The Origins of a Nation

1. The Origins of a Nation The era and culture that gave us Beowulf

2. A Scandinavian Hero’s British Origins The poem • Dates as far back as 800 CE • Is untitled & the oldest (existent) English epic • Is called Beowulf after a Scandinavian hero • Was first translated in 1818 into Latin • Was written in Old English, an early Germanic language The manuscript • Dates to 1000 CE • Was recorded by two scribes • Was housed in Robert Bruce Cotton’s collection in the 17th century • Is also known as Cotton Vitellius A.xv • Was damaged by fire in 1731

3. A Scandinavian Hero’s British Origins The hero • Is Beowulf, bee (beo) + wulf (wolf) = beewolf or bear • Is believed by many to be fictional • Is believed by some to be a figure from other ancient Scandinavian stories • Is an archetype The story • Is set in Southern Sweden and Denmark • Features burials similar to that excavated at Sutton Hoo • May have been composed as an elegy for a dead king • Contains both pagan and Christian elements • Bridges the various cultures thriving within Britain

4. Background of The British Isles • Britain’s geography • 20 miles west of France • only 800 miles from the north to the south • Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland comprise less land than the state of New Mexico • Britain’s resources include • iron, coal, and oil • Britain’s diet includes • fish, shellfish, eel, mutton, lamb, beef, and vegetables such as turnips and potatoes

5. History of Early British Peoples • Iberians (prior to 800 BCE) • Celts (800 – 600 BCE) • Romans (43 CE) • Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and some Friesians • Danes (600 – 800 CE) • Two waves of Vikings invasions • Normans (1066 CE)

6. Map

7. Celts (800 – 600 BCE) Two primary groups of Celts moved into Britain during this period: • The Britons who inhabitant the island of England • The Gaels who inhabited the island of Ireland Celtic Society • Division: Celts lived in groups called clans • Rule: by the chieftain of the clan • Religion: Wicca • Wiccan priests were called Druids • Druids served many roles in Celtic society: • spiritual advisors, poets, prophets, political advisors, diplomats, sacrificers, and historians

8. Celts (800 – 600 BCE) • Celtic Society continued… • Spoken Language: all Celts spoke different dialects of P.I.E. (Proto Indo European – the mother language of the European languages) • Writing system: a linear writing system used for recording statistics primarily (the only piece of literature that survived is “The Book of the Dun Cow”)

9. Sample of Celtic Writing

10. Celts (800 – 600 BCE) • Celtic Society continued… • Mythology: primarily preserved in oral epics that contained the following elements – • theme of the beheading contest (as illustrated in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) • warriors fighting with their war dogs • the supernatural (including dragons, monsters [Grendel], fairies, pixies, elves, banshees, leprechauns, etc.) • heroic bragging • grim humor • stories that would later meld with Arthurian legend

11. Celts (800 – 600 BCE) • Celtic Society concluded… • Homes: circular and built of sod • Unity: despite living in clans, the Celts felt a sense of unity across the isle

12. Romans (43 CE) • Between 55 and 54 BCE, Julius Caesar invades Britain, but not to conquer (He came, he saw, he left.) • 43 CE Claudius invades with 40,000 troops • Met Celtic resistance (ex. Boedecia, the warrior queen) • Drove the Picts and Scots, brutal Celtic clans, into northern Britain (what is now Scotland) • Assimilated Roman culture into the Celtic resulting in Romanized Celts and Celticized Romans • Established army posts that developed into town

13. Romans (43 CE) • Built roads, forums, temples, statues, villas, and outdoor theatres • Dug mines and excavated lead and iron ore • Brought the Christian religion • 407 CE City of Rome is attacked by Germanic tribes: Goths and Visigoths; and by Mongolian tribes under Attila the Hun • 410 CE Roman soldiers withdraw from Britain to defend Rome, but Rome is sacked and the Empire destroyed • Britain is left susceptible to invasion and attack from both within and without

14. Hadrian’s Wall Begun in the year 122 CE between England and Scotland

15. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • The Invitation of the Jutes • Scots and Picts begin raiding Celts to the south after the Roman departure • King Vortigern invites 2 Jutish chieftains, Hangus and Horsa, to force the Picts and Scots back beyond Hadrian’s Wall in exchange for a piece of land (Kent) • Jutes drive the Picts and Scots north once more and claim their land • Jutes, seeing how easily Britain could be taken, turn on Vortigern and this opens the door for the invasions of other Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxon, and Friesians, during the 5th century CE

16. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • Germanic Conquest (The Rule of the “Anglo-Saxons”) • The Germanic tribes • arrive in ships • acquire horses to raid inland • invade during the summer, leave for winter, and return in spring • prefer annihilation over assimilation • are pagans • force surviving Celts into Wales and Cornwall and call them Walas or “foreigners” • The Germanic conquest is long, slow, and cruel

17. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • The Division of Britain • Northumbria, Mercia, and East Angia belonged to the Angles • Kent belonged to the Jutes • Essex, Wessex, and Sussex belonged to the Saxons • Wales and Cornwall belonged to the Celts

18. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) The Division of Britain: A Political Heptarchy

19. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • The Anglo-Saxons in Britain • The Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and Friesians were from East Denmark and Germany and came to be known collectively as the Anglo-Saxons • Small dark people (think of the barbarians portrayed in the beginning of Gladiator) • Little regard for women • Much regard for war, money, tenacity, fidelity, endurance

20. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • The Anglo-Saxons in Britain continued… • Governed by tribes that stressed kinship and loyalty but there was not overall unity • Society was ruled by the concept of wergild, or man price, that governed revenge • Social echelon: King  Witan  Earls  Thanes  Freemen  Churls  Thralls • Good Kings received absolute loyalty from the people because they were givers of rings and treasure • Members of the tribe were valued, but those outside it were not

21. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • The Anglo-Saxons in Britain continued… • Homes were meadhalls (Heorot in Beowulf) for the men and long houses, which were cold and smelly, for the women, children, and beasts • War was both a game and a business • Angles/Saxons/Jutes come to Britain speaking various dialects of German, but the dialects are quickly merged into the language that is known today as Anglo-Saxon, or Old English (OE)

22. Meadhall

23. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) Old English (Anglo Saxon) Modern English

24. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons or the Re-Christianization of Britain • Anglo-Saxons were pagan • 597 CE King Æthelbert invites (St.) Augustin to Kent and was the first Germanic king to be baptized; he was also recognized by Pope Gregory as a the King of England • Augustin rapidly Christianizes Kent and Canterbury is established under Æthelbert • Oswald of Northumbria invites the Irish monk (St.) Aidan from Iona • 674 CE the monasteries of Jarrow, Wearmouth, and Lindisfarne are established and the monks there create large libraries

25. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • Anglo-Saxon Literature • Mercians are the first group to develop a writing system in Old English and produced many literary texts and charters • Most contemporary knowledge of OE is accredited to King Alfred the Great (871 – 899 CE) • had an interest in the vernacular (local language versus Latin) • commissioned scholars to translate texts, documents, and the bible into the vernacular • scholars he hired were from Mercia, so the dialect of OE that survived is the Mercian

26. Germanic tribes (449 – 600 CE) • Anglo-Saxon Literature continued… • OE writers include: • Venerable Bede – the first recorder of the English history • Caedmon – England’s first poet • Nennius – the author of Historia Brittonum • OE Literature was initially passed on in the oral tradition and later written down by Christian monks; the monks may have added Christian elements to pagan stories

27. Danes (600 – 800CE)) • The First Wave of Vikings • Pirates, looters, raiders • Found it easy to conquer the Anglo-Saxons who had become “civilized” • Burned monasteries and manuscripts • Controlled most of England by 856 CE • King Alfred the Great lost Wessex to the Danes, but then won a decisive victory over King Gunthrum at Edington that resulted in a stalemate between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes • Danes settle in an area known as Danelaw

28. Danes (600 – 800CE)) • The Second Wave of Vikings • Æthelred the Ill-Advised took the English throne in the 11th century • Æthelred was advised to pay Danegeld to keep the peace, but he drained England of money which the Danes then used to buy English land • Anglo-Saxons are malcontented under Æthelred’s rule and side with the Danes • Upon Æthelred’s death, Cnute becomes the first Danish king of England (he is a good king) • Upon Cnute’s death in 1035 CE, Æthelred’s descendent, Edward the Confessor, takes the throne • Edward is known for his piety and dies without an heir in 1066 CE

29. The Battle for a King • With no direct heir to Edward, many contenders who claim to deserve the throne come forward • Basis for claims to the throne included being selected by the witan, being requested by the dying king, having martial superiority, and receiving alleged promises. • 1066 CE Harold takes the British throne, but his brother then wars against him for it • In the meantime, William (the illegitimate Duke of Normandy) lands at Hastings with throne-lust in his heart and an alleged promise made by Edward giving the crown to William

30. The Battle for a King • The Battle of Hastings • Anglo-Saxons versus the Normans • 6,000 – 7,000 soldiers on each side composed of knights with bows and arrows and cavalry with long spears • King Harold is mutilated beyond recognition; William is the victor • The British Witan attempted to name Edgar the Ætheling as King, but William marched to London; burning, looting, and hanging people along the way • William is crowned King of England on Christmas day, 1066 CE • Anglo-Saxon literature is destroyed: pages literally erased for new use or used to polish or line pie pans

31. Beowulf • Tying it to history • Thought to have first been written between the 8th and 11th century • Before then was an oral story (spoken) • Anglo-Saxon poetry • The lines do not rhyme (like blank verse) • Each line has four beats • Closely tied with the Church and the pagan world • Each line has a pause after the second beat, giving each line two halves • Uses Alliteration and Kennings

32. Epic Poetry • Characteristics of Epic Poetry • Long • Narrative • Larger than life hero • Embodies the values of a particular society • Includes elements of myth, legend, folklore, and history • Has a serious tone • Uses more formal, almost grand language

33. Anglo-Saxon culture in Beowulf • Bravery in battle • Loyalty for king or leader • Bards or Poets were used to elevate heroes of the tribe and were as important as the warriors themselves • Faith in God to intervene positively with fate • Influence of old religion – paganism • Warfare was the order of the day • Amassing a fortune in battle was the goal

34. Concepts/Themes of Beowulf • Man’s positive interaction with his fate • Definition of good and evil • Greed as man’s downfall • Vanity as man’s downfall • God’s positive intervention • Heroism

35. Characters of Beowulf • Beowulf – The protagonist • Geatish hero • In his youth he personifies all of the best values of the culture • In his old age he proves a wise and effective ruler • King Hrothgar • King of the Danes • Wise and aged ruler • Father figure to Beowulf

36. Characters • Grendel – Antagonist • Demon (descended from Cain) • His existence is retribution for Cain's murder of Abel • Grendel’s Mother • Has no name in the story • Less human than Grendel • The Dragon • Ancient, powerful serpent • Guards a horde of treasure