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    Beowulf (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Beowulf (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Beowulf (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Ebook135 pages1 hour

    Beowulf (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

    By Gail Rae

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    About this ebook

    REA's MAXnotes for The Beowulf Poet's Beowulf MAXnotes offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature, presented in a lively and interesting fashion. Written by literary experts who currently teach the subject, MAXnotes will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the work. MAXnotes are designed to stimulate independent thought about the literary work by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions. MAXnotes cover the essentials of what one should know about each work, including an overall summary, character lists, an explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, illustrations to convey the mood of the work, and a biography of the author. Each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResearch & Education Association
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9780738673301
    Beowulf (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

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      Book preview

      Beowulf (MAXNotes Literature Guides) - Gail Rae

      SECTION ONE

      Introduction

      The Poem

      Very little is known about the origins of this 3,182-line Old English poem. There is no known poet nor date of writing, although various experts have suggested that it was written some time between 650 and 1,000 A.D. Only one manuscript survived Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries (which included their libraries, probably the only warehouses of writing at the time). Lawrence Nowell, a sixteenth-century scholar, is sometimes credited with the preservation of this manuscript since his name is written on one of the folios. However, it is a copy with two distinctly different handwritings; it is not known if other copies exist nor how close to the original this copy is. This sole manuscript has seriously deteriorated due to careless binding and a fire in 1731.

      Two additional transcripts were made in 1786-7 by the Danish scholar Grimur Thorkelin, who was forced to guess at words or lines missing because of this deterioration. This possibly epic poem, with its long narrative of the deeds of a legendary figure sung in an elevated style, was not titled until 1805 and first printed in 1815.

      Historical Background

      While the poem is Old English, it focuses on the Geats (a people who lived in the southern part of Sweden before being conquered by their traditional enemies, the Swedes, toward the end of the sixth century) and Danes. Assumed to be composed sometime in the eighth century A.D., it seems to accurately reflect Scandinavian society and history of the sixth century A.D.; Higlac’s raid of the Hathobards is historical fact.

      The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came to England from an area just below Denmark during the first great wave of Germanic migration in the fifth century when they were invited by Vortigen, king of the Britons, to help him repel the Picts and the Scots. Their easy victory and the fertile land they discovered led them to come in force, subjugating the Britons as they did. Once settled, they preserved the memories of their heroes using oral poetry, thereby keeping alive the ancient Germanic heroic code by which they lived.

      This code included a rigid feudal system. The continuance of feuds and friendships established by fathers was expected of the next generation, although tribute was accepted as a means of concluding feuds and abolishing dishonor. The people were quite civilized and equally violent, being a warrior culture which valued courage the most and cowardice the least. Their chief was surrounded by companions who swore allegiance to him and would die in battle, rather than retreat (except to return), while the chief, in turn, was expected to perpetually prove his courage and generosity. The chief’s greatest shame was to be outdone by either one of these companions or an enemy. As a rite of passage into manhood, once having proved their valor, the young men were publicly presented with spears and shields. If no battles presented themselves at home, the chief and his companions would go abroad to seek battles.

      The reverence these people had for their women is demonstrated by their monogamy, and their acceptance of as close a bond between a man and his sister’s son as that between father and son. Indeed, women were thought of as holy and possessing the gift of prophecy. A belief in Fate and foreseeing the future by casting lots were two other aspects of this warrior culture, despite the recent introduction of Christianity.

      So new was Christianity that the Biblical references in the poem relate only to the Old Testament, while the poet seems to equate Fate and God’s will. Grendel is regarded as the descendant of Cain, the first murderer whose story is told in the Old Testament, and the sword Beowulf uses to murder Grendel is decorated with depictions of the Old Testament’s giants who were destroyed by the flood. The Christian poet writing the poem understood what these decorations are, but the pagan character viewing them did not. Nowhere in the poem is it suggested that Beowulf’s death would be the first step in his immortality (in Heaven), and his body is burned upon the funeral pyre—a pagan custom. Accordingly, this culture is seen as embracing Christianity while admiring paganism.

      While it is fairly commonly accepted that the author is a Christian, and possibly a monk, he used a pagan world as the setting for his poem. He is addressing a Christian audience, as is evidenced by the references to the Old Testament (mentioned in the previous paragraph) while telling the story of pagans, whom he seems to admire for firmly believing in and accepting a Higher Being which rules the world and men’s actions much as the Christian God does. Beowulf himself is portrayed as a deeply religious pagan who offers thanks to this Higher Being, ascribes his strength to him, and even worries about having offended him. In some ways, this may be interpreted as a Christian typology (symbol for Christ) since he also attains virtue by strictly adhering to the old Germanic Code, which is not that dissimilar from the Christian Code. Much like Christ, this was Beowulf’s way of life rather than an exercise in discipline. Beowulf, a pagan warrior, lived a life of kindness and non-condemnation even toward the soldiers who deserted him as he battled the dragon. In addition, both men lived lives of self-sacrifice, repeatedly risking and, ultimately, giving their lives for their people. While Beowulf may not have entertained the idea of offering salvation to his people, he was concerned with

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