Beowulf Study Guide Analysis : History and Myth

Lets examine the history of Beowulf as it relates to the myth.

A good way to approach a reading of Beowulf is to recognize the two layers in its story telling. The first recognizable layer is the myth. This is where the monsters, magic, and heroic elements are put together in order to make a very exciting, if somewhat horrific, adventure. These outstanding elements cannot be more than legendary and imaginative. No creatures like Grendel and his mother existed in any possible way, and dragons at best were a strange interpretation of ancient giant fossil bones. The novelist Micheal Crichton re-imagined the story for his book “Eaters of the Dead,” that became the movie “The 13th Warrior,” as the last surviving tribe of Neanderthals attacking an early dark age fort. Another popular movie was made called “Beowulf” done in a mixture of live and animation that told the story rather faithfully. It is a classic in literature that continues to inspire since the day of the textual discovery.

The second layer is the actual history it writes about which can be very complicated because there is not a lot of sources of information to flesh out. There is enough corroborating evidence to know for certain that most of the people, places, and less magic events really did happen. When that history is studied, it becomes easier to get into the story and imagine what kind of lives the characters might have. Of course, like almost all ancient stories, it is focused on the elites and royalty of their society. Considering how mundane life can be for peasant classes, working the land unless called to fight by the Lords, it should not be surprising that has always been the focus of writers. Not to mention, the nobility and families were probably the only ones who could read and write to create an audience.

Beowulf the text was written at about 1000 AD, although the exact time of composition is in dispute. The author, like so many Old English writings, is an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet who didn’t even give the story a name. It was given the name of Beowulf by others because of his heroic position through the manuscript. The lengthy poem is part of the Nowell Codex that contains at least four other different literary works. Sadly as the one and only original copy, in 1731 the Nowell Codex was almost lost to history, but still damaged. The aptly named Ashburnham House next to the Cotten Library in England set fire and the manuscript saved by someone throwing it out the window. Edges of the manuscript, including some words, were burned to the point they can only be read with technological advancements. Currently it is located at the British Library.

The story takes place in Scandinavia between 500 and 600 AD mainly in what is now modern day Sweden and Denmark, with major events mentioned happening in France. Of course, the story is set before any of those modern countries as currently existing. The groups mentioned include the northern Swedes with the Geates below them, The Danes south across the waters and another enemy the Frisians or Franks southernmost. To the east is the Jutes and west the Wulfings. Not mentioned, despite how it has become a literary part of the cultural history, is the island nation of Britain. This has led to speculation, if not outright fact, that Germanic Anglo-Saxon transplants from those areas were trying to keep their heritage in memoriam.

How the Anglo-Saxons arrived in England is tied to the history of Rome and its downfall.  During the time of Julias Caesar in around 55 BC the future Roman ruler fought the Gauls and any other group beyond Roman territory. He extended Roman boundaries to parts of Germany, France, and other areas considered filled with wild barbarians. He also tried to cross into Britain and make that another Roman territory, but was never successful. By the time he became ruler, and ultimately was famously assassinated, Britain for the great empire was mostly a place of exploration.

As can be imagined, part of the reason it took so long for Romans to inhabit the island is how fiercely protective the native population was to keeping the land. The groups known as Pics and Celts, along with many other tribes constantly fought and raided the Roman interlopers.  They were not completely successful in pushing them back because by 43 AD permanent Roman settlements were founded. Several years later in 122 AD Emperor Hadrian ordered the start of the famous wall built by him. To this day it stands as a reminder of a chaotic and influential time in history when less advanced civilizations held back a more advanced one. Now by the time of the wall, things weren’t going smoothly for the Roman Empire. It started to lose territory to Gauls and other northern boundary enemies. Rome had slowly lost its power and riches to finance wars of expansion in the hopes of gaining more power and riches. The military filled with those they conquered, had more mercenaries, and the generals took more chances in the hopes of gaining notoriety.

What ended up happening became known as the Gothic invasion. There were at least three important invasions, with the last one finishing off the Roman Empire for good. Alaric was a Gothic king who at first simply wanted to become a Roman citizen with some importance. He was rejected and this enraged him. Instead of a peaceful relationship, it became all out war.  Waves of Goths under his direction ruined the Italian towns and cities, before arriving at the front door of Rome in 410 AD and entering. Warrior attacked, sacked, and nearly left the city for dead. By this time Christianity was well entrenched in Roman society and it might have saved Rome from complete annihilation because the churches were spared. Not so the rich or the pagan buildings. The second invasion could very much have been worse when Attila the Hun in 440 AD took power and tried to plunder the known world. He was enemies to Rome and the Goths together. In some ways he was more merciful than the Romans toward allies, but in anger he was a destroying terror. They didn’t want to be accepted by the Romans, but to claim land and take over. With a sigh of relief the Huns ended up at the doors of Rome and didn’t knock immediately. The Christian Pope Leo I negotiated a truce for a very short time, although other factors such as plague and a reduced military presence probably contributed more. He wasn’t done, however, and promised to return. That never happened and he died of a burst blood vessel in his neck. The final nail in the Western Roman Empire came when Orestes, the son of a secretary to Attila, deposed Julius Nepos and replaced him with the teenage boy Augustulus. Soon another German named Odoacer deposed the young Emperor and declared himself Ruler or King. He sent the traditional royal regalia of Western Rome to Eastern Rome (Byzantium) effectively opening up a new history.

Beowulf is part of the new history, taking place a mere 100 years after the official fall of Rome. It represents the start of what has been termed “the dark ages,” when much knowledge was lost for a time. The story can be read from the viewpoint of Europe’s transformation from pagan to Christian. The manuscript writers were Christian much like Rome had become. Missionaries and politics converted the Britons.  The Geates in the story were a powerful tribe on the southern part of Sweden. They might have been referenced by Old Norse literature as Gautor or “the people of the Goitaland,” and were described as a strong although warmongering nation. By the 10th century the Geats no longer existed and no one knows what happened. Most likely they were probably defeated and then absorbed by the northern Swedish neighbors. Both the Geats and the Anglo-Saxon writers should not be confused with the vikings, although they have some similarities. The Geats came before them and the Anglo-Saxons broke off from Scandinavia when immigrating to Briton. The vikings were doing more than plundering the neighbors. They were attacking former related tribes before they themselves became Christian and settled down.

Rothgar the Danish king might be the most prominent name in the poem, but the Geats king Hygalec is the most well known in historical records. An historian Gregory of Tours mentions a king by the name of ko-chi-lay-cus, who is most likely Hygalec, who tried in 516 AD to raid Freshia. It was very unsuccessful and Hygalec ended up killed. The Geats raiders were discovered and lost the ensuing battle. In the confusion of defeat, Geats rushed back to shore to make it home. King Hygelic’s body was found and exhibited by the Franks. Other names and events in Beowulf are attested to with independent poems, annals, and manuscripts.

Archaeological discoveries have shed light on the Beowulf history and culture. In 1939 at Sutten Hoo England, an earth mound was dug into and the imprint of a large ship was found. Nails were lined up in rows where ship planks would have been, although long since decayed. Besides finding a ship underneath the soil, it was filled with over 250 Anglo-Saxon artifacts of priceless value. Among the plunder were coins, weapons, and silver eating utensils. The most distinguished object was a decorated mask that has since become symbolic of the Beowulf character and England. Warring masks are described in the poem like what was found in the discovery.

The second archaeological discovery is of what is considered Dane King Rothgars mead-hall.  Post holes of very large buildings were uncovered in the small Danish town of Lejre of mostly Viking settlements. At least one of the buildings is of the time period that Beowulf takes place. It has also been associated both by history and legend as the home of the Scylding family dynasty.

The story of Beowulf is more than a fanciful legend. It allows the reader a look into an historical period that is not well known and nearly forgotten. At the same time history illuminates the place of Beowulf in both English and European culture.

Consider:

How can legends and myth help us understand the past, or how does it conceal it?

What can Beowulf mean to a modern reader?

Does understanding the history behind the story make it more interesting or understandable?

The Seafarer and The Wanderer : The Cold Waters of Life's Journey - Commentary and Analysis

Imagining another time and place far distant from where a person currently lives can be difficult. Popular culture and stories often confuse what the reality might be for those from long ago and far away. Anachronisms of people, events, clothing, and how one lived are easy to add into any perceptions. England during the period of Old English is one time period when those who are not familiar with it might be mistaken about what life was like for those who lived then. Mention Old English and what comes to mind is often what existed of the island nation many generations later. There were no knights in shining armor or damsels in distress wearing fancy dresses. Kings that ruled vast territories and commanded large armies on horseback wouldn’t exist for a few hundred years. Such romantic scenes are much later during the middle ages, if they ever really existed outside of imaginative works of art and letters.

The real Old English time period was more humble and rather dangerous. It is placed between the time that Rome left the island because of internal and external threats to its own empire, and Alfred the Great’s son becomes the ruler of England. The poems were written when tribes led by chieftains fought for land and survival. Often foreign invaders (and a bit later the Vikings) sought to conquer the locals. Factions rose and fell with deadly skirmishes to take control or revenge. The common folk mostly either lived off the land when there was a good season of crop growth, or fought in wars commanded by the local Lords. Disease was rampant and death a basic part of life. Fortifications were often nothing more than the local church house or manor. There was no reliable safety from raiders or soldiers. It was an untamed frontier filled with immigrants.

Dates for when The Seafarer and The Wanderer were written is not exactly known.  As with most Old English poems, they were preserved in the Anglo-Saxon Exeter Book as part of its collection. They came from the time described above when living was hard and Christianity the newly dominant cultural religion. Both have clear similarities in descriptions, moods, and themes in the text.  No doubt they were written by different authors,  but came from the the same kind of life experiences voyaging away from their original home. The commonalities are very intriguing and give some insight into what it was like during a chaotic period of history.

What stands out before anything else is the cold. The poems start out describing a chilling season in the dead of winter. Alone on a ship they feel sorrow and fear among the ice filled waves crashing against their ships. In The Seafarer he is brought by a “night watch” to the prow or above deck to witness the dangerous sea thrashing its waves. The night watch is just as scared, as they move precariously next to the cliffs that could dash the ship into pieces. In The Wanderer, the poet says they are controlling the direction of the ship in the harsh winter ice waters. Both of them fear for their lives, but they also have much more personal concerns.

The reasons why The Seafarer is traveling is not spelled out in the poem. He is much more concerned with the voyage itself. The Wanderer on the other hand is much more clear on what brought him across these cold winter waters to travel in exile. At first it seemed that he might have killed his Lord, since “I hid my Lord in the darkness of the Earth,” and refuses to tell anyone. Later on in the poem there is more hints of what happened. He sleeps and remembers all the good times had before forced to leave the home he once knew.  But, he wakes up to remember the terrible condition he finds himself in traveling alone on the sea as a stranger to all. He describes how “war took off some” and destroyed a city. Bodies were ravaged by birds and wolves, if they weren’t buried first like the Lord he put in the dark of the Earth. Most likely the wanderer escaped death during a violent invasion of his homeland. The poem might have been written as a declaration of survivors guilt.

Hints are dropped in both poems that the writers are old and nearing the end of their lives. For The Wanderer all his friends and kinsmen are long gone, indicating years have past since he left home. He states that “a man cannot call himself wise” unless he has years behind them. They need to learn how not to be too eager or too greedy in his behavior. They must think before they make promises and act, having gotten rid of boastful pride. After all, the Wanderer most likely saw the results of a less wise life with the destruction of his homeland. The destruction left by a North Hailstorm was mostly likely a metaphor suggesting the invaders who sacked his old place. The Seafarer is no less thoughtful about the past, although in less specific terms. He looks at the world around him and questions where all the great kings and rulers have gone. He longs for the days when kings were doers of good and giver of treasure to the deserving. Those who remain are weak and live off the past actions of others. He then describes the physical condition of a dying (if not already dead) man with pale face, failing body, graying beard, and eventually losing all senses. Giving the dead gold buried with them does not improve their lost condition. The release of death is the end of exile.

Exile in life for the Seafarer is self-determined, not based on any force of evacuation by violence. Despite all the cold and sorrowful outlook on life, something internal draws him to take to the waters. The poem’s perspective is from the winter months, but other seasons are mentioned. He talks about the Groves that blossom, indicating the springtime and new beginnings. The crops in the fields grow along with the size of cities. There is a feeling of renewal that strengthens the resolve to once again leave the sedentary life and become an exile on a voyage again. Not that all is well with the spring starting a new season of travel. The sound of the cuckoo bird in the summer is a sign of the hardships that lucky rich warriors cannot understand. But, he doesn’t want that kind of life. Staying secure on the land is a kind of death, when he really wants to follow the whale’s path wherever fate might take him. He trusts in the Lord of Heaven more than the insecurities of mortal life.

Underneath the hardships, declared sorrows, ice cold waters, and hail storms, the poems are not about the physical journeys of exiled sailors. There is a religious and moral message that both of them want to pass on to the readers. Once again, what they have to say is very similar to each other with only slight disagreements or differences. The Seafarer is much more direct in his approach to what he is wanting the reader to spiritually understand. As a traveler who seeks to find a home in a foreign land, the least he has to worry about is his Lord. No earthly pleasures of music, women, glory, or any such mortal experiences exist for him. The treasures of the world don’t last very long. All people’s lives end either with disease, old age, or at the end of a sword in a violent struggle. Living a life full of good deeds is all that remains. Those who do good in the world will be remembered by those who come after, while the angels in heaven share in the joy of an eternal reward. The wanderer agrees that life is harsh and hardly worth the trouble. He councils to not talk about the grief and sorrow they are feeling unless they “already know the remedy” - that most likely means religious instructions. The only one who can understand the inner turmoil and help sooth the raw emotions is the father in heaven, or God. In both poems, it is the next life for those who live good lives where true treasures and happiness can be found.

In the modern Western world communication allows people to instantaneous communicate to anyone far away from each other. The idea that we can be exiled or do so on our own is not easily geographically probable anymore. For most of human history it only took going a few miles away from a city or settlement to become lost. Yet, some studies have suggested that we humans are alone as individuals like never before. The Internet might be a place of infinite personal connections with those we know and people we will never meet, but we remain like The Wanderer hiding our true selves. We keep our experiences locked within our hearts and minds even when letting the whole world see our lives. It is a psychological exile where the search for new information and experiences masks the loss or lack of real relationships. Considering the poems views, the world has changed only cosmetically. We break up into factions while wars continue to destroy towns and cities. People seek self-made exile in video games and other quasi reality entertainment, while not paying attention to other people. It can be a lonely and sad existence equal to the Seafarer and Wanderer.

Consider the questions:

Why do you think the two poems are so similar in theme and viewpoint?

How can you compare the personalities of the two exiles by the differences?

What might the reasons be today for a person to take a very long or seasonal journey?

Old English Poetry : Dream of the Rood and The Ruin Analysis

Dream of the Rood

Within the poem Dream of the Rood, there are several comparisons, juxtapositions, and dichotomies. These are where two opposing descriptions or ideas are used for the same object. It may not at first make much sense until put together to enhance the meaning of what the author is trying to express. In this case, how normal or unremarkable people and things can become far greater than outward appearances.

The poet starts by describing a tree like any other, but far greater than at first thought. The tree is not only an object of wonder, but the greatest tree that has ever existed. What makes the tree so great at first sight is how it is covered in brilliant light and precious gems of magnificent quality. Angels also watch over its existence. This hides the original ominous and horrible use of the tree. In fact, without that terrible history there would be no reason for the current veneration and glory.

The author himself is not the most worthy of people to witness the tree. He claims to be full of sin and unrighteousness. Despite that, like the unremarkable tree, he is chosen to have a holy dream explaining why the tree is so important. Most likely the poet is describing a reliquary that houses a relic or holy object. A simple piece of wood, fabric, or human remains is placed in a special highly decorated container for religious practitioners to gaze upon as they worship.

As with any dream, there are unrealistic elements that otherwise would be dismissed as nonsense. In this case the great tree starts to speak. The inanimate tree becomes personified with a human voice. There is no hesitation of acceptance or questioning how the tree is talking. Like any otherwise absurdity in a dream the talking is perfectly natural. What the tree talks about is how it transformed from a normal tree to the greatest in history so far as the poem is concerned.

Within the poem is the idea that despite its dream qualities, the objects and events depicted are very much real. The tree might as well be able to talk because of the grand story behind the vision. Although happening far in the past, the dream progresses as if the events were unfolding in real time. Raw emotions of the tree and visionary spill out for all readers to feel.

Strong men, Romans to specific, tore the tree down in a violent act in preparation for a violent purpose. The most retched criminals were, by Romans standards of punishment, to be crucified on the tree. This proposed act horrified the tree, but who was to be crucified on it changed the perspective. A hero in the form of Jesus, known as the Christ or Savior, was placed on the tree as a sacrifice. Even while wanting to either bow to the holy figure or falling on the Roman soldiers it did not move. The importance of who is about to die forces the tree to reconsider its own actions and play the part fate has given it.

The tree’s fate becomes so intertwined with the suffering and death of Jesus, that they become in the mind of the poet practically one and the same. Both of them have the marks of nails pounded into them. Blood covers Jesus and the tree that he hangs upon. It is a terrible vision with a victorious outcome when they suffer and are glorified together.

Before they are glorified, Jesus body is put into a tomb and the tree buried in the ground to be forgotten. Early followers mourn and cry at the loss and then quietly leave after the burials. As anyone who knows the Christian religion can explain, Jesus Christ rises out of the tomb and saves humanity from sin and permanent death. The Rood, another word for the cross, also is found and raised from the ground. Jesus Christ becomes the Salvation of the World and the remnants of the Rood, or cross, to be Venerated.

No matter how real life might be, it is seen by believers and this poet as nothing compared to the eternal rewards for those who worship Jesus as the Christ. The dreamer, having seen the cross decked in finery and glory, decides to search for his eternal reward of living forever with Jesus who returns to Heaven from whence he came. Theologically, Jesus Christ is considered both a man and a God similar to how the tree is both a piece of wood and a holy object. The instrument of death becomes the inspiration for living a holy life.

The Ruin

The other poem, The Ruin, is a look back at a glorious time in history when Rome was at its most splendid. The poet has visited the now gone physical remnants of the once powerful Empire and is awe inspired. The writer is amazed by the forms of buildings that once represented a rich nation filled with promise and delights.

He goes on to say that the marvels he sees are mostly in crumbles. A terrible event transpired to bring down the buildings and the people who lived among the sprawling metropolis. The men in the city had gold, silver, and many other kinds of wealth, but they too are gone. What remains are, presumably, piles and heaps of stone and tile as a testament to the grandness that once was. Interesting enough, the poem itself is fragmented. Part of the middle and what was the end have been lost. A few words can be pieced together in the missing sections, but nothing completely coherent. Despite that, the text mostly can be read and understood.

As for the city the poem describes, it lasted for a very long time. Houses were built, elaborate baths of luxury were used, and great walls constructed to keep it safe. Only after years of survival did the place become abandoned and fell apart. It is hard to say if the poet believed the end of the city happened all at once or over a long cycle of events. The poem could be interpreted to either use the word “fail” implying a quick loss and the word “days” a far longer period of time. They don’t have to necessarily have an opposite meaning. One can have a slow failure, but the abandonment seems all at once. Whatever the poet might have thought of the ruins now sitting dormant, it has a very tragic feeling to the dilapidated structures.

Both The Ruin and The Dream of the Rood take a look back at history that even at the time they were written was ancient. The former saw terrible events and consider them to have been leading up to a glorious future. The latter saw a glorious past and despaired at a tragic loss that can never return. Early English literature is filled with looking back in awe and wonder of what came before, with hope to return to such a condition either in the world or heaven. The world may have always been harsh, but war, poverty, and disease of their time seemed excruciating.  They sought to remember, rebuild, and repeat what they saw as a golden age lost in time.

What we can learn from these poems today is that no matter how far apart history might be, there is always a looking back at what came before and a hope for the future. The past may be glorious and it might be filled with destruction and horror. We can be both horrified and impressed by events and places from what seems like long ago. Think of it as the half filled and half empty glass of water. To someone who is thirsty it might not be very impressive and perhaps full of worry. On the other hand, they might be happy that there was any water to drink. Perspective is a very powerful source of human opinion and decision making. Where a door closes, another might be open. It is the oppositions in life that make it interesting. To be honest, the current era seems more like the pessimistic Ruin poem than the optimistic Dream of the Rood even if that poem deals with something far more horrible than crumbling buildings.

A final note on the poems as written. They are Old English Anglo Saxon, and do not read like the English we have today. For modern English speakers and readers it seems like a completely different language, but it is linguistically the same.