![]() In 1567, Nowell gave his collection of manuscripts to fellow antiquarian William Lambarde. ![]() The Nowell codex British Museum Cotton Vitellius A.XV, second ms., edited by Kemp Malone (1963)īefore the acquisition by Nowell, the early years of the manuscript’s history are unknown. The poem begins on folio 132r of the manuscript, which also contains three prose texts (a homily on Saint Christopher, The Marvels of the East, and Alexander’s Letter to Aristotle) and the poem Judith. It is now known as the Nowell Codex after the sixteenth-century antiquarian Laurence Nowell, who wrote his name and the year 1563 at the head of the manuscript formally titled Cotton Vitellius A.xv of the British Library in London. The text of the Beowulf poem is preserved in a single source. How does the Beowulf poet use the specific elements discussed to comment on or enrich the meaning of the main plotline?.How does understanding historical, legendary, and mythological elements in Beowulf deepen your understanding of the poet’s literary creation?.Please consider the following questions as you review the documents: Fourth, the poem’s mythological elements are examined in light of some literary parallels. Third, legendary elements in Beowulf are discussed in relation to their appearances in other texts. Second, historical elements in the poem are considered along with a mapping of its action. First, the fascinating tale of the text itself is discussed. This collection approaches Beowulf from four angles. The two systems are often in conflict, and the tension between them provides some of the interest in reading the poem today. The poet, writing in a Christian age about ancient happenings, tells of the actions and speeches of his pagan subjects in a setting of Christian theology and morality. By the time Beowulf was written down around the year 1000, the English had been Christians for over three hundred years. Our modern weekday names still show evidence of Anglo-Saxon paganism Wednesday is from the Anglo-Saxon Wōdnesdæg (“Woden’s day,” named for the god parallel to the Norse Odin), and Thursday derives from Þūnresdæg (“Thunor’s Day,” for the god Icelanders called Thor).Īfter the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity began in earnest with Pope Gregory I’s mission to England in 596, the last dynasty to hold on to old pagan ways converted in 686. ![]() When the Anglo-Saxons first came to England from continental Europe in the early fifth century, they were polytheists who worshiped gods, goddesses, and other supernatural figures analogous to those known from Norse mythology. ![]() The mixture of pagan and Christian elements in the poem can also be confusing. To be clear, the poem deals with neither Anglo-Saxons (wrong location) nor Vikings (wrong time period). Despite being composed in Anglo-Saxon England sometime after 500 CE and before 1000 CE, the tales recorded in Beowulf take place in Denmark, Sweden, and Frisia (an area now divided between Germany and the Netherlands) during the sixth century or before. Those reading Beowulf for the first time may be confused where and when the central action of the Old English poem takes place. It turns to the literary heritage of Scandinavia and continental Europe to help us understand material that the Beowulf poet assumed the audience would already know, and it examine the historical events and figures that appear in the work. This digital collection will help educators to read and teach the work in a new way by illuminating the fascinating mixture of historical, legendary, and mythological material that come together in the poem. Although acknowledged as a foundational work of English literature, the complicated and allusive style of the longest epic poem in Old English often intimidates teachers and students alike. ![]()
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