3.2: Beowulf

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Today:

1. Beowulf: final bit
2. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
3. Anglo-Saxon riddles

Page 10
Fill in your answer to question 3C (key words!)

Beowulf

Beowulf: 

• Background assignment in pairs 
• Background share information in small groups
• The poetry in Beowulf: explanation teacher 
• Guess the kenning - in pairs 
• Read parts of Beowulf + answer questions from the reader

• Group 1:  §1 (The most ... eleventh century)

• Group 2: §2 (In order ... their lords.)

• Group 3:  §3 (At times ... are underlined)

• Group 4: §4 (Perhaps surprisingly ... enormous pyre). 

Write a summary in Dutch. 

Write your Dutch summary:

The poetry in Beowulf:

1. Alliterative verse: 

• Repetition of initial sounds (Liesje leerde Lotje lopen).
• Four beats per line.
• A Caesura, or pause, between beats two and three. 
• No (end)rhyme. 

Alliteration (alliteratie)

The poetry in Beowulf:

2. Kennings:

• compound metaphor (usually two words). 
• most were probably used over and over. 
• Goal: to avoid repetition of words. 

• e.g. "hronade" = literally means: whale-road = what is meant:  sea
  

 6. Feeder of ravens

Together with a classmate guess the meaning of these kennings. 

 1. Sleep of the sword

3. Bone-house

4. whale-road

5. Battle-sweat

2. Heaven's candle

feeder of ravens =warrior

"feeder of war-gull" = "feeder of raven" = "warrior" Ravens feed on dead bodies left after a battle.

bone-house =body

whale-road = sea

battle-sweat = blood

sea-cloth = sail

sleep of the sword = death

Focus on evidence that Grendel is not friendly. 

Let's read a part of Beowulf

PAGE 9

Grendel is unfriendly:

Question 2, page 10

• he carried the wrath of God. 
• wicked ravager
• intent on evil
• swollen with rage
• angry at heart
• from his eyes there gleamed an ugly light

Question 1, page 10

The poem Beowulf is set in a period when Christianity had yet to become established all across Western Europe. Nevertheless, there are many references to God in the poem. Can you suggest why this might be? 

• At this time, monks and others within the church were almost the only people who could write. When the poem was written, the Anglo-Saxons had been Christians for about a hundred years. What they wrote was naturally dominated by Christian thinking. Whoever wrote down or copied Beowulf adapted it by removing heathen elements and/or adding more contemporary elements.

Read the second passage on page 9

Answer questions 3a,b,c,d

page 10

Question 3a (page 10)

Why does Wiglaf list various valuables that Beowulf has given to his retainers (vazallen)? 

• Wiglaf underlines Beowulf’s generosity towards his retainers, in order to make the point that they did not repay their lord as they should have done. 
• A sharp contrast is made: Beowulf was noble and generous to his followers, but they failed to show the loyalty to be expected of them.

Question 3b (page 10)

Explain Wiglaf's first (long) sentence.  

• Shame on you! You do not deserve the weapons you received from Beowulf as you didn't dare to use them.

Question 3c (page 10)

What does Wiglaf accuse the retainers of? Why is this such a serious accusation?

•  He accuses them of disloyalty and cowardice for failing to defend their king, which was the ultimate form of shameful behaviour in the Anglo-Saxon world. Abandoning one’s lord in the heat of battle was the most despicable thing a warrior could do and liable to result in exile. (see the answer to the next question).
  

Question 3d (page 10)

What will happen to Beowulf's retainers now, and why? 

• lose all possessions and leave the country because they had shown themselves unworthy as warriors by running away at a critical moment. Wiglaf sums up the Anglo-Saxon ethic, that a real warrior would rather die than live in shame

CE 2019-II and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Anglo Saxon Chronicles

9th-12th century

Alquin, page 11

• literary genre
• annualised record of events covering 1-1154 AD

• independently written in different monasteries
• not 100% reliable

• writers' identities unknown

• writing became increasingly personal and informal over time
• taking information from various sources

"one of the main windows on this period in English history" 

We have read of the many exploits of Beowulf and the many brave thanes among the Danes, Geats, and Swedes. We know, too, that the Anglo-Saxons saw nothing wrong with letting the world know who they were, who their noble parents were, what great feats they had accomplished and what they planned to do. This boasting was perfectly polite, even expected. In Beowulf, see lines 250-285, 407-426, 632-638, and 2510-2515 for examples of the formal Anglo-Saxon boast.

Your assignment is to write a formal boast about yourself and perform it for the class. Tell us your deeds, who your daddy/mama are, what you plan to do, and how you're not gonna take nothing from nobody. Your accomplishments may be academic, athletic, musical, social, artistic, etc. Lay aside your humility! Remember, you'll soon be applying for college anyway, and may need to do a bit of boasting.

Guidelines:

Your boast must show your understanding of Anglo-Saxon poetry by following the Anglo-Saxon poetic format:

Four hard beats per line,

No end-rhyme

A caesura in each mid-line

Heavy alliteration in each line

Further, include at least two examples of an original kenning.

Length: 10-20 lines

Choose what to do

Dive into the materials some more, by choosing what to focus on:

1. Beowulf: Do the questions on page 8.

Pay special attention to question 3 (a - d)!

2. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Write your own chronicle entry on the year 2021. Use at least 150 words.

Anglo-Saxon Riddles

- made use of comparisons and metaphors

- vague and ambiguous for modern readers

- conform to rules of Old English poetry

- subjects such as tools, weapons, animals, food, 

drink & natural phenomena

What is the answer?
(one word!)

Wrætlic hongað bi weres þeo,

frean under sceate. Foran is þyrel.

Bið stiþ ond heard, stede hafað godne;

þonne se esne his agen hrægl

ofer cneo hefeð, wile þæt cuþe hol

mid his hangellan heafde gretan

þæt he efenlang ær oft gefylde.

A curious thing hangs by a man's thigh,

under the lap of its lord. In its front it is pierced,

it is stiff and hard, it has a good position.

When the man lifts his own garment

above his knee, he intends to greet

with the head of his hanging object that familiar hole

which is the same length, and which he has often filled before.

answer: key

What's the answer?
(one word!)