1. Introductory Guide to Beowulf
Anglo-Saxons
Introductory Guide to Beowulf

2. Timeline 597 AD – Christianity spreads among Anglo-Saxons.
750 AD – Approximate date Beowulf was composed
793 AD – Vikings begin raiding Anglo-Saxon countryside.
1000 AD – Surviving version of Beowulf written out by monks.

3. Beginnings of Britain
55 BC – Caesar attempts to conquer the British Isles, inhabited by Celtic people called Britons. He claimed the Isles for Rome.
Romans brought their technology and culture to the island, but they abandoned it when Rome began to be invaded. The country was left to fend for itself.

4. Anglo-Saxons Around A.D. 449 , Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes)
invaded Britain.
The Germanic tribes
conquered much of
Britain and
settled the land.
Anglo-Saxon culture became the basis for English culture.
The area was called Angle-land (or England).

5. The People
The original Anglo-Saxons were sea-faring wanderers whose lives were short, bleak, and violent.
They believed strongly in wyrd (fate) and in heroic warriors whose wyrd was to prevail in battles.
Eventually, they became more peaceful and agricultural.

6. Growth of Christianity
Christianity spread throughout Britain, becoming a powerful cultural force. However, no one knows when the first missionaries arrived.
By A.D. 690, all of Britain was at least somewhat Christian although some people held on to pagan beliefs.

7. The Danish Invasion
Around A.D. 790, the Danes from Denmark and Norway ( known as Vikings) began to invade.
At first they just looted, but they soon began conquering the land.
However, their invasion into the southern part of England was halted by a powerful Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred the Great.
After the king’s death, the land erupted back into war.

8. Effect on Literature
With all the invading peoples, the language of the land kept changing.
The Germanic tribes fused languages with each other and formed “Old English.”
Today we speak “Modern English” as the language continued to change.

9. Literature
Early Anglo-Saxon literature was an oral art form., memorized and performed, but not written down. This oral telling was mostly done in the mead halls by the warriors and scops.
They celebrated the deeds of their greatest warriors in epic poems and songs.
Many of these poems and songs reflected the bleak, violent nature of the early people.

10. Christianity’s Influence
Christian themes/morals began to be infused in the literature as Christian influence spread across the land.
The monks brought literacy to the land and many of the poems/songs began to be written down by them.
However, most of it was hand-written, so very little of it has survived.

11. Beowulf
The most famous surviving epic poem is Beowulf, which was written in England and composed in Old English.
Scholars believe it was composed between A.D. 700 and A. D although it describes Scandinavian events in the A. D. 500s.
It tells the story of a legendary, heroic warrior from northern Europe.
The name of the Beowulf poet is unknown.