Beowulf

Marharyta Handzilevska, Staroanglická literatúra, Mgr. Marek Hampl,

information
Anglo-Saxon language in the 8th
century;
Originally untitled, but later named
after Scandinavian hero Beowulf;
Beowulf is considered a fictional
character, but there is evidence of the
existence of other characters and
events;
The poem deals with events of the
6th century in Denmark and
Geatland (southern Sweden);
 General
information The narrator recounts the story in
the 3rd person;
The story is told from a general
perspective, but the narrator has
access to every character’s depths;
The time of it is past, periodically
transferred to the distant past or a
prediction of the future;
The poem was transmitted between The story of
different poets before it was
preserved in a single manuscript that the manuscript
dates to about 1000 a.d.;
Due to a fire, it was burnt along its
edges in the Cottonian library on
October 23, 1731;
After moving it to the British
Museum in 1753, nothing was done to
stop the pages from disintegrating;
Later in 1786, G. J. Thorkelin came to
the Museum to make a copy of the The story of
manuscript and then studied it in
Copenhagen; the manuscript
During the Napoleonic Wars
Thorkelin's house burned and his
manuscript was destroyed, however
the two transcripts were saved;
The first printed edition appeared in
1815;
In 1993, the manuscript has been re-
digitized;
 Plot
King Hrothgar had a splendid mead hall known as Heorot, a place of
celebration and merriment. However, the joyous noise angered Grendel, an
evil monster living in a nearby swamp. He went to the mead hall and killed
30 people and after that started terrorizing Heorot with nightly visits;
After learning of the Danes’ trouble, Beowulf, a prince of the Geats, arrived
with his small band of soldiers and offered to defeat the monster. Hrothgar
welcomed him. After an evening of feasting, Beowulf pretended to be
asleep and waited for Grendel’s arrival;
During the night, Grendel came again and devoured one of the sleeping
Geats. He then attacked Beowulf, who suddenly gripped his arm with such
force that it got torn off at the shoulder. Mortally wounded, Grendel
returned to his swamp and died. Beowulf then kept the monster’s arm as a
proof of his victory;
 Plot
The next day a feast was thrown in Beowulf’s honour. However,
when the warriors were sleeping that night, Grendel’s mother
came to avenge her son’s death and killed Aeschere, one of
Hrothgar’s men;
In the morning Beowulf dove into the lake to search for her lair.
After finding her cave, Grendel’s mother attacked him. When
Beowulf realized that his weapon is inefficient against the
creature, he killed her with her sword found in the cave. Then he
discovered Grendel’s corpse, whose head he cut off and took back
to Heorot;
The Danes rejoiced once more. Hrothgar made a farewell speech
about the true hero, and Beowulf, enriched with honours, gold
and different gifts, returned home to his king Hygelac of the Geats;
 Plot
After Hygelac’s death in a battle and the death of his son during a hunt,
Beowulf became the next king and ruled peacefully for 50 years.
However, the tranquility ended when a fire-breathing dragon, after a
man stole a chalice from its treasure-filled lair for his master, started
tormenting Geatland;
Aging Beowulf decided to fight it, despite knowing that he would likely
die. During a long and terrible battle, his retainers ran away except for
his kinsman Wiglaf, who came to his aid. They killed the venomous
dragon, but Beowulf was mortally wounded;
Before he died, he passed his armor to his successor Wiglaf and named
him the next king. Beowulf was cremated on a funeral pyre and buried
in a barrow, with the treasures from the dragon’s lair, built by the sea.
His people mourned his death and also expressed the fear that, without
Beowulf, they are going to be invaded by nearby tribes;
Characters:
Beowulf
The protagonist of the poem;
A talented warrior and a hero,
who defeated Grendel, his mother
and a dragon;
A wise king, who ruled Geatland;
“A daunting man, dangerous in action
and eager for it always” (630)
“...the king, whose keen-edged-sword
and heirloom inherited by an ancient
right” (2560)
“Beowulf’s doings were praised over and
over again” (860)
Characters:
Shield
Sheafson
An ancestor of a king of the Danes
Hrothgar;
A powerful warrior-king, who
inaugurated a long line of Danish
rulers;
“There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of
many tribes, a wrecker of mead-benches,
rampaging among foes” (10)
Characters:
Hrothgar
The ruler of the Danes, who
accepted Beowulf’s help with
monsters;
A source of stability in his realm;
“The noble Hrothgar; he was a good
king” (860)
“ The helmet of the Shieldings” (460)
Characters:
Wealhtheow
Hrothgar’s wife;
The gracious queen of the Danes;
“So the Helming woman went on her
rounds, queenly and dignified” (620)
“Hrothgar’s queen” (610)
 Characters:
Aeschere
Hrothgar’s trusted adviser, who was
killed by Grendel’s mother;
“Aechere was everything the world
admires in a wise man and a friend” (1330)
 Characters:
Unferth
A danish warrior, who was jealous of
Beowulf;
Was unable to protect Heorot,
therefore out of his shame blamed
Beowulf in losing a swimming match
with Breca;
“Neither you nor Breca ever were much
celebrated for swordsmanship or for facing
danger in the battlefield” (580)
Characters:
Hygelac
Beowulf’s uncle;
King of the Geats and husband of
Hygd, who heartily welcomed
Beowulf back from Denmark;
Was later killed in a battle;
“Hygelac the Geat, grandson of Swerting”
(1200)
“Hygelac’s pride and prowess as a fighter
were known to the earl” (2950)
Characters:
Hygd
Hygelac’s wife;
The young, beautiful, and intelligent
queen of the Geats;
“Although Hygd, his queen, was young, a
few short years at court, her mind was
thoughtful and her manners sure” (1930)
Characters:
Wiglaf
A young kinsman and retainer of
Beowulf, who helped him in the fight
against the dragon;
Adhered to the heroic code better
than Beowulf’s other retainers,
thereby proved himself a suitable
successor to Beowulf;
“A son of Weohstan’s, a well-regarded
Shylfing warrior” (2610)
Characters:
Breca
Beowulf’s childhood friend;
Won over Beowulf in a swimming
match, when he got sidetracked by
sea monsters;
“Breca could never move out farther or
faster from me than I could manage to
move from him” (540)
 Characters:
Grendel
One of the three monsters Beowulf
defeats;
A member of a Cain’s clan, who was
exiled to the swamplands;
“All were endangered; young and old were
hunted down by that dark death-shadow
who lurked and swooped in the long nights”
(160)
“...he would have killed more, had not
mindful God and one man’s daring
prevented that doom” (1050)
Characters:
Grendel’s
mother
A dangerous creature, who tried to
avenge the death of his son;
The second monster that was
defeated by Beowulf;
“Monstrous hell-bride, brooded on her
wrongs” (1260)
 Characters:
The Dragon
An ancient, powerful serpent that
guarded its treasures in a cave;
After having its chalice stolen, started
terrorizing Geatland;
The last monster defeated by Beowulf
and Wiglaf;
“The slick-skinned dragon, threatening the
night sky with streamers of fire” (2280)
“Far and near, the Geat nation bore the
brunt of his brutal assaults and virulent
hate” (2320)
 Useful video
https://youtu.be/qrm3PJjD7gU?si=Dk_R6O4zLxP_l2Xj
 Resources
Beowulf Manuscript. Available on:
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-
saxon/beowulf/vitellius.html
Beowulf. Translated by Seamus Heaney.
Sparknotes. Beowulf. Available on:
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beowulf/characters/
Britannica. Beowulf, Old English poem. Last Updated: Sep 17, 2024. Available on:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beowulf
Thank you for
attention!