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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

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Miraculously preserved over the centuries, its artistic importance was unrecognized until an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) revealed its unity and multi-dimensional structure. Beowulf is now regarded as the most important manuscript the Anglo-Saxons have handed down to us, of immense linguistic as well as poetic value.

This program sets out to trace the origins of the tribes that brought this epic into being, the war-like Northmen from Sweden, Denmark and Germany who were to conquer and settle regions of a more clement and fertile island that would become known as England, named after the tribe of the Angles. Using 3-D animation, location footage, archive materials and interviews, the Beowulf epic is examined in the light of the civilization that created it. It investigates their religious beliefs as well as their everyday life, and suggests that, old as the poem is, it may have roots in an even more ancient fertility cult.

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Beowulf

Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem composed around 1100 AD. At 3,183 lines, the poem is notable for its length. The poem is untitled in the manuscript, but has been known as Beowulf since the early 19th century. As the single major surviving work of Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry, the work � in spite of dealing primarily with Scandinavian matters � has risen to such prominence that it has become "England's national epic."[1]

In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles three antagonists: Grendel, who is destroying Heorot and its inhabitants in Denmark, Grendel's mother, and later in life (after he is King) a dragon. He is mortally wounded in the final battle, and after his death is buried in a barrow by his retainers.

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The first page of Beowulf

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Beowulf meets archaeology. As the barrow in Vendel (in Sweden) was indicated as the barrow of Ohthere by local tradition, an excavation was undertaken in 1917. The dating was consistent with that of Beowulf and the sagas: the early 6th century. Norse sources also relate that a place called Vendel was the place of Ohthere's death.



Background and origins

The events described in the poem take place in the late 5th century and during the 6th century after the Anglo-Saxons had begun their migration and settlement in England, and before it had ended, a time when the Anglo-Saxons were either newly arrived or in close contact with their Germanic kinsmen in Scandinavia and northern Germany. The poem could have been transmitted in England by people of Geatish origins,[3] and it may not be a coincidence that whereas Beowulf is the most well-known Anglo-Saxon work left to posterity, the most well-known Anglo-Saxon archaeological find, Sutton Hoo, also showed close connections with Scandinavia. It has consequently been suggested that Beowulf was first composed in the 7th century at Rendlesham in East Anglia,[4] and that the East Anglian royal dynasty, the Wuffings, were descendants of the Geatish Wulfings.[5]

The poem deals with legends, i.e. it was composed for entertainment and does not separate between fictional elements and real historic events, such as the raid by king Hygelac into Frisia, ca. 516. Scholars generally agree that many of the personalities of Beowulf also appear in Scandinavian sources,[6] but this does not only concern people (e.g., Healfdene, Hro�gar, Halga, Hro�ulf, Eadgils and Ohthere), but also clans (e.g. Scyldings, Scylfings and Wulfings) and some of the events (e.g. the Battle on the Ice of Lake V�nern). The Scandinavian sources are notably Ynglinga saga, Gesta Danorum, Hr�lfr Kraki's saga and the Latin summary of the lost Skj�ldunga saga. As far as Sweden is concerned, the dating of the events in the poem has been confirmed by archaeological excavations of the barrows indicated by Snorri Sturluson and by Swedish tradition as the graves of Ohthere (dated to c. 530) and his son Eadgils (dated to c. 575) in Uppland, Sweden.[7] In Denmark, recent archaeological excavations at Lejre, where Scandinavian tradition located the seat of the Scyldings, i.e. Heorot, have revealed that a hall was built in the mid-6th century, exactly the time period of Beowulf.[8] All the three halls found during the excavation were about 50 metres long.[9]

The majority view appears to be that people such as king Hro�gar and the Scyldings, in Beowulf, are based on real people in 6th century Scandinavia.[10] Like the Finnsburg Fragment and several shorter surviving poems, Beowulf has consequently been used as a source of information about Scandinavian personalities such as Eadgils and Hygelac, and about continental Germanic personalities such as Offa, king of the continental Angles.

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Eadgils was buried at Uppsala, according to Snorri Sturluson. When Eadgils' mound (to the left) was excavated, in 1874, the finds supported Beowulf and the sagas. They showed that a powerful man was buried in this large barrow, c 575, on a bear skin with two dogs and rich grave offerings. These remains include a Frankish sword adorned with gold and garnets and a tafl game with Roman pawns of ivory. He was dressed in a costly suit made of Frankish cloth with golden threads, and he wore a belt with a costly buckle. There were four cameos from the Middle East which were probably part of a casket. A burial fitting a king who was famous for his wealth in Old Norse sources. Ongen�eow's barrow to the right has not been excavated.



Whilst it could be said that Beowulf is the only substantial extant Old English poem that addresses matters heroic rather than Christian, there are nonetheless Christian viewpoints expressed within the poem, and the overall judgement on both Christian and heroic society is ambiguous. It can be argued that Grendel and his 'clan' represent evil, destructive forces; Grendel is actually introduced as a descendant of Cain. Some scholars have suggested that the Christian elements were inserted later, perhaps by the scribe or scribes copying the manuscript.

A turning point in Beowulf scholarship came in 1936 with J. R. R. Tolkien's essay Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics when, for the first time, the poem and Anglo-Saxon literature were seriously examined for its literary merits�not just scholarship about the origins of the English language as was popular in the 19th century.

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The Beowulf manuscript

Beowulf was written in England but the events that take place happen in Scandinavia. It is an epic poem told in historical perspective; a story of epic events of great people of a heroic past. Although the author is unknown its themes and subject matter are generally believed to be formed through oral tradition, the passing down of stories by scops (tale singers) and is considered partly historical. Originally thought to be a majority of oral tradition merely transcribed by a literate monk, the author is now understood to be an imaginative poet in his own right, who by taking the pagan elements, the traditional accounts of heroic events and combining them with his own imaginative ingenuity created a completely new work of his own, more unified than the originally oral stories.

The poem is known only from a single manuscript. The precise date of the manuscript is debated. Carbon dating has proven to be ineffective on the highly damaged manuscript. Traditionally the poem's date of composition has been estimated linguistically as well as examination of the physical pages and bindings of the manuscript as approximately 750�800. Other estimates place it close to 1000 CE. More recently, doubt has been raised about the earlier dating estimates, with some scholars suggesting a date as late as the 11th century. The poem appears in what is today called the Beowulf manuscript or Nowell Codex (British Library MS Cotton Vitellius A.xv), along with other works. The manuscript is the product of two different scribes transcribing an earlier original, the second scribe taking over at line 1939 of Beowulf.

The spellings in the poem mix the West Saxon and Anglian dialects of Old English, though they are predominantly West Saxon, as are other Old English poems copied at the time. The earliest known owner is the 16th century scholar Laurence Nowell, after whom the manuscript is named, though its official designation is Cotton Vitellius A.XV due to its inclusion in the catalog of Robert Bruce Cotton's holdings in the middle of the 17th century. It suffered damage in the Cotton Library fire at Ashburnham House in 1731.

Icelandic scholar Gr�mur J�nsson Thorkelin made the first transcription of the manuscript in 1786 and published it in 1815, working under a historical research commission of the Danish government. Since that time, the manuscript has suffered additional decay, and the Thorkelin transcripts remain a prized secondary source for Beowulf scholars. Their accuracy has been called into question, however (e.g., by Chauncey Brewster Tinker in The Translations of Beowulf, a comprehensive survey of 19th century translations and editions of Beowulf), and the extent to which the manuscript was actually more readable in Thorkelin's time is unclear.




Authorship and questions

According to the Norton Anthology of English Literature, most scholars believe that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. Grendel and Grendel's Mother are described as descendants of Cain, and share similarities with antagonists in medieval Christian stories. Since the Beowulf poet was also very knowledgeable about pagan beliefs, the descriptions of Grendel and Grendel's mother, for example, could owe as much to pagan beliefs about trolls as they do to Christian beliefs about demons. In addition, Beowulf's cremation at the end of the poem also refers to a pagan practice. In one view, the problem is resolved by supposing that, even though Beowulf was a pagan, the poem's Christian audience could admire his heroic deeds. Beowulf may thus be a product of the poet's knowledge of both Christian beliefs and the ancient history of his people. However, this approach may overestimate the historical knowledge and multicultural tolerance of the poem's last redactor.[citation needed]A somewhat more complex view typical of oral traditional scholars,[citation needed] suggests that in the long history of the poem's transmission, a pre-Christian heroic narrative has been "baptised," perhaps superficially and with references only to those features of Christian tradition consistent with a heroic ethos. In whatever manner the two are combined, the result is a poem that seems to have appeal and to be intelligible outside of a Christian belief system.

Professor Robert F. Yeager notes that the role of Christianity in a pagan context poses one of the mysteries surrounding Beowulf:

� That the scribes of Cotton Vitellius A.XV were Christian is beyond doubt; and it is equally certain that Beowulf was composed in a Christianized England, since conversion took place in the sixth and seventh centuries. Yet the only Biblical references in Beowulf are to the Old Testament, and Christ is never mentioned. The poem is set in pagan times, and none of the characters are demonstrably Christian. In fact, when we are told what anyone in the poem believes, we learn that they are idol-worshipping pagans. Beowulf�s own beliefs are not expressed explicitly. He offers eloquent prayers to a higher power, addressing himself to the �Father Almighty� or the �Wielder of All.� Were those the prayers of a pagan who used phrases the Christians subsequently appropriated? Or, did the poem�s author intend to see Beowulf as a Christian Ur-hero, symbolically refulgent with Christian virtues?"

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An approximation of the central regions of the tribes mentioned in Beowulf. The red area is V�sterg�tland (the core region of Geatland), the yellow area is the territory ruled by the Wulfings, the pink area is the Danish territory. The green area is the land of the Swedes. The blue area represents the land of Jutes, while the orange area belongs to Frisians. For a more detailed discussion on the fragmented political situation of Scandinavia during the 6th century, see Scandza



Themes

The poem as we know it is filled with elements of the Norse legendarium along with Christian statements. It is often assumed that the work was written by a Christian monk, on the grounds that they were the only members of Anglo-Saxon society with access to writing materials. However, the example of King Alfred suggests the possibility of lay authorship.

In historical terms the poem's characters would have been pagans. The poem's narrator, however, places events into a Biblical context, casting Grendel and Grendel's Mother as the kin of Cain and placing monotheistic sentiments into the mouths of his characters. Although there are no direct references to Jesus in the text of the work, there are many indirect references. Also, the book of Genesis serves as a touchstone for the poem, since Grendel and Grendel's mother (due to their heritage) are seen as punished by the Curse and mark of Cain. Scholars disagree as to whether Beowulf's main thematic thrust is pagan or Christian in nature. Of particular note is the description of soldiers' helmets, decorated with boar-carvings, alongside references to God and Christ, such as when Beowulf is given up for lost in Grendel's Mere at the ninth hour, which was the time at which Christ dies on the cross in the Bible. This could possibly be evidence of Christian details being placed in the story alongside traditional accounts of ancient Germanic religious practices. However, the lack of a pre-Christian written version of the epic leaves the issue unresolved.

Thus reflecting the above historical context, Beowulf depicts a Germanic warrior society, in which the relationship between the leader, or king, and his thanes was of paramount importance. This relationship was defined in terms of provision and service; the thanes defended the interest of the king in return for material provisions: weapons, armor, gold, silver, food, and drinks.

This society was strongly defined in terms of kinship; if a relative was killed it was the duty of surviving relatives to exact revenge upon his killer, either with his own life or with weregild, a reparational payment. In fact, the hero's very existence owes itself to this fact, as his father Ecg�eow was banished for having killed Hea�olaf, a man from the prominent Wulfing clan. He sought refuge at the court of Hro�gar who graciously paid the weregild. Ecg�eow did not return home, but became one of the Geatish king Hre�el's housecarls and married his daughter, by whom he had Beowulf. The duty of avenging killed kinsmen became the undoing of king Hre�el, himself, because when his oldest son Herebeald was killed by his own brother H��cyn in a hunting accident, it was a death that could not be avenged. Hre�el died from the sorrow.

Moreover, this is a world governed by fate and destiny. The belief that fate controls him is a central factor in all of Beowulf's actions.

[Baja Bush Pilot]

I want to offer my sincerest gratitude for that article.  My knowledge of Beowulf was from having to memorize some of it in high school and having to recite it to the class.  I didn't care what it meant and hated the damn thing from beginning to end.  I now have a basic understanding of it's meaning and have an appreciation of it I didn't have before.  Thank you again.

[Bart]

I must second Barry's sentiment, this thread is an absolute gem!  I loved the Tubes of the settlement sites with their interpretive centers, the narration, and the concept of the whole era being pictured, as well as the different perspectives of translations. It gave me a better understanding and respect of England as a whole, past and present. Beyond that, I saw similarities with the early settlement of North America. I hope this is used as a pattern for many other threads in future. The amazing part is that the poem itself is not even presented! Your best work so far, No1 on my list! You have shown here that history lives, in each of us, a gift spanning time in a continual thread, from each and all of our antecedents.

Bart

P.S. Every historian, archaeologist, and treasure hunter would do well to take note of a key concept mentioned in the thread. The waters, rivers, seas, and every navigable body were the highways of the past, and early settlements are always along their shores. This is especially true in North America.

[Baja Bush Pilot]

Well said, Bart.  I second every word of your post.  My constant regret is that we have no parallel written record of events during the same time period here in the Americas.  If only...   

[Bart]

Thanks Barry, if only...

Bart