Beowulf Flashcards
Beowulf date
sometime between 520 and c.1000
Language of Beowulf
The dialect of the poem offers little or no indication of its origins: like most surviving works of Old English poetry, the language of Beowulf is largely late West-Saxon, with some elements of Anglian (northern) vocab
How many copies are there of Beowulf?
Just one
What else is in the manuscript with Beowulf?
A prose life of St. Christopher, a poetic treatment of the story of Judith, two treatises of fantastical geography
A collection of marvels, monsters, the fantastic
How did we get Beowulf?
The Nowell Codex is named for the first recorded owner–1563 English antiquary Laurence Nowell. Then to Robert Cotton, who binds it with Augustine and while his collection is awaiting donation to the future British Museum, a fire nearly consumed the Beowulf manuscript.
Beowulf’s Form
Alliterative Kenning Appositive style typical form: AA:AX--two half lines, two stressed syllables each, linked by alliteration
How do we know this is at least partly an oral text?
The poem begins with the assumption that we are hearing something familiar or at least not foreign, emphasis on “hearing”
“We have heard of the glory…of the folk-kings of the spear-Danes”
ready-made metrical packages, iterated/extended/modified
How long does it take Beowulf to swim down to meet Grendel’s mother?
A day
Talk about the symbolism of the gold at the end of Beowulf
The gold removed from the dragon’s horde rusts–our narrator says as if deeply enchanted by the original owners, and only God himself can break that spell. Beowulf doesn’t appear to be worthy of God breaking that spell.
Beowulf still really wants to look upon the gold as he dies–earthly wealth is all they have w/o heaven
If you were teaching a class on Old and Middle English poetics, how would you explain the disappearance of alliterative verse after Beowulf and the ascendance of blank verse with Chaucer?
Chaucer’s prosody was influenced by the French. Norman prestige, language of the court, etc–patrons have money.
But also, there’s the alliterative revival–Sir Gawain–14th C
What does Hrothgar say to Beowulf after the hero slays Grendel’s mother? Why?
He tells him to not be Heremod, who grew not for his people but for their destruction.
Beware of pride, because glory is transient and death comes.
When is Beowulf set?
ca. 500-570 CE
Where is Beowulf set?
Denmark and Sweden
Tell me about Heorot
Hrothgar’s hall, the site violated by Grendel and Grendel’s mother. An important site of sovereignty and certain forms of kingship/negotiation/selfhood
What’s carved on the hilt of the sword that Beowulf returns with after killing Grendel’s mother?
Only the hilt survives
It either shows or tells of the flood slaying the race of giants
the sword guard has the name of the first sword owner but we don’t know who that is
Talk about Unferth giving Beowulf a sword
Unferth gives Beowulf Hrunting, which should work–it’s pretty legendary, has basically poison edges. But it doesn’t work when Beowulf gets down there, Beowulf has to grab a random legendary sword Grendel’s mother just has lying around. Using that sword destroys all of it but the hilt.
There’s some weird politics in Unferth giving Beowulf the sword, but basically Unferth is recognizing that Beowulf is the right man for the sword.
Beowulf graciously acknowledges that the weapon was good, even though it wasn’t enough
Does anyone try to stop Beowulf from fighting the dragon?
Yes, Wiglaf the foot-soldier, a prince of the Scylfings
What is a scop?
The ballad-performer
How does Beowulf kill Grendel? Where does Grendel die?
Beowulf tears off Grendel’s arm, Grendel retreats and bleeds to death in his mother’s den.
How do the attacks of Grendel on Heorot and those of Grendel’s mother differ?
motivation– G is the adversary, G’s mom just wants revenge
G’s mom is in and out really quickly, nobody has time to engage with her, they have to hunt her down
How is Beowulf rewarded by Hrothgar?
twelve great treasures, an invite to come back, a “congrats you made peace” speech
What’s Beowulf’s nationality?
Geat
What does Grendel’s mother take from Heorot? Why is that significant?
She takes Grendel’s arm and one man.
Revenge/motherhood
Where is Beowulf when Grendel’s mother attacks?
Not in Heorot–he is somewhere else, as the hero from the previous day
Why does a dragon guard the hoard of gold in Beowulf?
Because it’s a dragon and that’s what they do, a sort of biological imperative. He finds it after the last soldier dies, just moves in.
Symbolically, dragons are hoarders who do not do anything with their treasure. It is removed from the economy.
What is the manuscript’s date?
c.1000-c.1010
Where is the manuscript currently kept?
London, British Library
