Historical Background And Introduction to Beowulf

1. Historical Background And Introduction to Beowulf

2. 1. Between 800 and 600 BC, the British Isles were invaded and settled by two groups called Celts. One of these groups, the Britons, settled on the largest island, Britain. The other group, the Gaels, settled on what we now call Ireland.

3. 2. In 55 BC, Julius Caesarbegan the Roman invasion of Britain. The Romans continued settling Britain for 300 years. 3. The Romans departed Britain in 407 AD to protect Rome from invaders.

4. 4. In the AD 400s and 500s, three Germanic tribes—the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes-- settled in England. 5. These newcomers slowly began to drive out the native Britons, and by AD 600 they had occupied nearly all of England.

5. Map of England in 600 A.D.

6. 6. In England, the Anglo-Saxons established seven main kingdoms, which often fought amongst themselves. 7. Used to war and hardship, Anglo-Saxons accepted the belief that everything was controlled by fate. This belief system is considered a pagan view of existence.

7. 8. By the AD 600s, Roman missionaries had arrived and begun to convert the Anglo-Saxons kings to Christianity. 9. Promoting peace among warring leaders, the new religion unified the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. 10. Anglo-Saxon literature consisted mainly of spoken poems, songs, and chants. It was a way to pass on history to illiterate people.

8. 11. At the time, all important prose was written in Latin because Anglo-Saxon was considered a ‘vulgar tongue’. 12. After invaders from Denmark and Normandy defeated Anglo-Saxon England, the language evolved into Middle English. 13.Twenty percent of the words in English and much of its grammar come from Anglo-Saxon roots.

9. 14. No Anglo-Saxon poem is better known than Beowulf, the story of a warrior. 15. Composed by an unknown poet who lived 1,200 years ago, this epic marks the beginning of English literature. 16.The warrior Beowulf embodies the highest ideals of his time: loyalty, bravery, and selflessness.

10. 17.Beowulf and his followers, who were called Geats, sail from southern Sweden to Denmark to defeat the fierce, bloodthirsty monster Grendel. MAP!!

11. 18.Beowulfwas composed about 700 AD, but three centuries had passed before it was first written down. 19. Anglo-Saxon poet/singers, called scops, memorized all 3000 lines so that they could recite the epic poem to audiences

12. 20.The poetry of Beowulf inspired J.R.R. Tolkien, an Oxford scholar, to write The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, in which he shows brave heroes struggling against Grendel-like monsters.