Heroic Epic. An epic is a long story, often told in verse, involving heroes and gods. Grand in length and scope, an epic provides a portrait of an entire culture, of the legends, beliefs, values, laws, arts, and ways of life of a people. A heroic epic is an epic that has a main purpose of telling the life story of a great hero. Some of the cultural values of the Anglo-Saxons are discussed in the About the Selection section. Review this section carefully, and as you read think about what else this heroic epic reveals about the Anglo-Saxons.
Compound Words and Apposition. Compound words are made up of two words joined together. The Old English language was rich in compound words. Many of these words were stock formulas for describing people and objects. For example, kings were often called ring-givers. Some of these stock formulas are known as kennings, metaphorical two-word replacements for nouns. An example is the use of earth-hall for grave. An apposition is a grammatical form in which a thing is renamed in a different word, phrase, or clause. Old English poets made extensive use of apposition to name and rename things. For example, Grendel is described as, “Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend, Grendel.” As you read, jot down examples of compound words and appositions.
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Widely acknowledged at the greatest masterpiece of Anglo-Saxon literature, Beowulf was composed in Northumbria or West Mercia, which were kingdoms in the Northern part of present-day Great Britain, by an unknown singer of tales. Such singers were known as gleemen or scops. The poem probably dates from the early 700s, but it tells a story that is much older. The poem’s characters are not Anglo-Saxon, but rather related Germanic people—Geats and Danes from Scandinavia. The hero of the poem, Beowulf, may be based on a historical figure, but no independent record of his existence survives.
Like most stories passed by word-of-mouth from generation to generation, Beowulf may contain a kernel of historical truth. Around this kernel a fabric of miraculous elaboration has been woven. For example, the real Beowulf, if he existed, may have been a great swimmer, but it is doubtful that he was able, as the poem says, to swim underwater for an entire day. In a manner typical of products of the oral tradition, the poem tells of many such fantastic feats and is filled with imaginary creatures such as trolls, giants, and dragons.
No one knows precisely when Beowulf was first written down. The poem survives in a West Saxon manuscript created in the late 900s by a monastic copyist, or scribe, who added to the original pre-Christian poem many references to stories from the Old Testament. The single existing manuscript of the poem contains many errors introduced by the scribe. To make matters worse, a fire damaged the manuscript in 1731. Nonetheless, the poem is fairly complete and remains the finest surviving example of the ancient Germanic heroic epic.
Beowulf was composed in the traditional Anglo-Saxon verse form described on page 95 and was chanted by the gleeman to the music of a harp. The poet’s primary technique was alliteration, or the repetition of initial consonant sounds. This technique, combined with the pattern of four strong stresses per line and a pause, or caesura, in the middle of the line, gave the verse a formal, elevated quality appropriate for heroic tales.
The poem consists of a prologue and forty-three sections, known as cantos. The first three-fourths of the poem tells the story of Beowulf’s heroic exploits as a young man, while the final portion of the poem tells of Beowulf as an aged king of the Geats. The parts of the poem presented here are perhaps the most famous parts of the epic—they deal with Beowulf’s heroic confrontation with a monster named Grendel, his subsequent battle with Grendel’s vengeful mother, and finally, as an aged king, his fatal battle with a dragon.
The poem teaches a modern audience much about Anglo-Saxon ideals of heroism and kingship. A Germanic king of the period gathered around him a group of loyal retainers, known as earls or thanes, who shared his house and fought in his battles. A king earned his retainers’ loyalty through generosity, by holding feasts in a mead hall and dispensing gifts, such as gold and silvers, armor, or weapons. A great king was liberal in dispensing gifts as well as courageous enough to protect his people, and even sacrifice himself for them if need be.
Germanic law required that the death of a family member, even if accidental, be paid for by the person responsible for the death. This payment was known as a wergild, literally “man-price.” If a payment were not made, the family would avenge the death in battle to uphold their honor. As a result blood feuds and battles were common among Germanic tribes. Warfare also resulted from invasions to extend a tribe’s land and plundering to gather treasures to give to warriors.
Life was harsh under such conditions. The likelihood of dying in battle was high, and great warriors were highly prized. A great warrior showed courage in the face of almost certain doom; upheld his honor by avenging friends, family members, and his king; and achieved fame through feats of strength and skill in battle. Beowulf embodies all these ancient Germanic heroic ideals.
Modern readers of Beowulf often remark on the sense of gloom that pervades the poem. Throughout the work, many references are made to the harshness of life and to the fickleness of Wyrd, or “fate.” Although the excerpt you are about to read deals with three of Beowulf’s brave exploits, you may note that the poem seems gloomy at times. Anglo-Saxons viewed their world with pessimism. They often described life as harsh and fate as fickle. The Anglo-Saxons believed that eventually everyone would meet his or her doom, and the most one could hope for was to do great deeds and live on after one’s death in a gleeman’s song.
The text of Beowulf given on the following pages begins with the Prologue reprinted in Old English with a word-for-word translation by Robin Lamb. Studying this Prologue will give you a sense of the sound of the original. The remaining selections from the text are given in a verse translation by Burton Raffel. The portions of the text not given in verse translation have been summarized. The summaries appear in italics.
What makes a person a hero?
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