Beowulf: context

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It’s the ultimate Anglo-Saxon epic: a mighty tale of war, vengeance & monster-battling which, a millennium later, inspired JRR Tolkien”s The Lord of the Rings. But how far is Beowulf rooted in history? Eleanor Parker answers key questions on the poem

Beowulf is an epic tale that continues to fire the imaginations of readers a millennium after it was written. Why is the poem still so relevant today?

Since it was first translated into modern English in the 19th century, Beowulf has become by far the best-known piece of Anglo-Saxon literature. It has inspired movies, novels & even comic books; there seems to lớn be no limit to the ways the story can be reimagined. Furthermore, it was perhaps the single greakiểm tra formative sầu influence on JRR Tolkien, which means it has played a huge part in the development of the modern fantasy genre, from The Lord of the Rings right through khổng lồ trò chơi of Thrones.

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When và where was Beowulf written?

The short answer is we don’t know, other than that it was in Anglo-Saxon Englvà. The dating and origins of Beowulf are much discussed but still unresolved, though many theories have sầu been put forward. We know the poem was mix down in a manuscript around AD 1000, & was probably first composed many years earlier – perhaps as early as the eighth century. Some aspects of it might also have existed in oral tradition before the text reached its surviving form, but we can only speculate about that.

What happens in the poem?

Beowulf is set in early medieval Denmark and Sweden around the sixth century AD. The story begins with a king of the Danes, Hrothgar, whose royal hall is being attacked by a quái dị, a shadowy fen-dwelling creature named Grendel. The boss khủng is enraged by the sound of mirth in the hall, & comes at night lớn capture & eat Hrothgar’s men. Hrothgar, an old, respected king, is in despair, until a young warrior turns up from across the sea lớn offer help in defeating the intruder. He is Beowulf, a Geat (the Geats lived in what is now southern Sweden), and he wants lớn prove himself by taking on this challenge.

Lying in wait by night in the hall, Beowulf surprises Grendel, wrestling the demon và tearing off its arm with his bare hands. The wounded creature retreats, & everyone thinks the threat is over – but they are celebrating too soon. Grendel’s mother comes next, thirsting khổng lồ avenge the harm done to her son, và this time Beowulf has to descover inkhổng lồ her watery lair lớn fight her. After a vicious struggle he manages to lớn triumph, rescuing Hrothgar và his people.

Triumphant, Beowulf returns to his home laden with rewards from a grateful Hrothgar. He eventually becomes king there, but after many years he faces another threat, this time to lớn his own people, in the shape of a rồng. Though now an old man, Beowulf decides lớn take on the dragon himself & succeeds in killing it & winning its treasure. But in doing so he is also slain. The poem ends with his funeral and the grief of his people at the loss of their beloved king.

Is Beowulf based on real historical events?

The poem’s main story – of Beowulf and the monsters he fights – is of course fictional, but some of the people it mentions were real figures. Beowulf is said khổng lồ be related khổng lồ a Geatish king named Hygelac, who is known from other sources to lớn have sầu lived in the early sixth century. Beowulf himself does not appear in any other texts, but many of the other characters feature in semi-legendary histories & sagas about medieval Scandinavia, while some were also considered lớn be the ancestors of Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings.

And, of course, the peoples mentioned in the poem – the Danes, Geats and Swedes – are very much real. Though the story contains fantastical elements, it takes place in the real world, in a fairly well-defined historical period, which makes it a compelling mixture of history and legover.

Why might the poem have sầu entertained an Anglo-Saxon audience?

The story itself has a powerful appeal, with the tension of the fights with the monsters, the poignancy of Beowulf’s death & the relationships between the characters. The poem’s language is also beautifully lyrical, with evocative descriptions of the mead hall, Beowulf’s sea journeys và the dragon’s treasure hoard.

But Beowulf is not just an exciting & well-told story. It explores themes that are widespread in Anglo-Saxon literature, such as the human experience of time and loss, both within individual lives & collectively, across centuries. It celebrates & critiques the glamour và danger of a masculine warrior society, where violent deeds can win glory but also cause terrible harm.

A key aspect of the poem’s appeal lớn an Anglo-Saxon audience would have sầu been its historical và geographical setting. Many Anglo-Saxon elites believed they were descended from settlers who had come to lớn Englvà from the very parts of northern Europe where Beowulf takes place, around the time the poem is mix. Whether or not this was true, it was a culturally important myth, và it probably meant Beowulf was understood to be in some sense a story about the ancestors of the poet & his audience.

Though the story is fantastical, it takes place in the real world – it’s a compelling phối of fact và legend

What happened lớn Beowulf after the Anglo-Saxon period?

We simply don’t know. We don’t have any evidence khổng lồ show that Beowulf was known at all between the Anglo-Saxon era and the 16th century. The manuscript surfaced in the Elizabethan era, bounced around the collections of a few antiquities scholars, & was damaged in a library fire in 1731.

The first complete translation inkhổng lồ modern English was by John Mitchell Kemble in 1837. Scholars immediately recognised the poem’s importance và were keen to lớn pronounce it an epic of English literature, but many did not know what khổng lồ make of it: some were puzzled by its allusive sầu, digressive sầu style, while others criticised its mixing of legend và history. Though intensively studied by Victorian scholars, it did not become widely read by non- specialists until the 20th century.

A key turning-point was the championship of JRR Tolkien, whose 1936 lecture Beowulf: The Monsters và the Critics trumpeted its literary value. Meanwhile, the poem’s rồng and treasure-hoard, its evocation of a lost past, và its elegiac tone had a profound influence on Tolkien’s own imagination as he wrote The Lord of the Rings. In the second half of the 20th century, translations by well-known writers such as Seamus Heaney brought the poem khổng lồ a wider audience. Though it was slow to lớn gain popularity, Beowulf has now been translated more than 300 times. Its manuscript is housed in the British Library.

What can Beowulf tell us about Anglo- Saxon culture?

In some ways, the poem is describing a society that had already passed away by the time it was written, so we have sầu to be careful in using it as evidence for Anglo-Saxon England. The poet was deliberately writing about a time và place distant from his own society, so what he describes is largely based on his imagining of long-ago Scandinavia, not contemporary Anglo-Saxon Engl&.

However, there are aspects of the world of Beowulf that bởi vì seem closely related khổng lồ Anglo-Saxon life. Many of its descriptions inscribed swords, elaborately decorated royal halls – have been confirmed by modern archaeological discoveries such as Sutton Hoo và the Staffordshire Hoard. They would perhaps already have been archaic by the time the poem was written, but it suggests the poet was careful to lớn get the details right. In the poem, these items play a role by creating a tangible sense of the past, in which weapons & items of treasure carry with them their own names, legends and history.

Is Beowulf linked khổng lồ any other early medieval legends?

The story has features that are also found in medieval Scandinavian literature. ‘Beowulf’ probably means ‘bee-wolf’ – a poetic word for ‘bear’ – & stories about bear-human warriors who fight monsters appear elsewhere in medieval Norse và English literature.

The poem frequently alludes to lớn other stories from Germanic legkết thúc. While we can identify some of these legends from other sources, some are now mysterious to lớn us – though they must have been familiar to lớn the poet’s audience. Beowulf begins by telling the story of Scyld Scefing, a legendary ancestor of Danish & English kings who, as a child, was found drifting alone in a boat, before growing up to become a great king. The poem recounts how, after his death, Scyld was sent out to lớn sea again in a ship laden with treasure, though “no one can say who received that cargo”. We are being encouraged to lớn compare Scyld with Beowulf – the two funerals bookend the poem, & the same judgment is made on both: þæt wæs god cyning (“that was a good king”). We are perhaps being asked to decide for ourselves what it means khổng lồ be a ‘good king’ in this kind of society.

Sometimes it is characters within the poem who make allusions to lớn other legends, suggesting a culture in which oral tradition & historical parallels are highly prized. For example, Hrothgar warns Beowulf not to be lượt thích the wicked king Heregian lận, whose anger và arrogance almost destroyed his people. These are characters who are conscious of their own place in history & are trying to learn from its stories.

When the Danes are celebrating Beowulf’s victory over Grendel, a poet at Hrothgar’s court praises the warrior by comparing hyên to lớn Sigemund, a great nhân vật from Germanic legend. In this poem within a poem, we are told how Sigemund famously killed a rồng, which seems to hint to lớn the audience what awaits Beowulf many years later. The poet is said to be “a man full of glorious words, with a memory for stories, who remembered a great many old legends và told them in new words”; this could easily be a description of the author of Beowulf himself.

All of these allusions produce the impression of a rich and colourful tapestry of ancient legends, in which Beowulf’s story is just one thread.

Does the poem have sầu a particular philosophy or mindset?

Perhaps surprisingly for a story about warriors & monsters, Beowulf is a profoundly philosophical poem. It explores the ethics of kingship & the behaviour of warriors. Bad rulers oppress their people, put their own interests first và are tyrannical; good rulers are generous and prudent, và take time lớn reflect on their decisions. We are shown that warriors ought to lớn be brave but not reckless, loyal khổng lồ their companions và true lớn their promises.

The poem meditates on the limitations of human power, especially on the fact that it all must come lớn an over. Even great heroes die

In reflecting on these stories of warriors & kings, Beowulf is interested in different kinds of power, và exploring how physical strength, mental determination & political sovereignty should each best be used. The poem also meditates on the limitations of human power, especially on the fact that it all must come to an kết thúc. Even great heroes die. Beowulf has the strength of 30 men and becomes a mighty king, but he is still only human. He doesn’t have sầu power over the natural world or the seasons, or over death. Since earthly power is restricted in this way, human rulers need lớn learn to lớn understand their own limits & act wisely within them.

Is there a religious message wrapped up in the story?

It’s important to lớn underst& that Beowulf is a Christian poem about pagan characters. It’s mix in a period before the Scandinavian peoples had converted khổng lồ Christianity, but the poet and his audience were themselves Christians. Despite this, the poet is sympathetic towards his pagan characters.

Beowulf strikes a delicate balance. The characters we are meant khổng lồ admire, including the nhân vật, express beliefs about God that would not be alien khổng lồ Christian thought: they are presented as believing not in the Norse pantheon of gods (as we might expect) but in a single, all-powerful creator who governs world events. “God, the guardian of glory, may ever work wonder after wonder,” says Hrothgar after Beowulf’s victory. An Anglo-Saxon Christian audience would have sầu recognised và felt sympathy for these ideas. But at the same time, the poem is clear that the characters are still pagans và cannot hope for Christian salvation.

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Literature