UNIT 1.2.

Introduction to Anglo-Saxon
Culture and Poetry
 THE ORGANISATION OF GERMANIC SOCIETY
• Germanic tribes shared the same ancestors, language (with dialectal
differences), social organisation (kin-based), and heroic warrior culture

• The earliest form of organisation in Germanic tribes took the family as a

unit (kinship = relatives, family)

• As time went by, several families united under a single king

 GERMANIC SOCIAL HIERARCHY

King

Aristocrats &
thanes

Free men

Serfs

• A person’s social standing had important implications

concerning his/her rights under the law → wergild = man’s
price
 THE IDEAL OF KINGLY (HEROIC) BEHAVIOUR

• The heroic ideal was based on excellence

• The primary qualities of a king should be skill, courage, and

also generosity

They extolled his heroic nature and exploits

and gave thanks for his greatness;
[…]
They said that of all the kings upon the earth
he was the man most gracious and fair-minded,
kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.
(Beowulf, from lines 3173 to 3182)
 THE SYSTEM OF COMITATUS

• It is a code of honour linking lord and

thanes

• THANES: They should display

complete loyalty to their king by
defending him in battle, avenging his
death or giving up their lives while
defending

• KING: In return, the king was

supposed to share with his thanes the
gift accumulated in warfare
(royal generosity)
 THE ANGLO-SAXON EPIC

• This genre of Anglo-Saxon poetry is both elevated and elevating

• It is eminently male-centred

• It is an oral poetry, so the hero depended for his fame on a bard or scop,
the ‘poet of heroic life’
 THE ANGLO-SAXON EPIC
• The Christianisation of Britain Preservation of a portion of
Anglo-Saxon oral poetry via the copy of manuscripts by hand

• RESULT: Blending of Germanic heroic ideal + Christian values

• 10th century: the four most significant surviving volumes of Old

English verse were written down:
• The Junius Manuscript
• The Vercelli Book
• The Exeter Book
• The Cotton Vitellius Manuscript (the Beowulf Manuscript)
 THE ANGLO-SAXON EPIC: MAIN THEMES

• Community and kinship: ties of loyalty and generosity (lord-

thane)

• The significance of individual heroism (Cf. self-boasting)

• The powerful influence of wyrd (fate)

• The reward of enduring fame

 THE ANGLO-SAXON EPIC: FORMAL FEATURES

Aˈlone by the ˈlake; forˈlornly he ˈstands

HEMISTICH 1 HEMISTICH 2

ˈwaits ˈwonderingly. A ˈwind stirs his ˈhair,

HEMISTICH 1 HEMISTICH 2

ˈbreathes on his ˈcurls, and reˈbukes ˈsadness

HEMISTICH 1 HEMISTICH 2

*For an in-depth explanation, see page 1.10 in your handout.

 THE ANGLO-SAXON EPIC: FORMAL FEATURES

• Variation:
The wide water, the waves and pools,
were no longer infested […] (lines 1621-1622)

Then he addressed each dear companion

one final time, those fighters in their helmets (lines 2516-2517)

• Near-synonyms:
➢ “God” as Weard (Guardian), Meatod (Measurer), Drihten (Lord),
Scyppend (Creator), Frea (Master)
➢ The lord/king as “the ring giver”, “the treasure giver”, “the
protector of men”
 THE ANGLO-SAXON EPIC: FORMAL FEATURES
• Formulaic phrases:
➢ Beowulf as “Hygelac’s thane” (l. 194), “the son of Ecgtheow”
(l. 1384) or “the Shieldings’ hero” (l. 1563)
➢ King Hrothgar as “Halfdane’s heir” (l. 645)
➢ King Hygelac as “the lord of the Geats” (l. 1484)

• Kennings: the sea as hron-räd (“the road of the whale”); Heorot as

“mead-hall” (l. 69)

• Litotes: e.g., the description of the mere of Grendel’s mother as “not a

pleasant place” (l. 1372)