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Beowulf – An Epic Poem

LEQ How does the interpretation of a text in various formats change the meaning made by readers and viewers? RL7

What is an epic? a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation

Vocubalary Mythological - relating to, based on, or appearing in myths or mythology Scop – an old English Bard or Poet; story teller Meade - an alcoholic liquor made by fermenting honey and water. Cain/Abel – characters of the bible – said to be first children of Adam and Eve – Cain murdered brother Abel Geats – a North Germanic tribe inhabiting what is now Götaland ("land of the Geats") in modern Sweden. Danes - a native or inhabitant of Denmark, or a person of Danish descent Comitatus - a body of companions; a retinue of warriors attached to a king or chieftain.

Characters of Beowulf Beowulf – epic warrior who defeats Grendel using only his bare hands Hrothgar – King of the Danes – creator of the Heorot hall Grendel – demon monster who haunts Heorot Hrunting – Beowulf’s sword Edgetho – Beowulf’s father Higlac – Beowulf’s uncle

History Out of the 30,000 lines of literature left from the Anglo- Saxon period, almost 4,000 lines are preserved in the text of Beowulf, the epic poem of the hero with the strength of 30 men in each arm. It is a story of the supernatural as well as a record of Anglo-Saxon history. Because there was little literacy and few books in Medieval England, scops were the key to recording history. They upheld the history of England since the very beginning, along with the ancestry of her first settlers.

History (con’t) Beowulf takes place in 6th century Denmark and Sweden. The Geats (Beowulf's tribe) inhabited the southern part of Sweden) and Hrothgar and his glorious mead-hall Heorot were from the Danish island, Sjaelland. Some historical digressions in the epic poem take place in other parts of Sweden, but also Denmark, Germany, Poland and "the Low Countries."