Beowulf Background

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• Beowulf Background
• Notes

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First great work of the English national
literature.
Uses host of traditional motifs (or recurring
elements) associated with heroic literature all
over the world.
Religion full of religious elements even though
its basis may be a pagan heroic code.
Relatively short work 3200 lines, versus 15,000
lines in Homers epic
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Composed in old English, 700 to 750 A.D.
The poet who wrote the version down is assumed to
have been a Christian monk.
Christian Monk
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Beowulf is the hero of the epic.
He is called upon as the last hope to battle and
destroy the monster Grendel.
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• Beowulf is the only character in the epic that
  does not appear anywhere other than in the epic.
  Every other character is found in earlier legends
  or in actual history.

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Grendel

• The Grendel character has his roots in the old
  Norse stories of the draugar.

Draugar or animated corpses, dead men with
supernatural strength who walked at night
spreading evil and chaos.
The draugar had a mother even more terrible than
he, known as a ketta or she cat.
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Mead an alcoholic beverage
Mead-hall like a pub
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Herot is the mead hall where Grendel has been
attacking Hrothgars men for the past 12 years.
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Beowulf Defeats Grendel
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Beowulf Characters p. 19

• Thane nobleman
• Wulfgarone of Hrothgars men
• HiglacKing of the Geats, Beowulfs Uncle
• Unferthone of Hrothgars menchallenges Beowulf.
  He points out that Beowulf lost a swimming
  contest because he was jealous of his fame.
• Hruntingsword carried by Beowulf
• Hrothgar King of the Danes
• Brecca the person Beowulf had the swimming match
  with. Not in the story.
• Wiglaf Great warrior, the only one to stay with
  Beowulf during fight with dragon
• WelthowQueen of Danes Hrothgars Queen wore
  many bracelets and rings served Mead.