Beowulf
The Beowulf saga as a clue to the
Anglo Saxon World
This webpage
is still to be written.
The Poem
Beowulf is one of the most important works
of Old English literature. The author of the poem is anonymous and generally
referred to as the Beowulf poet.
The
manuscript which survived dates to 975 to 1025 CE. There were likely to have
ben other manuscripts and the poem probably originated in the
oral tradition. There is therefore uncertainty as to the date when the poem
was first created.
The events
described in the poem date to the fifth and sixth centuries CE.
It has been
suggested that it might have originated in the seventh century in East Anglia,
as the Sutton Hoo ship burials show connections with Scandinavia in this pre
Viking age. It has also been associated with King Alfred (ruled 871 to 899) and
to Cnut (1016 to 1035).
It might
therefore have been a part of the cultural world of Kirkdale (probably first
built around 685 CE), Bede (673 to 735), and Alcuin (735 to 804).
The Story
The story is
set in pagan Scandinavia in the Sixth century CE. It is a story of the lands of
the invading Jutes, Angles and Danes, but written in the lands of England where
they settled.
Beowulf is
the hero from the lands of the Geats.
In the first
part, Beowulf came to help Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose recently
constructed Great Mead Hall called Heorot had been under attack from the
monster called Grendel for twelve years. Beowulf kills Grendel, heroically
unarmed with a sword.
In the
second part, Grendel's mother took revenge and was in turn defeated in her lair
under a lake.
Beowulf
returned to Geatland and became king of the Geats.
In the third
part, fifty years later, Beowulf defeated a dragon angered by the stealing of
its cup, but was mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his
attendants cremated his body and erected a barrow on a headland in his memory.
The story is
essentially fiction, but blends with historical elements. King Hroðgar and the Scyldings and the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern between Eadgils and Onela were probably based on historical characters and
events.
Importance
of the story
Beowulf
provides a unique perspective on Anglo Saxon culture.
The story
encourages dependence upon the stability of noble overlordship; the safety of
the Great Hall; and a perception that venturing into the wild lands outside
noble protection is best left to heroes like Beowulf.
It was an
inspiration for J R R Tolkien and the Lord of the
Rings tales.