1. Beowulf Anticipation Guide
People should not travel to foreign lands to help defend their inhabitants against threats because it is not their business
One does not need the love of his people to be a great leader.
If I were a soldier, I would follow my leader anywhere.
If someone hurts oneself or one’s family, that person should take revenge.

2. And the Anglo-Saxons: A Brief Introduction
Beowulf
And the Anglo-Saxons:
A Brief Introduction

3. England, circa 450 A.D. (Yes, that is over 1500 years ago)
The Roman Empire, of which England had been a part, just crumbled
Anglo-Saxon invaders from modern Germany replaced the Romans when they invaded the southeastern part of England
Unsurprisingly, the invaders spoke a very old form of German, which means...

4. ...English was originally (almost) German!
(An excerpt from Beowulf, in the original Old English, with a modern English translation)

5. Hierarchy King ruled King’s followers called thanes or retainers
King protected thanes and thanes guarded farms and collected taxes
Town meetings held called folkmoots in which men could vote
Tribal structure dominant, made up of inter-connected families—called kin
Held trials for those accused of misconduct (trial by ordeal)
Geographical areas divided into shires (shire-reeve in charge, i.e. sheriff)

6. You Would Much Rather Be a King Than a Thane...Or Would You?
Thane: A king’s retainer, who stayed near the king and did whatever he wanted him to do
(Sorry, ladies...thanes were always men. Women were there for pouring mead and having babies. Though, some Celtic stories told of warrior women—they were before the Anglo-Saxons, however.)
The pro to being a thane: Kings rewarded their thanes with money and jewels...lots of money and jewels
The con to being a thane: Thanes were expected to fight to the death for their king, so they died frequently
Mead is a very sweet alcohol made from honey. The mead-hall is the very smelly, gross wooden hall where the king and his thanes hung out. It was actually part of their reward, to hang out in a building in which the floor was covered in straw and, when people emptied their bowls in it or small animals died, it just stayed there. Men.

7. What were the Anglo-Saxons like?
Sea-faring wanderers
Pagan—worshipped Odin
Believed in fate or Wyrd (weird)
Liked action and fighting
Bravery, fair play, and good sportsmanship valued
Leaders admired for generosity and called “ring-giver”
Loyalty expected from thanes

8. Anglo-Saxon Life-Style
Meeting place after battle or hunt called the mead hall
Feasting at long tables, eating with fingers from common meat bowls
Mead is honey and water mixed and fermented into wine
Scop (pronounced shope) was the poet/story teller who would entertain thanes with harp (news, songs, stories, riddles)
Scop was an important and respected figure

9. The Mead Hall
The mead-hall is the very smelly wooden hall where the king and his thanes hung out. It was actually part of their reward, to hang out in a building in which the floor was covered in straw and, when people emptied their bowls in it or small animals died, it just stayed there. Men.

10. REVENGE! everlasting shame.
If an enemy killed the king, the thanes were honor-bound to revenge the king by killing in return, or to die trying.
For the earliest Anglo-Saxons, blood vengeance was a sacred duty.
In Anglo-Saxon oral poetry, those who failed to take revenge faced
everlasting shame.
Answer to the rhetorical question: Gangs. Although my kids also came up with the Wild West.
Something I forgot to add in the PowerPoint, but which is important, people could also erase a blood debt with a peace offering of gold, jewels, etc. Not accepting such an offering was not cool.
Does this remind you of any modern groups?

11. REVENGE! Except…
People could also erase a blood debt with a peace offering of gold, jewels, etc.
This was a way of making up for a death, especially an accidental death and ending the feud.
Not accepting such an offering was not cool.

12. Your Assignment
Using the notes that we have gone over, draw a picture of how you envision the people, lives, and habits of the Anglo-Saxons.
Your picture should be detailed, COLORED, and include at least 7 details that can be taken or inferred directly from the notes.
It should include your version of an Anglo-Saxon man and the surroundings.

13. The Epic A long narrative poem
About the brave deeds of a heroic figure
The hero goes on some sort of journey
The hero battles whatever forces threaten the order in his world
An epic captures the culture and religious beliefs of the group that wrote it
The language is serious and elevated
The epic hero also exhibits superhuman strength (like a modern superhero) and brags A LOT!

14. The Epic
Often includes long speeches by various characters that fulfill several purposes:
They provide story information
They chronicle ancestry
Works as an oral marker for the scop
Being able to speak well was valued by the Anglo-Saxons
These big, brutish people created beautiful poetry

15. Beowulf and Christianity
Up until 597, the Anglo-Saxons were pagans (polytheism, animism, worshiping stone objects, etc)
In 597, though, Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine of Canterbury to King Ethelbert...
...and within 75 years, England was a Christian nation
Along with Christianity came books

16. How did something as old as Beowulf survive?
During Anglo-Saxon times, monks (religious men who lived away from the world in cloisters, or private rooms almost like jail cells) copied books by hand
Can you imagine what it would be like if only monks, or religious figures could be in charge of record-keeping and books/media today?

17. Saving Beowulf
So all but four books from the Anglo-Saxon era are about the Church or Christianity
Luckily for readers of British literature, though, one of those four non-Christian books includes the text of Beowulf in it.
However, elements of Christianity found their way into this story, which otherwise follows the conflicting Anglo-Saxon code or philosophy.

18. Beowulf and Christianity
The Beowulf poet was a Christian, but he wanted to follow the pattern of his pagan ancestor’s heroic stories.
Does Christianity condone violence?
So what’s a poet to do?
Admire the bravery of the old Germanic heroes and express sympathy for the eventual end of the heroic code, but hint at why Christianity is better.

19. Reading Beowulf
We will be looking for moments where the Anglo-Saxon code and Christianity clash or simply seem to not fit very well.