E4: Beowulf Notes

The early Christians called themselves "followers of The Way" and lived in small communities where they helped each other and any strangers who needed their help. As their message of love (God and neighbor) spread, their forms of worship were formalized. No longer could any believer share communion (bread and wine), no longer could any believer teach "The Word". The Didache is a collection of early Christian rituals and debates; as the religion changed with Constantine's conversion, more and more people became invested in how people should be allowed to worship and what they should be taught about Jesus and his teachings. There were three hundred years of brutal, bloody meetings to determine the core of what became The Bible and what it meant to be a Christian.

In mid-evil times holy men and women would seek out solitude in the forest or near the ocean to mimic the 40 days Jesus was said to have spent alone in the desert by isolating themselves to focus on God (v. Platonic). Eventually, eager students found them and formed communities around them—monasteries and abbeys.

As Christianity crossed continents and oceans, it was tweaked by each successive culture. The Irish combined their many-faced gods and goddesses with various Saints of the early Catholic church; their faith was full of debate, knowledge, and conflict. The Danes, Scandinavians, and such balanced the message of love with their centuries old culture of war in fits and spurts as reflected in the oldest manuscript of Beowulf and its many incarnations. Theirs was a Christianity of action, not passivity. Beowulf's creation story focuses on monsters and evil; Grendel is from a long line of monsters that started with Cain's children (Cain killed his brother Abel and was marked by God as a kin-killer).

Beowulf (1000 AD for oldest manuscript)

• The Danes versus Grendel
• The Danes are a fierce people who value kings and queens that kick butt.
• Hrothgar, the builder and ruler of Heorot, is a Dane.
• Grendel, the monster who torments and tortures the Danes for twelve years, is a descendent of Cain (this is a Biblical allusion).
• The Danes turn away from the Judeo-Christian God during that time and back to the pagan gods which only makes things worse.
• Everyone hears about the trouble between Hrothgar and Grendel. 
• In Geatland, another island kingdom near the Swedes/Danes/Dutch, Beowulf, the son of the king, decides to help out with his favorite warriors.
• The Danish Coast Guard challenges Beowulf's boat, then backs down when they realize the Geats are ready to throw down with Grendel.
• Beowulf and his crew arrive at Heorot (it's only used during the day) to make nice with Hrothgar and his warriors. 
• There's some bragging about Beowulf's level of awesome. He was fifteen when he swam around several islands, killed a bunch of sea monsters, and lost a race on a technicality.
• Unferth, one of Hrothgar's warriors, throws shade at Beowulf which causes some uncomfortable moments. Especially when Beowulf shows that he's heard of Unferth and his totally naughty ways.
• Beowulf versus Grendel
• Grendel hears the sounds of partying and gets pissed off. He rages across the countryside in preparation for killing.
• One of the Geats gets snagged and snacked on.
• Beowulf, refusing to use any weapons, grabs onto Grendel's arm and holds tight. His men spend their time grabbing Grendel's fingers and stabbing at him.
• Grendel pulls away from Beowulf, leaving his arm behind, and runs home just as dawn is starting.

Paragraph 1: Which character from Job (Job), The Iliad (Agamemnon, Achilles, Petrocles, Hector, Paris, Cassandra), or The Odyssey (Odysseus, Telemachus, Penelope) is most like Beowulf? Explain.

• Beowulf versus Grendel's Mother
• As the feasting, storytelling, and gifting winds down (it's been days), a new enemy approaches.
• Grendel's Mother, a swamp hag (who never gets her own name), comes to avenge her son's death. She kills Aeschere, one of Hrothgar's most trusted advisors and warriors.
• A whole company of Danes and Geats heads after her to avenge Aeschere.
• They get there just as she is disappearing into the water, so Beowulf jumps after her with only his sword.
• They fight in her cave, Beowulf kills her with a special sword, notices Grendel's body and decides to come back up with a prize—Grendel's head.
• Beowulf versus The Dragon
• Beowulf returns home. Shares his gifts and his story with his king and, eventually, becomes King of the Geats.
• Beowulf rules for fifty years. Then, one day, a thief sneaks into a remote castles, steals a cup, and flees with a dragon on his tail. The Dragon wreaks havoc across the country looking for the thief and his cup. Beowulf is forced to get involved even though he is an old man.
• Beowulf and his most trusted soldiers track down the dragon. When the dragon reveals himself, all the soldiers except for Wiglaf run. 
• Beowulf and Wiglaf fight the dragon and eventually kill it. Beowulf is mortally wounded in the fight and passes the kingship to Wiglaf. 
• Wiglaf is pissed and demotes all the soldiers who ran.

There is archeological evidence that Beowulf existed and his army fought another army. The second army carried a Dragon Standard (flag) that probably set off this part of hte legend. Beowulf had ruled for many years and was an old man when he led his army onto the field of battle. He died there. 

Paragraph 2: Which characters best represents his or her culture? Early Judaism, Ancient Greece, Late Norse/Scandinavian