S.B.

Anglo- Saxon Heroic Poetry

Anglo Saxon Heroic poetry is the nearest one can get to

the oral pagan literature of the Heroic age of Germania. Of
surviving Anglo-Saxon literature, Heroic poetry brings
modern readers most closely into contact with the Germanic
origins of the invaders of Britain. This is written in Old
English or Anglo-Saxon. The verse used is usually
alliterative and stressed, is without any rhyme. Each line
contains four stressed syllables with a varying number of
unstressed ones. The stressed alliterative verse of Anglo-
Saxon poetry is clearly the product of an oral court
minstrelsy – being intended to be recited by the scop who
frequented the halls of kings and chiefs and sometimes even
found service under one master.
One of the earliest surviving Anglo-Saxon Heroic
poems, dating somewhere around the 8th Century, is the
Widsith, an autobiographical record of a scop. Widsith, the
‘far wanderer’ narrates his travels through the Germanic
world and mentions all the rulers he visits. Some of his
characters figure in other poems, like Beowulf and
Hrothgar. But it cannot be said to be a true autobiography
as the span of kings covered, converts his living period to
over two hundred years.
Beowulf holds special position in Anglo-Saxon
literature as it is not only the single complete epic found
but also nowhere else is the traditional theme presented
against a background revealing the culture and society of
the Germanic people. It falls into two main parts, the
first dealing with the visit of Beowulf to the court of
King Hrothgar of Denmark to slay the man-eating monster,
Grendel and is successful in his job. The second part
starts fifty years later, when Beowulf the king of the
Geats fights the last battle of his life against a dragon.
It ends with description of Beowulf’s funeral. On the
surface, Beowulf is a heroic poem celebrating the exploits
of a great warrior, one who reflects the ideals of the
Heroic age. But Beowulf is also a record of marvels, with a
plenitude of historical elements in it.
Towards the end of the Anglo-Saxon period, the old
heroic note re-emerges in two poems dealing with
contemporary history. The Battle of Brunanburh which
appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle dated 937 A.D.,
celebrates the victory of Æthelstan of Wessex and Eadmund
against the forces of Olaf and Constantine. The poem shows
strong patriotic sentiment, with the victory being regarded
S.B.

as one of the whole nation, with the heroes appearing more

as champions of their nation.
The battle of Maldon appears in the Anglo Saxon –
Chronicle under the date 991 A.D. it deals in the older
epic manner the battle between the English and the Danes,
culminating in conquest of the country by Cnut in 1012.
Both the above-mentioned poems have epic narratives
supplemented with Homeric grandeur.