Beowulf
composed between 8th and 10th centuries
Events took place on continent, mss found in England
Events covered from 6th century
Historical events of Swedes, Jutes, Geats, Danes
Supernatural Elements
3 key exploits of hero with monsters
Panzer:
Bear’s Son Tale (200 versions)
Demon kills at night in house of aged king
Sons can not cope, but younest one fights
Monster wounded by youngest, followed to lair
Fight in a strange place, frees maidens
Betrayed by companions, fights alone to free himself
The Grettir the Strong Saga (Icelandic)
Grettir an outlaw
strongest in land
Yule tide, men begin to disappear from Sand Hill village
Grettir goes to village to fight, waits in hall for monster
Troll-wife with hatchet and trough appears
Fight, but Troll wife stronger, drags Grettir to lair underwater
Grettir strikes of her arm, finds men in cave
Grettir has to fight Troll wife again, kills, cleanses land
Frotho’s Dragon Fight (Danish)
Frotho fights dragon for treasure
Uses special shield
Dragon description like that in Beowulf
Names
Grimm:
Beo-wulf= bee wolf, enemy of bees, or Bear—ravager of bees
Finnish Finnish Pekko (Beo), god of grain
Gothic Beawan= sweeping wind, mist chaser
Oold Norse= Bidr—Old English Beow= grain, barley
Grendel
OE= grindon= destroyer
OE- grindel= bar, bolt
ON= grindill==to bellow
History
Danish Heorot Old Norse Hheior, associated with Scylding Kings, near Lejre today (sarrazin)
Geats
Hrethel= 445=503
Hygelac, Hrethel’s son- 475-521 famous warrior
Victory over Swedes at Ravenswood
Attacks Frank-lond, lost his life, but Beowulf a hero in battle there
Geats are Old Norwegians,
ON: Gautar
OE: Jutes/Iotan/Eota
But inland people today—may have had extensive sea cost before subjugation by Swedes
Gotland
Jutland
Heathen/Christian
Heathen Practices
175 sacrifice to pagan idols
204 observing omens
3137/1107/2124 burning the dead
1384/1669/1256/1278/1546 Blood Revenge
1387/2804/884/954 Praise of wordly glory
Christian Practices (no angels, observances, relics, crosses, but God Governs World—General Impression
1007/2457/445/3107 Burial of the Dead
Treasure curse voided by God 3054
God and Fate parallel: 455/440/572/2291/2574/979
God Controls Fate 1056
God is Good, grants victories 2874
Fate is Blind, so mysterious curse kills Beowulf 3067
Christianized Grendel: feond, foend on helle [250) , helle haefta (257); associated with Cain (257), and dwells in hellish place (1357)
Dragon like arch fiend: 188
Structure
Two parts: Grendel/Mother/Return, and Dragon/Old Age/Funeral
Only Hero holds two parts together—but morally declining:
Grendeal—no excuse for actions, so should have been killed
Grendel’s mother—justifiable revenge
Dragon—honor bound to defend treasure hoard
Digressions (summaries)
Part I: 450 verses
Part II: 250 verses (info about heroes life, Geat History—Hygelac’s Frankish raid)
Short ones of a few lines, then long: Breca adventure, Finnsburg legend, Ravenswood, Elegy of Last Survivor, Scyld’s sea burial
Speeches
1300 lines, “mathelode” formula—delays progress of narrative, oral device
Litotes
negatives, often darkly humorous
2738 consoled, doomed as I am
/1002 but death not escaped
/793/ life not worth much
841/ departure regretted by no one
1071/ she had little comfort
1076/ how could she not
1167/ admired but killed brothers
1930 she stinted nothing
gegraegn formula (pre-literary oral device)
To ontroduce sections: 837 (As I have head); 2694 (They said) 2754 (I have head)
Call attn to greatness 38 (I have heard), 70 (I have ever head tell); 1196 Anywhere on earth); 2685 (I have heard)
Devices of Variation
Beowulf disrespected in youth: 2183
Poet takes interest in the innder, underlying significance of actions, effects on character, states of mind, mostly sorrow (Hrothgar, aging Beowulf), mental suffering