Beowulf, Ancient Hero
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Beowulf, Dragon Slayer of Scandinavia
He is not just any hero, but one of epic proportions. He displays courage, strength, loyalty, courtesy, pride and compassion . He travels great distances to prove his strength at impossible odds against supernatural demons and beasts.
But Beowulf is not a comic book invention. You won't see him on television. The story of Beowulf was spoken out, ringing in rhythmic beats, as people sat together telling tales a thousand years ago.
Beowulf, Anglo Saxon Poetry
An Epic from England
The tales of the Ancient Greeks are well known to us, but the English heroes - apart from the legend of Arthur - are overlooked. Beowulf has come to us from an Anglo Saxon poem about events in Denmark, and it's just as thrilling as the story of Achilles.
The story of Beowulf is an adventure that's been told for a thousand years and it's still a ripping good yarn.
The Story of Beowulf
A Saga of Slaughter and Revenge
Gerard Butler in Beowulf and Grendel
The warrior Beowulf sets sail for the land of the Danes, where the King's Hall is plagued by a man-eating monster named Grendel.
One night, after a beer party,
the Danes settled in the hall
for sleep; they knew no sorrows.
The evil creature, grim and hungry,
grabbed thirty warriors
and went home laughing.
At dawn, when the Danes learned
of Grendel's strength,
there was great weeping.
The old king sat sadly,
crying for his men. Bloody
footprints were found.
That was bad enough,
but the following night
Grendel killed more--
blinded by sin,
he felt no remorse.
(You can bet the survivors
started sleeping elsewhere.)
Ingvar Sigurdson as Grendel in Beowulf and Grendel
After some stirring action recounted in verse of strong alliteration and stressed syllables, we hear that Beowulf eventually kills Grendel. He than hangs the severed arm of the monster as a trophy in Heorot Hall.
But kill one monster and another steps forward to take its place. In true Anglo-Saxon fashion, the mother of Grendel, comes looking for revenge and to save her family honour. This society was strongly defined in terms of kinship; if someone happened to be killed, it was the duty of surviving kin to exact revenge.
She savages more and more warriors in the drinking hall until Beowulf tracks her down to the cold watery place where she lives and, swimming to the bottom, he battles and slays her too.
Beowulf the Dragon Slayer
A Hero's Burial in the Barrow of Skalunda
Later in his life, when Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, he finds his realm terrorised by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound.With his group of companion thegns, Beowulf attacks the dragon. Failing to strike a mortal blow, Beowulf follows the dragon into its lair. His young cousin, Wiglaf, is the only warrior who dares to join him.
After a fearsome contest, Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but is himself mortally wounded.
Beowulf is then buried in a barrow by the sea -- identified by some archeologists as being at Skalunda.
This now puts Beowulf into the role of Dragon Slayer. The monster slayers of legend, especially in England, tend to be found at the origin of dynasties and land-claims.
The most famous monster-slayers, Perseus and Herakles, are the ancestors of the greatest royal lines; but closer to England, closer to Beowulf, the idea of monster-slaying was an integral part of the English peasant's view of a legitimate landlord family. But that's another story.
The Barrow of Skalunda
Burial of Beowulf
rode round the grave
speaking their sorrow,
reciting praises
for their lord's
courageous deeds.
(A warrior should do so
when his lord dies.)
Thus the Geats
mourned their great lord,
saying he was,
among this world's kings,
the mildest, the gentlest,
the kindest to his people,
and the most eager
for eternal fame.
Simple and Stirring Translation
In this bilingual edition he places the original text side by side with the English, and the rhythms of the two languages are almost identical. A real pleasure to read.
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Bilingual Edition)
Amazon Price: $4.96 (as of 02/13/2012)
Heaney keeps the clear simplicity of phrasing that is the English we use in everyday speech, jogging along in the rhythm of the Anglo-Saxon bard, the scop.
There was Shiels Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead benches, rampaging among foes.
This terror of the hall troops had come far
Just Grendel
Poets and Tale-tellers of the Anglo Saxons
Poets and story tellers were highly esteemed in the the Anglo-Saxon period of England. They were the historians of the tribe, the chroniclers of society who ensured that everyone remembered the important heroes, the war chiefs, the important battles and the folklore of the tribe.Anglo-Saxon poetry, like the whole language itself, was an oral art - rarely written down, but recited as a song or as a riddle. Riddling was a popular pastime, and along with tongue-twisters, puns and all sorts of verbal wit, figured prominently in Old English.
Anglo-Saxon poets typically used alliterative verse and linked two lines together, divided by a caesura:
* Alliteration : Alliteration is the repetition of the first consonant sound in a phrase.
* Caesura : Caesura is an audible pause that breaks up a line of verse.
We still love alliteration, it's a commonly used literary tool in English, tracing its origins back to Old English and other Germanic languages such as Old High German, Old Norse, and Old Saxon. An easy example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers".
A Single Manuscript
The poem is known only from a single manuscript, from the reign of Knut, the Viking king of England, Denmark and Norway, and one of the greatest figures of medieval Europe.
This places it about the year 1010
To be heard, not read
Listen to the sound the words make as you read them.
The paved road guided the men.
Their war-coats shone,
the hard locks ringing
as they came toward the hall.
The sea-weary ones set
their broad, strong shields
against the building's wall,
then sat down on benches,
their armor resounding.
They stood their spears together,
ash wood tipped with gray,
an iron troop.
Monsters ....
The Destiny of the Hero
So Beowulf the Dragon Slayer, Warrior and Hero, found his true destiny which every Hero instantly recognises. In the end his fate was great and memorable. Quite unlike that of you or me.
History can be found through our stories. In every era they reveal the prevailing cultural attitude.
In that time when the folk would sit around over a meal listening to the scop reciting the epic stories, it was men of outstanding courage and loyalty who were admired. Much was made of physical bravery, selflessness, and the gravity of an oath. And honour was more important than any temporal comfort.
But that was long ago. All we have left are the stories.
More Heroes
Movie Review of Beowulf and Grendel
Leave a note for Beowulf
Or carve a rune ....
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thesuccess
Jan 30, 2012 @ 3:01 pm | delete
- A girlfriend had to study this in Old English!
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grannysage
Sep 22, 2011 @ 2:34 pm | delete
- Beowulf is an epic story that speaks to me because of my Scandinavian roots I suppose. I enjoyed the movie. I didn't realize that Grendel was the bogeyman. Mine lived in the basement. I know because my sister told me so. Very informative presentation of a great story. Makes me want to read it again.
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paul101239
Oct 24, 2010 @ 6:59 pm | delete
- nice lens..
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About Susanna Duffy
Credits
Sources : Hwaet! : Translation Manual for Students of Old English
More Tales from History
by susannaduffy
G'day! I had to read Beowulf at school but didn't appreciate it till much later.
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