By: Ramazan Cav

BACKGROUND  Written between 450 and 1066 A.D.  Written in Old English a.k.a. Anglo- Saxon  Author is Unknown  Believed to have been first written down in the 10 th /11 th centuries by monks in monasteries

BACKGROUND  450 – 1066 were the years of the Norman-French conquests of England  The Germanic tribes who took over England in the 5 th century brought Old English with them

BACKGROUND  Sir Robert Bruce Cotton found the manuscript and placed it in his collection in his library  Beowulf was bound with four other stories in a combined codex known as Cotton MS.Vitellius A.xv  Cotton MS.Vitellius A.xv was the 15 th item on the first shelf of his Emperor Vitellius cabinet  He named all his cabinets after Roman Emperors and paced items in specific places to keep everything organized

Fire => Present Day  In 1731, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton’s library caught on fire damaging almost everything in his collection  The Beowulf manuscript turned brittle due to the heat and many of it was unreadable  The survival of the manuscript was in doubt and it was taken to the British Museum where ultraviolet light and other technologies recovered the missing writing

THE STORY  Beowulf is a Scandinavian prince who travels to the lands of the Geats to help King Hrothgar get rid of a monster that has terrorized his lands for 12 years  After ripping off Grendel’s arm, Grendel runs home and dies  Unfortunately for the King, Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son’s death and kills Hrothgar’s most trusted advisor and closest friend  Beowulf follows her home and kills her using a magical sword

THE STORY CONTINUED 

BEOWULF’S DEMISE  50 years have passed and in that time, Beowulf left Hrothgar and returned home to become king  After a servant in his kingdom stole a golden cup from a cave, a fire dragon awoke to ravage the land  Beowulf in his old age fought one last time believing he can defy fate once more  He used his sword to cut the dragon in half but he was wounded in the fight  Before Beowulf died, he named Wiglaf, as successor to the throne, a young warrior who helped to kill the dragon

THESIS  Beowulf is a product of its time and place but somehow manages to include themes and motives that are relevant and important in today’s society. Because of this it has served as a writing basis for many authors to come.

THEMES Directly From Story  Loyalty  Honor and Pride  Strength Outside Influences  Many religious Aspects  Right and Wrong  Fate  Good vs. Evil

LOYALTY  Relationships were very important in Beowulf  The loyalty between a king and his Thanes was key  The king sent his thanes to serve in his army, to fight and protect his land, peoples, and name  Rewards were expected for success and failing to do so lost the loyalty of followers  Loyalty to family = Wergelds; avenging the death of family members and relatives by killing the murderer => never ending family feuds

HONOR and PRIDE  Men fought for the honor of their kings  Beowulf fought for pride and glory  Beowulf fights with honor, he didn’t not use a weapon against Grendel because Grendel had no weapon  Beowulf was not born with the strength but worked very hard to become powerful  Courage played a big role in Beowulf as he fought with monsters never encountered before

STRENGTH  Strength of individuals, kings, and kingdoms played a crucial role in the story  Power was not given to people through hereditary rights but given to those who kept fighting and winning  The power of a kingdom over any of its neighbors was as strong as the king in battle  Beowulf was not about the portrayal of war but the ability to keep the peace through powerful kings  He thought it was better to confront a challenge face to face than to run and hide

OUSTIDE INFLUENCES  There are themes in Beowulf that go beyond its time and place  Religious aspects such as fate, good and evil, right and wrong and even a god or multiple gods show that these were outside influences on the story  Anglo-Saxons were pagans when they arrived in England but through war Christianity seeped into England and influenced the story

RELIGIOUS ASPECTS  Beowulf was always trying to defy fate and choose his destiny  He believed that his courage can save a doomed man from fate  Beowulf refers to an almighty force in the heavens many times and it is believed that he refers to a God  The almighty God also comes with those of opposite yet equal presence; demons, which Grendel is believed to be  Good and evil is clearly seen as a hero is always needed and that hero is someone who represents all that is good in society

BEOWULF’S CHANGES Beginning  Beowulf was young and eager to fight  Ready for any chance to prove himself  He faced Grendel prepared to die  He fought Grendel’s mother as a way to end the struggle Ending  Beowulf became older and grew weaker  As a king he did not want to risk losing his kingdom  He did not want to fight the dragon but he had to protect his people and lands

Conclusion  Beowulf was the first English masterpiece  Earliest epic  The story’s analogies bridge Christian and pre-Christian Germanic worlds  Influenced authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and William Morris