a standard five-paragraph essay
GHOST HAM
07BEOWULFINTRO.pptxBEOWULF
A QUICK INTRODUCTION
Some facts about Beowulf:
Gilgamesh and the Iliad are both much older than Beowulf, but somehow Beowulf seems more distant.
It is apparently an old Danish legend that was passed down orally by minstrels for generations, and brought to England when the Danish began settling there in the 5th century AD.
Scholars believe it was written down for the first time in the 700s AD, and it was written in Anglo-Saxon, a very old form of English.
It was probably kept for centuries in the Catholic monasteries which (during a time when most people could not read) tried to preserve what there was of world “literature.”
In the 1500s King Henry VIII ended the Catholic presence in England and destroyed a lot of the monasteries’ holdings.
Some of those manuscripts went into the hands of wealthy private collectors.
One aristocrat, Sir Robert Bruce Colton (1571-1631) had an extensive collection.
In 1700, nearly 70 years after his death, this library was moved to what was considered a safer location.
However, in 1731 that library caught fire and many of the old manuscripts were burned.
Beowulf – the only copy that existed – was saved, but it was damaged by the fire and parts were left unreadable forever.
In 1753, the British Museum was established, and the manuscript was brought there, but nothing was done to repair it… pages continued to crumble.
In 1786, a Danish scholar traveled to England and made a copy of the manuscript but the original disintegrated further.
It was not until 1833 that it was finally translated into modern English.
Here is the interesting point about that: as Sapiens mentions, the British were very good during this period about investigating the history of other cultures – they brought scientists and archaeologists to Egypt, to India, etc. –
However, they showed much less interest in their own ancient history. Beowulf is written in a form of English that is unrecog-nizable to us and for a long time, nobody cared very much.
It’s older than Shakespeare’s 16th century English. It’s older than Chaucer’s 14th century English. It’s a form of the language that existed before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Take a look: Symle ic him on fedan beforan wolde
ana on orde. Ond swa to aldre sceall
Luckily, you’ll be reading a modern translation, and only a small part of the story! -- but, as you read, be aware of the alternate version on the left side of the page… that shows what the original is like.
Problems…
It remains very odd and distant, even though it is 1000 years closer to us than the Iliad!
People still name their children Helen or Hector or even Paris – but it’s very unlikely you would call your baby Wiglaf or Hrothgar. At least I hope it’s unlikely!
Not only is it an old Viking tale copied in English, but it is a pagan tale copied by early Christian monks – and there is definite evidence they messed with it.
Scholars can only speculate about how much of what we have is original and how much was added to support Christian beliefs.
When it was finally translated, researchers had to go back to the Danish copy made in 1786, because parts of the original had become unreadable. It still remains fragmentary, and sections of the story are lost forever.
There are three main parts to the story we have, and you will be reading the third… here, quickly, is a rundown of the first two:
Beowulf: first part
As usual, we have a young hero: he comes to the Geats (the Danes) from “across the water” (possi- bly Sweden); he is an orphan and never marries or has child- ren. Like Gilgamesh and Achilles, he is far stronger than any other men. He is Beowulf.
``````````````````````````````````````````` The Vikings meet every night in the Mead Hall to dine and drink, and Beowulf emerges as a leader.
There has been a problem: a monster named Grendel, who hates the sounds of merriment, has been invading the Mead Hall when the men are asleep.
Grendel tears the mens’ bodies apart and eats them alive!
We can speculate about what this monster may represent -- disease? the bitter Northern European winters? or simply death, a constant presence for ancient people?
Of course, Beowulf promises to slay the monster.
A And of course he does, in a very messy way: he tears off one of Grendel’s arms, and hangs it on the wall of the Mead Hall.
As pathetic as a small injured child, Grendel limps away weeping to his lair, where he dies.
Beowulf is a hero.
But there’s more--
Beowulf: Second Part
Grendel has a mother (also a monster) and she’s not happy!
She comes to the Mead Hall and retrieves Grendel’s arm. She is unhurt by the men’s swords. She lives at the bottom of a swamp, and the men run away terrified, as she stirs up the water. But of course Beowulf dives right in.
At the bottom, he sees the only sword that can kill Grendel’s mother and he slays her!
There is never a clear description of what Grendel or his Mom look like – in the 2007 movie (which had very little to do with the original story) she was played by Angelina Jolie!!
Beowulf: And on to the Third Part --
Scholars are intrigued to find one more example of a male hero overcoming a female adversary (like Cronos replacing Gaia, or Marduk killing Tiamat), which suggests an ancient female- dominated cult that was replaced.
Beowulf had also seen Grendel’s corpse at the bottom of the swamp, so (as Gilgamesh and Enkidu did with Humbaba) he cuts off the head and brings it home.
Unlike Gilgamesh or Achilles, Beowulf seems to have no romances nor any special companion whose death upsets him…but in the third part (which you will read) he finally confronts his death. He is by then an old man, and has ruled the Geats (Danes) for many years.
In the third part, Beowulf has to fight a dragon!!
That’s your reading assignment…
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