoever was responsible for the work, it was the product of a
Christian England, drawing inspiration from Germanic Pagan
warrior culture, in which monsters were believed to roam
dark forests or dwell beneath the lakes.
Although possessing No title as such, the epic has been known
simply as Beowulf since at leastthe early 19th century, its hero
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presented as a Hercules like figure whose struggles with
monstrous creatures helped inspire a race whose impact upon
Britain and the world was enormous.
Out of the manuscripts, Old English Tongue developed Modern
English now in common use aroundthe globe.
The first section of Beowulf saga tells how this renowned
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warrior of the yachts, A Germanic tribe occupying
southern Sweden, journeyed to Denmark across the Baltic Sea to
offer assistance. A Wrath Guards king together
with 12 companions number may have had some religious
significance. The hero travelled in a ship
broad, beamed and newly tarred, loading their weapons into the
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hold, one that with a wind behind her flew like a bird.
Making landfall in Zealand, now part of modern Denmark, the
group was challenged by 1 of Rothgar's warriors who after
escorting them to his King's Mead hall, returned to his
duties. Were the words I am a way to the
sea to watch out for Raiders. These northern Danes Utes Angles
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and Saxons were warlike and aggressive peoples who fought
not only on land but used the sea for piracy and raiding.
Bravery in combat was greatly honoured.
Raid into the country of Frisia,now remembered chiefly for his
Frisian cattle, provides historic date and Beowulf story.
Such warfare bred fierce tribes capable of defeating Roman
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legions to inhabitants of gentlest southern lands.
This was an alien world beyond civilizations pale, whose people
were Barbarians, An 11th centurychronicler would record.
And while the whole land of Germany is frightful with thick
forests, your land is still morefrightful.
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Where the land is shunned on account of the poverty of its
produce, and the sea on account of the infestation of pirates,
cultivation is found hardly anywhere.
Hardly any place exists suitablefor human habitation, but
wherever there are arms of the sea, the country has large
settlements. Such impressions long remained.
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As late as the 20th century, author Alastair McClain would
describe parts of these lands asthe hell of our ancient northern
European ancestors of the Vikings, the Danes, the utes of
Beowulf and the monster haunted Meares, the hell of eternal
cold. Beowulf and his companions
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arrived safely in Zealand, whereformerly King Rothgar's Great
Mead Hall had been, one where joblets had passed among
seasoned warriors, flushed with beer, who pledged themselves to
protect hereot, for this building was so wondrous as to
be given a name. But Hereot had been abandoned
and no warriors feasted and drank within what had become a
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place of terror. Grendel, a great troll like
monster of lake and forest, angered by the singing of
Brothgar's warriors, had attacked the hall, killing and
devouring its occupants so none now dared enter.
But Werewolf did not fear such creatures, and with the King's
permission, he and his companions went into the hall to
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eat and rest during the Black night in off the Moors Downs,
with a mist bands, Grendel came loping, entering the Mead hall
to kill and eat one of its sleeping warriors.
Beowulf was not asleep and rising, wrestled so mightily
with a monster that here Rot's thick timber walls shook and
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trembled before he tore off Grendel's arm, causing the
creature to run away and die. Great were celebrations,
feasting, poetry and song that followed wondrous The gifts King
Rothgar heaped upon Beowulf, although unbeknown to all the
peril had not yet ended, but increased.
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Grendel's mother, monstrous hellbride brooding on her wrongs,
entered here rocked in furious vengeful rage, seeking victims,
tearing down her son Savadan from where it would be nails
trophy she seized and at one of the Danes greatest fighting men
before retiring to a home at thebottom of a blood stained lake.
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Asleep in a neighboring hall, Beowulf walked to discover the
monster returned back to a dreadabode, slaughtering all who
dared follow. Beowulf was unafraid and
armoured with a fine coat of chain mail dived into the lake,
swimming down to kill the evil creature in a cavern deep below
its monster infested waters. Greatly honoured yet again by
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Rothgar and laden with gold and precious gifts.
Beowulf's return to Sweden ends the first section of his saga.
This Beowulf epic was probably typical those told in Germanic
royal halls, especially during winter, when howling gales or
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steadily falling snow made raiding and warfare impossible.
Warriors would feast and drink, listening to stories of great
bravery against enemies or even monsters like those the mighty
Beowulf had confronted and killed.
Northern tribes are defeated anddestroyed. 2 powerful Roman
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legions. And when Britain was abandoned
by Rome in the 5th century Ute Angle and Saxon increased their
raiding against its now defenseless peoples.
Long ships grounding on undefended British beaches
brought within a blood lust thatcaused great suffering the
coastal's Renan peoples. But raiding led the migration
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and settlement, and soon much ofsoutheastern England was in the
hands of peoples European chroniclers would name
Anglo-Saxon. Like Beowulf, these warriors
often wore chainmail bearing axe, spear, or sea axe, the
short sword that gave Saxons their name.
Unlike their hero, few could withstand them.
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Much of Roman Britain occupied by Beowulf's Pagan peoples had
already converted to Christianity, but it seems only
more westerly British regions retain their faith, and so it
recorded, held great hatred for these newcomers with their old
gods and evil waves. Possibly this was reason why
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Rome's Pope Gregory dispatched St.
Augustine to England in 8597, where, after landing at
Ebbsfleet, Kent, he would convert its king Ethelbert and
many of his people. Augustine built his first church
at Canterbury, not the great stone edifice of today, but a
relatively simple wooden structure that reflected his new
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converts timber building tradition.
Canterbury Cathedral now stands upon the site and from its
cathedral of Bishop's throne spread church organization and
influence that would soon greatly affect the whole
country. Yet this was not modern
Christianity with its 2000 yearsof evolution, but one developing
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out of paganism, often with bloodshed, since the Old Gods
had powerful followers. The the poem as a whole, it
provides such a very good response to a question, a
rhetorical question which a hardline Bishop called Alquin
famously asks in a letter which he has written to the monks, the
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Abbot of an Abbey, not quite sure which one who where the the
monks have been listening to heroic poetry in their
effectories instead of the gospels, and Alquin tells them
off for this and ask the rhetorical question, what has
the hero ingaled to do with Christ?
And in Beowulf we have references to this very hero
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ingaled. At Bury St.
Edmunds in East Anglia, Siegbert, its first Christian
Anglo-Saxon king, founded a religious community only to be
challenged by Mercier's Pagan king Pender, who hated the new
faith. Siegbert would be killed in
battle, seemingly bearing no weapons, for he had become a man
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of peace and maybe his body was carried here for burial.
Yet Christianity would continue to extend its influence.
King Edmund, also a Christian, was certainly buried here in AD
869 after being murdered by Danes.
Although Bury has nothing to do with his Interment being derived
from the Saxon borough or fortified settlement, so many
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events considered miraculous occurred before and after
Edmund's burial. He became a St.
Amongst these it was claimed that his severed head, hidden
deep in the forest by the Vikings and guarded by a wolf,
instructed the faithful as to its whereabouts so it could be
buried on sanctified ground. St.
Edmund was the last of the woofing King AS who ruled the
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Kingdom of East Anglia. Shortly afterwards, an AD 1020,
the Danish king Canute, He who is said to have ordered the tide
to turn back but failed in restitution, made the Saints
burial place an Abbey, one at whose high altar, 200 years
later rebellious Baron swore to false King John's acceptance of
Magna Carta, yet another turningpoint in British and world
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history. Even though few traces of its
original Saxon work remain, a ruined Bury St.
Edmunds still displays somethingof a medieval magnificence
inspired by the faith of these converted Germanic peoples.
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Southeast of Bury St. Edmunds and near the town of
Woodbridge, Suffolk lies Sutton who?
Another Anglo-Saxon site, but here on a grassy terrace
overlooking the River Deep Ancestry.
Now part of a National Trust exhibition complex, this 250
acre tree fringed open area was obviously a place of great
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significance for Anglo-Saxon peoples, it's undulations and
mounds marking burial sites of their great leaders and
chieftains. In 1939, just three years after
Tolkien celebrated essay 2 funeral ships were discovered
here, 1 containing the richest horde of grave goods ever to be
discovered within Britain. This was burial sites of the
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Wolfing Kings, close relations of the yacht tribe to which
Beowulf belonged, and descendingfrom the Wolfings, Sons of the
Wolf were the yacht's northern neighbors, ships with an
integral part of northern culture.
Beer was people at once occupiedislands or coastal areas whose
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few pockets of good land had to be defended against enemies.
Baltic forests provided materials for vessels essential
to the trading, raiding and piracy that were an essential
part of Nordic life. Skilled shipbuilders use the
region's fine timber to produce shallow, draft long ships that
could both survive treacherous open waters and negotiate
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winding inland rivers. The evidence suggests that the
Anglo Saxons, when they travelled about, actually use
rivers rather than roads. The people who came before them,
the Romans, famous for their roads, but everything leads us
to believe that the Anglo Saxonspreferred rivers to move around.
They had small boats which they could pass up the rivers.
We believe that they came to West Stowe through a river
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system. When it came to big expanses of
water, like they had to cross the North Sea, a lot of
archaeologists believe that whatthey did was coast hopped.
They they stayed close to the coast, moved down to the
narrowest point and then made a dash across that narrow point.
Beowulf's people traditionally honoured heroic dead, either
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cremating their bodies in blazing funeral pyres or
interning them beneath earthen mounds that marked their status.
The afterlife was important to those living in a harsh world,
and especially significant leaders might be placed in a
funeral ship to journey there. Tolkin celebrated the Lord of
the Rings. Has the warrior Boromia been
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dispatched to the ocean in this manner?
Then let us lay him in a boat with his weapons and the weapons
of his vanquished foes, said Aragon.
So no evil creature dishonours his bones.
Although Anglo Saxons have been settled in England for some 200
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years, during which time many had converted to Christianity.
Sutton who? In the early 7th century they
followed Pagan tradition although burying 2 funeral ships
rather than sending them out to sea.
Amongst other items recovered there was a hold of superb
armor, weaponry and ornamented grave goods.
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The vessel itself had all but vanished, but soil impressions
revealed it had been of great size.
This was a burial site of the highest status.
It's accompanying treasure hold containing a shield emblazoned
with eagle and dragon, magnificent sword with the
jewelled hilt, together with fighting Spears and axe.
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Perhaps of even greater significance was a coat of the
finest ring mail of such worth that it's deliberate burial
reveals the great honour being bestowed.
Male coats then and later were so difficult to manufacture.
They're so precious they were usually handed on for reuse.
The Bay of Tapestry shows dead being stripped of their male
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coats after the Battle of Hastings in AD 1066.
This Sutton Who burial also contained A superb ceremonial or
parade helmet ornamented with snake like Crest, face mask and
cheek guards. There were fine bowls, drinking
horns and cups, cauldrons and lamps that would be needed by
the hero in his afterlife. Everything discovered here,
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whether armor or weapons or the clothes, shoes and belts adorned
with superb enameling and jewellery, revealed this to have
been a leader of great wealth and even greater honour.
This would probably the grave ofRad, world King of East Anglia,
who died early in the 7th century, slightly before the
Beowulf epic was written. Religious practices suggested by
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his burial shed light on the mixture of Pagan and Christian
elements that Beowulf contains. Burials and grave goods, Mead
halls and kingly gifts tell the bills people that organize
themselves, and a close knit andwell ordered societies in which,
although predominantly masculine, through love of war,
women were able to exercise great influence.
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At this society's head was a king whose power, although not
always hereditary, was exercisedthrough his things.
A personal band of warriors selected from a noble class of
Earls below. These were freeman commoners who
provided essential skills and service, all being seasoned
fighters. The whole social structure
supported by slaves or serfs were also expected to play a
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part in battle. Loyalty and service was owed to
king or queen and one another. Heroic and historian scale
Beowulf emphasizes more than masculine and military than
everyday domestic aspects of what became an Anglo-Saxon
society. Even so, there's clear evidence
for much domesticity since thesepeoples had come at colonizers,
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not Raiders. Anglo Saxons seem to have
occupied villages much like those of their ancestral lands,
ignoring former Romano British settlements, creating new
dwelling places, and shunning earlier towns and fortifications
been suggested. They may have regarded such
places with superstitious awe. At West Snow, not far from
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Sutton Hoo, the discovery of an early Anglo-Saxon settlement
dating from between about 8420 and 650 led to the
reconstruction of some of its 70or so former buildings that,
together with visitor centre displays, help bring this period
of migration and settlement to life.
What is known as the Oldest House was built in 1974 and
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used, amongst other things, to test the concept that these
dwellings have been constructed above pits.
The Sukton House nearby was created on the same assumption.
Although the concept is no longer supported.
There is also a reasonably substantial family house
providing insight regarding furnishings and living
conditions of the day. Next is the hall, hardly a Great
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Hall, illustrating that in a small community such as this it
was little larger than many other buildings.
These reconstructions were aidedby archaeologists interpretation
of Beowulf's point. Beowulf's struggle with Grendel
took place in the King's Mead Hall.
It's name indicating this alcoholic drink at an important
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role in ceremony is carried out here.
Seamus Heaney's outstanding Beowulf translation.
An attendant stood by with a decorated picture, pouring
bright helpings of Mead, and theminstrel sang, filling the hall
with his clear voice. But that was a far larger
structure than existed W Stowe. Well, the interesting thing
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about West Stowe is, is that archaeology can only give us so
much of the information from that.
We get burned posts, we get someremains about the houses, but
the Beowulf story gives us much more information on things that
archaeology can't. For example, in the Beowulf
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story, we get this idea of a hall surrounded by houses, and
that's how we've reconstructed West stone.
At Witchurst, close to the Kentish coast, where the
earliest Saxon warriors landed, another hall being reconstructed
formerly covered 200 square metres over 1800 square feet in
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area more resembling here rottenscale, although in the poet's
rich imagination the latter surpassed all.
Yet there would have been similarities, even though King's
Hall must have contained finely carved furniture and been hung
with colourful tapestries, Rothgars here ought to been
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wonder of the world forever, a hall of halls where he doled out
rings and talks at the table. Gold threads shone in the wall
hangings WO buildings help understand Anglo-Saxon daily
life, their weaving house indicating that this was a
society dependent upon specialised skills, while the
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varying quality of other structures reveal not all
village dwellers were of the same social status.
Buildings and panels of wattle and daub between their timber
frames. A mixture of clay, woolow hair
and cow dung spread over into woven Hazel rods.
A system long continued in British rural areas, either
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washed with lime or spread with tallow to render them
waterproof. What people made-up this
apparently peaceful community? And how would the exploits of
Beowulf and his loyal band have affected them?
The people who lived here in, inWest Stowe, these early English,
these, these first Anglo Saxons were, were a mixture of, of
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different tribes from different places.
But archaeology tells us that they carried Spears and, and
Shields and the more importance of them actually had swords.
So in, in, in that way, they arevery, very similar to the, the,
the kind of warriors we hear about in the Beowulf story.
I think the other thing that is interesting is that we're
talking about a small village here with not that many people
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in it. And, and in these early times,
the times of Beowulf, a gang of maybe 10 men is quite a, a
formidable force. And so it's interesting that
the, the scale of these these early operations, 10 warriors
would indeed be a force to reckon with.
And if they were skilled warriors like Beowulf and his
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men, then they certainly would have been formidable adversary
for anybody. The fierce independent the
Anglo-Saxon is perhaps indicatedby British Christianity's ready
adoption of Pagan designs and traditions.
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Northern culture and its designswould spread widely, which is
appropriate since Beowulf's peoples believed a great serpent
lay tail and mouth beneath the sea, forming a circle
encompassing all mankind. From this may have developed the
convoluted ribbon like design seen in Christian manuscript
illustration, artwork, carving and jewellery.
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Probably originating in a Nordicinfluenced island.
In contrast with the often poor and sandy soils of former Baltic
homelands whose subsistence level economy inspired raiding
and warfare in order to survive,England's attraction lay in it
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being a naturally rich country possessing Woodlands and soils
that bestowed prosperity upon the newcomers.
This induced the mass immigration, although whether
Romano British peoples were absorbed or driven westwards is
still conjectural. Anglo-Saxon tribes would soon
lap against the Welsh mountains and like the Romans before them,
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conclude that containment of itswarlike peoples was better than
outright conquest. By the mid 8th century,
Mercier's still Pagan king author had marked and protected
his territories with what is still Europe's longest
earthwork. Arthur's Dyke runs along the
north-south length of Wales fromChepstow to near Prestatyn on
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the North Wales coast, much of its 170 miles of mound and ditch
still clearly visible crossing border valley and hill.
Arthur was one of the greatest kings of Mercia, a Kingdom that
frequently vied for the paramount position amongst all
British kingdoms. His dike drew a boundary between
Saxon and Welsh territory, Remains one of the greatest
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engineering works undertaken in Britain prior to the Industrial
Revolution, demonstrating the power and organization of these
so-called Dark Age kings. Indeed, Offer's Mercier has been
suggested as possible birthplaceof the Beowulf epic because the
poem contains a song of praise to an ancestral Nordic king
named Offer. Such fulsome praise, providing
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their monarch with reflected glory, appears to have been
typical Saxon practice. What we see in the case of Offer
the Old though he has subsumed to be a specifically Mercian
ancestor in the Mercian royal pedigree, almost certainly
because it suited Offers own political circumstance of the
8th century. We see evidence on a wider basis
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that Offer was regarded as a general English ancestor of the
people as a whole. And so we get offers in other
pedigrees. And this is important point.
I think it's sometimes overlooked by the mercy of local
patriots. Like its Nordic predecessors,
Offers Palace would have been a visible symbol of authority and
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wealth, wherein would gather theKing's personal warriors whose
loyalty depended much upon such gifts he could bestow when
raiding and warfare was impossible.
King and warriors would carouse in torched lit halls, at tables
laden with platters bearing pig meat or eels, while made bare
inside a float and copious measure.
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Food and drink was a required provision for service, but other
gifts also rewarded bravery, forthis was the glue that kept a
warlike society together. Armour and weapons were commonly
given, but most valued were objects of precious metals or
jewels, perhaps garnered the spoils of war or during raids
upon some Christian settlement or church.
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Gifts were presented with great ceremonial, while companions
applauded and ancient tales wereretold.
Lavish rewards. I received my part in battle,
beaten gold and other things. There was singing at the banquet
table. An old teller of stories
recalled the early days. A battle scarred warrior bowed
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with age would remember the deeds of his youth.
Pagan, bloodthirsty and warlike,who it was quick to seek revenge
for. Slight or wrong, it is better to
avenge dear ones and give way tomourning, said one of the worst
followers, always ready to fightfor honour or die in the
attempt. This society placed measurable
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value upon its individual members since all, even the
meanest form part of one social fabric.
They had developed the custom ofVergil that related human worth
and social status, so that loss of life, even injury, had to be
recompensed by the perpetrator in money or kind.
Here at Westoe the archaeologists have found out
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that the the people who lived here, these early Anglo Saxons
were a very interesting mix of people that were Angles, Saxons,
Frisians, Franks, a whole mixture of people who may be
joined together in the course oftheir their travelling to get
here. They came up the rivers in their
boats and they settled here in one of these very early
pioneering settlements next to ariver.
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We know there were plenty of other settlements up this river
not far from this one spread allalong the River Lark here in in
Suffolk. When they got here, they did
some things exactly the same as they'd done in their homelands,
like we found pottery and jewellery, which matches
perfectly, and other things thatwere rather different.
Because over here in in England,the the structures that they
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built, the houses and halls thatwe hear about in Beowulf, they
tend to be separate units where the archaeologists found out
that back in their homelands in Northern Europe, quite often
they lived in these long houses where the units were joined
together. So there are some subtle
differences between the way thatthey used to live on the
continent and and the new way that they lived over here.
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In Anglo-Saxon England, the King's residence surrounded by
lesser dwellings would stand within an earth ditched timber
palisaded enclosure that protected against human and
animal attack in its Mead halls.A warrior brotherhood would have
eaten and drank to the excess expected of such great fighters,
whose deeds of valor not only against man, animal or
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mythological demon, but at the table gave him status.
In one instance, the poem refersto a particular warrior as
wrecker of Mead benches. Great halls were common to both
Anglo Saxons and their Nordic forebears, playing a major role
in the life of the community. Werewolf fought the monster
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Grendel in such a hall and in a similar structure dedicated to
conviviality, a still Pagan Offer oversaw A treacherous
murder. In 8792, Ethelbert and the Saxon
and Christian king arrived at Offers Hall near Hereford
seeking the hand of his daughterin marriage, only to be killed
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and, according to legend, havinghis severed head used by Offers
men as a gruesome football. Buried at nearby Mon.
It was claimed a shaft of sunlight suddenly illuminating
the grave to together with a spring of water gushing from the
ground. So frightened author he not only
converted to Christianity but ordered the body be interred at
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Hereford in a timber church where now stands its cathedral.
Ethelbert's murder reveals that as late as the 8th century,
Christianity spread was not without problem, but today's
great church dedicated to the Saint proves paganism's defeat
was inevitable. Close by, Hereford Beyond offers
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Dyke layer, hostile western Britain, now Wales, whose hills,
lakes and forests were not dissimilar to some northern
homelands and might thus have prolonged or even inspired
beliefs that monstrous creaturesexisted.
Certainly, many wild animals mentioned in Beowulf were
considered either portents of orassociated with death.
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Craving for carrion, the dark Raven shall have its say and
tell the eagle how it fared at the feast.
When competing with the wolf, itlaid bare the bones of corpses.
Although the existence of the Beowulf manuscript had been
noted in the 16th century, it was an Icelandic scholar,
Thorkelin, who in 1787 first translated Beowulf's poem,
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perhaps not very accurately, from an original manuscript
already badly damaged by a library fire of 1753.
The hero's name is interesting. JRR Tolkien, whose own 1936
translation spurred great interest in Anglo-Saxon
literature, interpreted Beowulf as one who sought honey.
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Since wolf could mean either theanimal itself or one who
haunted, and since bears loved honey, Tolkien suggested this
was illusion and word play. All would have understood as
meaning bear hunter, that is, hunter of bears.
However interpreted, Beowulf's name must have indicated a man
of great physical power whose achievements were worthy of
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poetic record. He is essentially an Earth side
superhero. He has these bear like
tendencies as brought out in Tolkien, for example in the
character Bjorn in The Hobbit and many parallels in Old North
as well. Old N saga.
His his parallels in Old N saga,one of them actually turns into
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a a bear within the battle and helps win the day that way.
And this is a characteristic of Northern literature that
sometimes extremes of characteristic could be
explained by supposing that at some stage in the family's
history there'd been some kind of cross fertilization.
And the Old Norse puts it quite clearly when it says that the
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hero's grandmother was a she bear.
The title bear seems often to have been associated with
renowned warriors in the same dark ages, now early mediaeval,
the legendary King Arthur said to have derived his name from
the Latin artos for that animal.Interestingly, this British
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legend has also a hero fighting mythical beings.
The forest swarmed with giants until Arthur the good King
vanquished them all with his cross sword.
The last Roman legionary had only just departed when Arthur,
a possible 5th century Romano British war leader, is said to
have defeated the Anglo Saxons in a series of battles that
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gained 50 years of peace for western Britain.
There are surprising similarities between Beowulf and
Arthur here. Moreover, the roots of Beowulf
may lie as deep as the Arthuriantale of the Holy Grail, also
possibly linked to ancient cults.
It's been suggested by John Grimsby and other researchers
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that Grendel and his mother may have been a reinterpretation of
a fertility cult that preceded not only Christianity, but the
ancient gods of Nordic mythology.
These Viking gods, Wootton and Thor amongst others, are still
commemorated by our days of the week, Wednesday and Thursday.
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Prior to them, even more ancientdivinities named the Vaniat were
worshipped. These were essentially fertility
cult gods of a religion celebrating winter's end and the
coming of spring. Most fertility cults involved
human sacrifice to symbolize thedeath of winter, believing it
necessary to renew the harvest cycle.
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It appears the human victim represented the mysterious God
of fertility who died as the world died in winter in order to
be reborn. Christianity.
Such practices were abhorrent and damnable, and gods of old
religions considered demons. A screndal is traced back to
Cain and brought into biblical reference whereby the monster
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and his mother are seen as gods in their winter manifestation
who must be slaughtered for the world to begin its renewal.
It has pointed out that many secret rituals took place by the
side of lakes wherein female fertility goddesses were
believed to dwell, as did Grendel's mother, and where
sacrifice would have made their waters equally blood stained.
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The passing away of this religion at folk memory may have
been catalyst for Beowulf's epiccreation.
Within the poem itself, there may be another shift of
religious allegiance, which may account for the formation of
some of its narrative. I'm referring to particularly
the way Beowulf defeats Grendel and his mother in their
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submarine lair. There is an argument that it
represents a shift from the muchmore ancient fertility based
cult where a great goddess resided in a sacred lake.
We have a detailed account of this and the English
participation in it in the Romanhistorian Tacitus is Germania,
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chapter 40. Much of the poem relates to a
warrior race with keen appreciation and weaponry in
armor. Only those skilled in the use of
sword, axe, spear and bow would survive battle or the personal
combats by which great honour could be gained.
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Sutton, whose helmet was obviously not intended for war
but display. Although Beowulf is said to have
worn a helmet made of beaten gold embellished with boar
shapes. In reality any warrior's head
would have been protected by a round iron helmet furnished with
nasal and eyepiece, his face andneck protected by hinged metal
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straps. A decorated bore design
represented the wearer's fierceness and courage, for this
was an animal whose charge couldrun a spear shaft through the
length of its body and still be capable of rending and tearing
the hunter who held it. Warriors who had gained wealth
through combat or gifts would have worn valuable male coats
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made by northern Smiths renownedfor their metal working.
Beowulf's epic poem makes clear that coats of male armour was so
valuable as to be handed down from father to son, while that
buried at Sutton, who indicates the honour bestowed on this
particular warrior. A round wooden shield was also
carried it's bare as personal choice of decoration,
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foretelling later heraldic devices that identified in
battle. BOL's world traded widely and he
and his followers would have known and implied objects from
as far afield as the Middle Eastand even India.
Christian objects and materials would also circulate amongst
this Pagan society, booty gainedby ship borne warriors who had
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raided and looted defenceless religious sites and monastic
settlements. Even so, this Germanic society
seems to have possessed an innate grimness in far gentler
and sunnier Mediterranean lands.Roman and Greek could believe
heaven to be a place of golden fields in whose sun it glades.
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Nymphs and satyrs might frolic, but the landscape of darker
northern territories is 1 where human attack or accident might
readily be interpreted as the actions of evil creatures always
ready to rend or destroy. Seamus Heaney's outstanding
Beowulf translation reveals the influence of such dark beliefs.
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Sometimes at Pagan shrines they vowed offerings to idols, swore
oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aids and
save the people. That was their way, their
heathenish hope. Deep in their hearts they
remembered hell. Once again, the poet remembers
cults older than Christianity, for it was not the Christian
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devil these people were worshipping, but fertility gods,
A Christian Church are demonized.
Other fascinating insights into Germanic society are provided by
this poem. Beowulf is portrayed as an
honourable warrior who, althoughbrave and fierce in battle,
never took advantage of another's drunkenness and could
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always hold his temper in check.The fact it seemed necessary to
record this in such a work suggests it was an unusual
warrior characteristic and thus Beowulf's poem might be
considered as much a code of social and military behaviour
than a record of one man's courageous deeds.
There's evidence from this and other early societies.
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The drink and perhaps even some form of drugs were taken before
battle to inspire what now appears superhuman courage and
strength. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge
in 1066, A N Berserka, red bearded and mighty of limb,
probably in a drug induced frenzy, alone, held the River
Derwent's Bridge against the whole of an Anglo-Saxon army and
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all but changed the course of history.
Drug taking has also been tracedback to early religious
practices whereby it is believedthat drug induced ecstasies were
manifestations of possession by deity.
This could also take an animal form, including that of a boar
or a wolf, particularly admired for their courage and ferocity.
(46:19):
So at what period did Pagan and Christian practice blend
together as displayed by the Beowulf narrative?
Whoever was the actual poet, hisknowledge of Pagan beliefs and
practices is intriguing. Since any educated person of
that period was almost certainlyChristian.
It is possible that his personalfaith was inextricably
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intertwined with pre Christian Pagan beliefs and in this he may
have resembled Red Wild, King ofthe Woofings in East Anglia,
greatest of the kings buried at Sutton Who?
Indeed, there are those who believe that the work would have
been composed not long after thetime of the ship burial.
Given that the Whopping has shared a common culture with the
(47:02):
yachts, E Anglia has a strong claim to be the cradle of this
astonishing epic. It is certainly very likely that
when looking for an inspirational subject, the poet
would look to those with a strong affinity to the ancestors
of his race. All we have in terms of
arguments for the composition ofthe poem is the text of the poem
(47:24):
itself. And I have argued in my own work
on Beowulf, neatly published in the little book The Origins of
Beowulf, that a number of independent indications point to
a composition several centuries before the surviving copying of
the manuscript. And in an Anglian Kingdom.
(47:45):
And certainly Mercia is a possibility, but so is the
Kingdom of the Eastern Angles here in Norfolk and Suffolk.
And there are a number of independent genealogical
arguments which, as I say, converge on that possibility.
Whoever composed the work has certainly received a Christian
education, producing a version possibly less simple than the
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Pagan original, told or sang in Mead halls, and laying greater
emphasis upon Christian style, traditions and beliefs.
Even though Beowulf is not an historic figure as such, the
fact certain characters and events portrayed are real
suggests his fictional characterwas inspired by known heroes.
(48:28):
There can be no doubt the poem was composed after Ute Angle and
Saxon tribes landed in Britain, though perhaps based upon more
ancient stories amended to suit period and audience.
According to the epic, after returning from what is now
Denmark to Sweden, Beowulf took part in a disastrous expedition
(48:49):
led by King Hagalak into Frisia,largely modern Holland, recorded
by Gregory of Tours as taking place in AD 516.
With a historic Hagalak killed and his army destroyed in the
poem, his widow offered Beowulf the Kingdom in preference to her
own son. Instead, Beowulf chose to become
(49:10):
the young King's guardian and advisor, accepting leadership
only when the boy was later killed in battle, thereafter
ruling his people in prosperity for some 50 years.
Poems second section concerns anolder Beowulf who as king of his
people, has ruled wisely and bravely for 50 years, a period
(49:32):
that ends when treasure beneath an ancient burial mound was
robbed and it's guardian dragon woken.
This ancient funeral Barrow, resembling those often be seen
against British skylines, is clear reference to Nordic and
earlier burial practice. A treasure trove of great
richness, glittering gold spreadacross the ground.
(49:56):
These ancient tombs are often associated in legend with dread
warnings. And so it was in Beowulf's land,
where the highborn chieftains who buried the treasure declared
it until doomsday to be so accursed.
(50:17):
But one foolish man ignored thisancient threat and by stealing a
golden goblet from the sleeping Dragon's horde, aroused fire
breathing revenge that killed and destroyed Beowulf's people
and belongings. Gold obviously epitomised
wealth, often used as kingly gifts to great warriors or
placed in their burial hordes. Gold under gravel, gone to earth
(50:42):
and useless to men, says the poem.
But it is significant. Dramatic folklore makes clear
the greed gold inspired could also make it accursed.
Gold's potential evil is revealed when it becomes cause
of Beowulf's death. Beowulf is now old but has to
protect his people. Approaching the tomb bearing a
(51:04):
sword, an iron shield, the latter to protect him from the
Dragon's fiery breath. He proclaims if the evil
creature leaves his earthen lair, I shall pursue this fight
for the glory of winning. But the hero's personal warriors
run away in fear, only one remaining to help be a will face
the Dragon's fury. They followed a long and bitter
(51:27):
struggle until the poem describes how once more the king
gathered his strength and, drawing a stabbing knife, dealt
it a deadly blow. The creature was killed, but in
its death throes delivered Beowulf a poisonous and mortal
wound. Those who might have saved him
(51:47):
returned shamefaced from The Woodlands into which they had
fled, only to find their king dying, his one companion showing
Beowulf the gold he had taken from the tomb.
Knowing death is near, Beowulf gives instructions for his
funeral. Order my men to build a great
Barrow. When my pyre has cooled it will
become Beowulf Sparrow and mark the way for ships.
(52:13):
The epic poem ends with a long description of the heroes
funeral ceremonies that provide epilogue to the whole work.
His body being burned on a pyre hung with helmets and war
Shields and shining armour, weaponry that typified his life
and people. Flames roar, accompanied by
sorrowful lamentations from all who witnessed.
(52:36):
Like those at Sutton who Beowulf's remains were interred
under a great earthen mound hereraised high above the sea that
so influence these northern people's destiny.
The tragedy of this mighty work may mirror a tragic view of life
that underpinned Anglo-Saxon society and provided its very
(52:59):
roots. What motivates all heroes of the
Nordic epic, to which Beowulf isno exception, is the eternal
human desire to gain recognitionas being of outstanding merit.
In this, the role of gifting andtreasure is crucial.
In the later, more sophisticatedand centrally organised society
(53:19):
introduced by the Normans, it would be possession of land that
bound men together. Barons received lands from the
king in return for allegiance, as were their own followers from
them. In Beowulf's period, such
bonding was fulfilled by the gifting of rich goods, often in
the form of cups, rings, swords,and chainmail.
(53:41):
The king is referred to as guardian of his people's
treasure and in return receives their loyalty in war and peace.
Considered worse than any tyrantwas a leader who did not reward
service with rich gifts. The whole society seems to have
been based on this idea that theLord, which means bread giver,
(54:04):
he, he gives something to his household and to his family and
he gives them bread. He, he helps them, he
distributes his wealth and in return those people give him
back their, their loyalty, theirsupport, and if he needs help,
they provide it. And, and they were tied together
by, by gift giving, by exchanging, as we said, gifts in
(54:30):
One Direction for loyalty in theother.
In the other direction, they built strong bonds through time.
And these may have been important things for the Anglo
Saxons, far more important than they they were.
They are for us today. But in the culmination of
Beowulf's epic, such treasure brings about the final
(54:52):
catastrophe that is Beowulf's death.
Earth buried, gold useless to the ancients who have passed
away. Discovered by a dragon who
guards the rich trove fiercely. Even this creature has no use
for it but wreaks havoc when onesmall item is pilfered.
Nor is the treasure of any use to Beowulf himself, who dies
(55:15):
because of its existence. Thus, by recording what seems a
simple fight with a dragon, the poet questions the bonding
material of his own world, finding within a deep emptiness
that bestows the poem with greatpoignancy.
To achieve his effect, the writer implied a number of
(55:36):
poetic devices, although Anglo-Saxon poetry did not use
the rhyme that became commonest of poetic tools.
Instead, the poet implied constant alliteration, using the
same letter to begin the words that make up half of a short
line. Each line is a caesura, breaking
in the middle that provides a sense of tension.
(55:58):
Certain phrases repeat themselves and in so doing bring
with them a richness of use fromtheir context and other parts of
the poem. Finally, kennings are used,
something between synonyms, thatis, words meaning the same
things, and guessing games. A sword becomes a battle friend.
A demon is a shadow Walker and the sea the Wales Rd.
(56:25):
By their use, the poet encourages a creative attention
in his listeners, as well as opening up a richness of
vocabulary later English was never again to possess.
Further, the poet uses references once thought of as
digressions, but now seen to play an essential role in the
thick layering of a narrative who's hard caused the story of
(56:46):
combat against three monstrous beasts.
That is the heart, if you boil it down, of our narrative.
But what our poet has done, he has taken this storyline and
turned it into much more than a mere folk tale.
It is one of the great epics of world literature, an epic in
(57:07):
which these three monster hero combat scenes become three
moments in an exemplary life of our idealised mortal hero,
confronting the big questions oflife, the universe and
everything. And interwoven into that basic
threefold structure are the ancestral traditions and legends
(57:28):
of the Old English people woven into it and gifted its great
geographical and historical perspective located in the 6th
century Northlands. Anglo-Saxon paganism would end
it's culture change and it's Christianity develops
(57:48):
sophistication far beyond that of the Beowulf epic.
Even in what appears to be an essentially Pagan work, there
are strong Christian elements with much of the story being
told. In this context, many scriptural
references are made of the Old Testament.
Andy Orchard's book Critical Guide to Beowulf makes the point
(58:09):
that apart from overt referencesto the Cain and Abel story,
there are 12 key points in whichthe battle with lake and fell
dwelling monsters parallels the story of David Goliath.
For example, Beowulf removes hisbreastplate, helmet and sword
before the battle, as does David, and both returned with a
sword and head of their opponent.
(58:34):
England, where Britain, angle Ute and Saxon merged into one
race, waxed and prospered and invaded by the Normans, another
warrior people also originating in northern lands.
By AD 1066 and the Norman Conquest, Beowulf's once Pagan
saga had helped spread Christianity throughout the land
(58:55):
to its fathermost regions. But like the Romano British
before them, a rich and largely civilized Anglo-Saxon society
would change suddenly and bloodily at the hand of warlike
invaders. In 1066, the people who had
conquered Britain and created epics such as Beowulf would fall
(59:16):
before even more warlike, betterarmed, and better organized
Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror.
In 1066, Harold Godwinson, the last Saxon king, would be killed
by an arrow at the Battle of Hastings when his Nordic people
would be subjected by another defender and invader.
(59:36):
Both of Nordic origin had been moulded by the lands their
ancestors had invaded and settled England, helping create
Harold's race. Normally those who followed
William during centuries after the Conquest, Anglo-Saxon and
Norman would meld it when English people possessing their
own particular language and culture.
(59:59):
The rediscovery of Beowulf's epic proved it to be foundation
of this English tunnel. And part of a wonderfully varied
literary heritage containing such masterworks as Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's plays, and the King James Bible.
Churches and cathedrals that developed from the early faith
(01:00:19):
of Beowulf's race still dominatethe land these peoples once
occupied, while much of their former Pagan beliefs remain
interwoven into British legend and folklore.
But even more important is that the tongue in which Beowulf was
written founded modern English, a worldwide international
(01:00:41):
language whose continuing evolution provides A subtlety,
vocabulary and richness far beyond that of any other.
Part of me says that the the Beowulf story really is exactly
what the Anglo Saxons were about.
When you're talking about archaeology and evidence all the
(01:01:01):
time, it's very difficult to getinto the minds of the people who
live then. But I think the Beowulf story is
a fantastic insight into their minds.
Even though no acknowledged funeral mound Marx where lies
the Spanish hero? Beowulf's greatest memorial is
the wondrous language his epic poem helped found.
(01:01:28):
So lamented the Yayat's people, the fall of their love.
Lord his half companions. They said that he were of world
kings, of men the mildest and the gentlest, to his people the
kindest, and for fame the most earnest.
(01:01:54):
Swab Begnauden, Yayata Laoder Clairford is queerer,
Yochiufnayatus, Quedon, Datiwara, Warold, Trininger,
Mana, Mildust and Mon Suaros, Laodon Ledos and Lof Yonos.
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