At times they prepared sacrifices in temples, war-idol offerings, said old words aloud, that the great soul-slayer might bring some comfort in their country's disaster. Such was their custom, the hope of the heathen; they remembered Hell in their deepest thoughts. They knew not the Lord, the Judge of our deeds, were ignorant of God, know not how to worship our Protector above, the King of Glory. Woe unto him who in violent affliction has to thrust his soul in the fire's embrace, expects no help, no change in his fate! Well is it with him who after his death-day is allowed to seek the Father's welcome, ask His protection! So Healfdene's son brooded continually over his sorrows; the wise man could not ward off the trouble The strife was too great, hateful, long-lasting, that had come to the nation, cruel spirit's envy, gigantic night-evil.
For Beowulf is the work of a Christian poet. In the nineteenth century, when every country in Europe was searching for or even creating its glorious pagan past, it used to be fashionable to deplore the Christian elements in the poem and to blame them on a "monkish interpolator." Noble and rugged paganism unweakened by Christian "sentiment" had to be discovered in the old documents, even at the cost of violence to the poetry. These older students of the poem had some small justification for their high-handed proceedings. They knew that neither the real sixth-century Geats of King Higlac nor their possible fictitious hero Beowulf could have been Christians. Christianity came to Sweden to stay four centuries later. If, then, the poem preserves--as it probably does--some truth about the defeat of the Geats by the Swedes, then the "Christian coloring," as they called it, must have been added later than the earliest tellings of Beowulf's feats. Of course it was. But it was not added by some sneaking monk to the honest tale told or written by a fine old seventh- or eighth-century Anglo-Saxon pagan. It might have happened in this fashion...
These older students of the poem had some small justification for their high-handed proceedings. They knew that neither the real sixth-century Geats of King Higlac nor their possible fictitious hero Beowulf could have been Christians. Christianity came to Sweden to stay four centuries later. If, then, the poem preserves--as it probably does--some truth about the defeat of the Geats by the Swedes, then the "Christian coloring," as they called it, must have been added later than the earliest tellings of Beowulf's feats.
Of course it was. But it was not added by some sneaking monk to the honest tale told or written by a fine old seventh- or eighth-century Anglo-Saxon pagan.
It might have happened in this fashion...
The storyline followed nicely, nothing out of the ordinary. Some of the weapons were buzz-saws at the end of spears (kind of like modified pikes), and there were some nice looking longswords and a broadsword for King Hrothgar and at one point, Beowulf has the assistant Weapons Master make him a pair of wrist blades that could be hidden from Grendel. The movie goes throught the battle with Grendel (including the hacking off of a limb) and the eventual battle with Grendel's mother.
BUT...Crichton based Eaters of the Dead/The Thirteenth Warrior roughly on Beowulf, also referencing ancient manuscripts and writings regarding Beowulf. He has a forward talking about his interpretation of the story of King Hrothgar, Beowulf and the Grendel.
If you don't have the patience/willingness to read old english literature, read Crichton's book. It's worth it. If you do have the patience, see Beowulf on Everything or buy a copy translated by Burton Raffel.
Before that it may have been in the possession of Laurence Nowell (d. 1576), the Dean of Lichfield and a pioneer in Anglo-Saxon studies; before that, presumably preserved in a monastery. In 1705 it was catalogued by Humphrey Wanley, who briefly quoted passages from it.
These are of interest because in 1731 the Cotton collection, then housed in Little Deans Yard in Westminster, was devastated by a fire. Vitellius A. XV, the only manuscript of any part of Beowulf that has ever been discovered, survived the fire with only its edges damaged, but the edges have been crumbling away ever since, and a considerable amount can no longer be recovered.
We are dependent at crucial points on the first publication, completed in 1787 and printed in 1815, by Grímur Thorkelin, an Icelander. He made a copy himself, now called Thorkelin B, and employed a professional copyist to make an independent copy, Thorkelin A. As the copyist had no knowledge of Old English, his is in some ways more objective, since Thorkelin (and every scholar since who has ever worked on it) was prone to finding scribal errors to allow the text to make more sense.
Some text has been recovered by modern techniques such as ultraviolet inspection.
Two scribes wrote it down, one up to line 1939 and the other to the end (line 3182). The second scribe also wrote Judith, bound after it in the same book. They were both writing in the classical Wessex dialect, but differentially preserve older forms from other regions, allowing scholars to guess at the tale's history. The text is divided into forty-three fitts.
þá ymbe hlæw riodan hilde-déore, æþelinga bearn, ealra twelfe, woldon ceare cwíðan, kyning mænan, word-gyd wrecan ond ymb wer sprecan: eahtodan eorlscipe ond his ellen-weorc; duguðum démdon, swá hit gedéfe bið þæt mon his wine-dryhten wordum herge, ferhðum fréoge, þonne hé forð scile of líc-haman læded weorðan. Swá begnornodon Géata léode hláfordes hryre, heorð-genéatas; cwædon þæt hé wære wyruld-cyninga, manna mildust ond mon-ðwærust, léodum líðost ond lof-geornost. Then round the barrow rode the battle-bold, princes' children, all twelve, wanted to tell their sorrow, talk of their king, utter their elegy and speak about the man: esteemed his earlship and his works of valour; it seemed to his followers, that it be fitting that a man praise with words his friend and lord, love his spirit when he should go forth led from the body-husk. So lamented the Geat people their lord's passing, the hearth-retainers; said that he was, of the world's kings, mildest of men and gentlest kindest of people and keenest for praise.
Then round the barrow rode the battle-bold, princes' children, all twelve, wanted to tell their sorrow, talk of their king, utter their elegy and speak about the man: esteemed his earlship and his works of valour; it seemed to his followers, that it be fitting that a man praise with words his friend and lord, love his spirit when he should go forth led from the body-husk. So lamented the Geat people their lord's passing, the hearth-retainers; said that he was, of the world's kings, mildest of men and gentlest kindest of people and keenest for praise.
Beowulf: ThemesEssay written by Ebyan Alvarez-Buylla for AP English Literature and Composition IVSeptember 28, 2001
Yes.
And these very characters alone token the attitudes and ideals of a people, the Anglo-Saxon, no matter how realistically or fictionally depicted. Not only do the characters act as thematic archetypes or symbols, but also as many elements as plot, setting, diction, organizational syntax, etc. But, to not get carried away, let us point out the thematic developments that can be objectified by such factors as characters and setting. Within the epic poem Beowulf, both universal and Anglo-Saxon themes are embodied by the protagonists' individual struggles, internal and external.
Beginning with the man himself: Beowulf, the personification of might, prowess, raised to such level as to be superhuman. But demigod or not, he himself symbolizes the Anglo-Saxon perseverance and proficiency at battle. By being exalted and bestowed by such powers as he is, the author, in turn, also presents the Anglo-Saxon society as being everlastingly tough. A subdued aspect of Beowulf's character, however, is the denomination of his almost arrogant might as a form of fighting an external battle that he cannot fight within, or an insecurity. Yet outdoing himself never seemed to be a problem, and whatever his own reasons were do not debase his thematic portrayal of the Anglo-Saxon culture as warlike. More than the dragon, though, Grendel is depicted as Beowulf's foil, with his apparent humanity only adding to the validity of the parallel. Were he to be a complete monster, of absolute evil, like the dragon, he could not be looked upon at the same level as Beowulf. Whereas Grendel is the fallen angel, Beowulf is the pure angel, here to rid the world of evil. Grendel himself thematically represents the inhumane aspect of society, contrasting, and fighting against Herot. Herot, in turn, is an archetypal sanctuary, appealing to universal themes, and representing the good of society; a good which may have initially have cast away those of Grendel's kind, yet this nothing more than a speculation.
Hrothgar, however, as a structurally weak character, is not developed enough to be able to represent a fact to the extremes of, "Anglo-Saxon leaders were flimsy old men with poor leadership skills." The fact that Beowulf himself does rise to the top to take Hrothgar's throne, however, does portray a touch of Darwinism, showing how the Anglo-Saxon society selected its leaders from proclaimed warriors; or more generally than that, how a specific group of people comes to be led by he (or she) who best embodies those ideals of the group. Unferth as well is a detrimental character to the Herot hall, as he embodies a thematic envy that can be harmful to any society. Luckily, though, his persona is not as cunning as his speech makes it seem, and is easily subdued by Beowulf. Lastly, and completing the list of flat characters, is the Dragon, who represents an external evil acting upon a group, namely the Anglo-Saxon. They had many dragons whom they fought daily, as we do to this day, and the Dragon himself embodies this theme of pure evil versus pure good. As glorified as Beowulf's final battle is, it also represents a natural equilibrium, whereas both good-- Beowulf-- and evil-- the Dragon-- perish, symbolizing the fact that a struggle of such magnitude as this cannot be overcome even by the mighty Beowulf; and so other ultimate powers of good and evil will arise.
Throughout the epic poem Beowulf we find such themes as a warlike race, an arrogance which is in essence the impetus to fight evil, and constant internal and external struggles, which can be attributed to the Anglo-Saxon culture. More broad and universally thematic concepts are presented, though, such as survival of the fittest, the fight of good and evil, the importance of efficient leadership. All these combined build a r
