1. Anglo­Saxon England
The Origins of Beowulf

2. So Who Were the Anglo­Saxons?
• Germanic tribes from central Europe
– The Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes
– Moved east and eventually into England around
450 C.E.
– Conquered by 800 C.E. through fighting process
• Successful groups absorbed the losers

7. Warrior Culture
• Kinship
– The individual ceases to exist, responsible for all behavior of
family members
• Lordship
– The king is tied to everyone
• Pursues interest of all members
• Selfless­ Kinship
– Military relationship
• King is tied to the nobles who provide the soldiers who fight for the
king

8. Elements of the Warrior Culture
• Wergild = the man price
– When you offend a family you must offer compensation
• Provides peace without causing a feud
– If you murder a man outside of war, usually there was an
execution
– Repairs evil done by death

9. Warrior Culture Continued
• Lof = esteem, reputation
– Warrior wants story told over and over so legacy and fame
will live on
• Immortality in the eyes of men!
• Wyrd = fate
– Destiny of the warrior

10. The Epic Poem
• The Oral Tradition
– Stories passed down by telling them
– Usually told by a bard(scop) who sings
• Long narrative with heroic theme
– Story of the hero’s journey
– In the 3rd person
– Contains information about the culture that created them
– Contains clues as to what people feared
– Examples: The Odyssey, The Iliad
• Beowulf dates back to some time between 700­ 1000 CE

11. The Language of Beowulf

12. Old English
• This is the language of Beowulf, also known as
Anglo­Saxon
• Many people confuse Shakespearean language as Old
English
– It is actually Modern English
• Shift to Modern English did not occur right away
– Took hundreds of years

13. Old English Continued
• Uses unfamiliar letters that come from runic alphabet
of Germanic peoples
• Despite the fact that it looks so different, once you
know what the sounds the letters make it sounds very
similar to English
• For example:
– “Pæt wæs god cyning!”
• The P makes a th sound