The Anglo-Saxon invaders, who came to Britain in the latter part of the 5th century A.D and eventually established their kingdoms there, were the founders of what we can properly call English culture and English Literature, Beowulf holds a special position in Anglo-Saxon literature- indeed, in older Germanic literature as a whole- because it is the only complete extant epic of its kind in an ancient Germanic language.
Beowulf falls into two main parts. The first deals with the visit of Beowulf to the court of King Hrothgar of Denmark to kill a monster named Grendel. He fights with and mortally wounds Grendel in Herot, and when Grendel’s mother comes to take revenge for the death of her son he follows her to the underground water home and slays her too. The second part takes place fifty years later, when Beowulf has long been the king of Geats. A dragon, guarding a hoard of treasure has been disturbed and Beowulf to save his country from the wrath of the dragon decides to fight the dragon. He succeeds in slaying the dragon but ends up being mortally injured. The poem ends with an account of Beowulf’s funeral: hid body is burned on an elaborate pyre amid the lamentations of his warriors.
Beowulf is a heroic poem, celebrating the exploits of a great warrior whose character and actions are held up as a model of aristocratic value. It reflects the ideals of that state of society we call the Heroic Age and its resemblance to the Odyssey in this respect has often been noted. The grave courtesy with which men of rank are received and dismissed the generosity of rulers and the loyalty of retainers, the thirst for fame through the achievement of deeds of courage and endurance, the solemn boasting of warriors before and after performance the interest in genealogies and pride in a noble heredity are all traditional realities of heroic poetry that are found prominently in Beowulf.
Two fragments makes up the remainder of older Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry. The first is a fragment of fifty line popularly known as The Fight at Finnsburh, and describes the attack on Hnaef’s hall by the followers of Finn, king of the North Frisians. The second fragment is the Waldhere, which tells of the exploits of Walter of Aquitaine.
Toward the end of the Anglo-Saxon period the old heroic note re-emerges finely in two poems dealing with contemporary history. The Battle of Brunanburh celebrates the victory of Athelstan of Wessex and Eadmund, his brother, against the combined forces of Olaf, the Norseman, Constantine, King of Scots, and the Britons of Strathclyde. the Battle of Maldon deals in the older epic manner with one of the many clashes between English and Danes that resulted from the latter’s attacks on England. It is the story of a disastrous English defeat. The poem contains nine speeches, mostly of exhortation and encouragement to the English forces, delivered by seven different speakers. the poem singles out for praise individual English warriors, talks about the passionate loyalty of retainers to their chief and eulogizes the brave struggle of the English warriors against insurmountable odds. The Old English heroic poetry provides a glimpse of virtues that were considered important. It shows that though the Christian elements had started to penetrate the literary ethos, qualities like heroism and courage were still held at a very high esteem. The movement of the focus of heroic poetry towards the spirit of nationalism, proclaiming the greatness of England as a nation marks the development of national identity among the English people.
Eduindex News 