The Origins
Beowulf is an old English epic poem thought to have been composed sometime in the middle ages.
The poem tells the story of Beowulf and his battles against three different adversaries. A truly epic poem Beowulf has survived through the centuries and is the only surviving example of Anglo Saxon heroic poetry.
Despite being a mainly Scandinavian story with most of the storyline taking part in Scandinavia rather than England it has risen to become anational English epic.
The only remaining manuscript is untitled but the story became known as Beowulf in the 19th Century.
The poem consists of no less than 3,183 lines and the events described in the poem take place during the 5th or 6th Century. This can be confirmed by some of the historical events that take place in the poem and can be dated back to this period. There are many scholars who have the manuscript agree that many of the events and personalities depicted in the poem are historically accurate and also appear in many Scandinavian sagas.
It is though to have been first composed in the 7th Century, probably in East Anglia and although it deals with mainly heroic matters there are a few Christian viewpoints expressed in the poem, but most scholars believe that these were probably inserted at a latter date.
The author remains unknown and it is thought the poem was originally formed through oral tradition and passed down by scops, or tale singers. The author is considered to have been very imaginative in the way that he combined both pagan elements with traditional accounts of heroic and historical events of the time with his own imagination.
The only surviving manuscript of Beowulf is the work of two, rather than one, scribes who transcribed the poem from another earlier manuscript and it now resides in the British Library.
Beowulf is a hero of the Geats and the poem he has to battle three antagonists:
The first of these is Grendel, who is attacking and destroying the inhabitants of Heorot in Denmark, then later Grendel’s mother and finally a dragon.
The first of these battles occurs when Beowulf and his men spend a night in Heorot.
After they have all fallen asleep Grendel enters the hall attacking and devouring one of Beowulf’s men. Beowulf feigns sleep as Grendel approaches and then he leaps up grabbing Grendel’s arm in a wrestling hold. In the ensuing battle Beowulf’s men draw their swords and rush to his aid but their swords shatter and break on Grendel’s thorny spikes and iron tough skin. With the throes of their battle threatening to bring the hall down on top of them Beowulf finally tears Grendel’s arm from its socket and he runs off into the marshes to die in his home.
After celebrating Grendel’s death, Hroogar and his men sleep in the great hall but all is not safe as Grendel’s mother attacks the party, seeking revenge for the death of her son and so she kills Hroogar’s trusted friend and warrior.
Determined to rid the town of both Grendel and his mother Beowulf, Hroogar and his men track her down to her lair under an eerie lake.
Unfero, a warrior, presents Beowulf with Hrunting, a sword, as he prepares for battle.
Prepared, and ready for battle Beowulf dives into the lake in search of Grendel’s mother.
Grendel’s mother quickly alerted to his presence, attacks him but unable to harm him through his armour she drags to the bottom of the lake. Surrounded by the remains of the many men they have killed the two engage in a fierce battle.
At first Grendel’s mother gains the upper hand as Beowulf’s sword Hrunting is unable to inflict any harm on her and so he throws it to one side protected only by his armour from her ferocious attack. Desperately Beowulf reaches out and grabs a sword from Grendel’s mother’s armoury and hefting it fiercely over his head he brings it down swiftly beheading her.
Venturing further into their lair he finds Grendel’s body which he also beheads and then returns to the surface where his men await him.
After his adventures Beowulf returns home to live peacefully. Many years pass and Beowulf has become the king of his people. Then one day a slave by the name of Earnaness steals a golden goblet from a dragon’s lair.
On awakening and finding the golden goblet missing the dragon leaves it’s cave bellowing in rage and anger at its theft. So he wanders the land hunting for the thief and his goblet burning everything in its path.
Beowulf hears of the plight and he and his warriors approach to fight the dragon. But all of Beowulfs men, except for a young man named Wiglaf, are too afraid and run. So Wiglaf and Beowulf fight the dragon alone eventually killing it, but Beowulf is mortally wounded and soon dies from his injuries.
Beowulf is cremated and his ashes are buried high on a cliff overlooking the sea where his barrow, burial mound, can be seen by sailors.
Beowulf’s people also decide to bury the dragon’s treasure along with him instead of sharing it afraid that it is cursed.
There are many been different adaptions of Beowulf including books, plays and films. The latest is a new film due to be released November 2007 which although remains partly faithful to the original poem most of the plot elements are not.
Beowulf the Movie
The latest movie adaption of this old English heroic poem is said to be a cheerfully violent and strange take on the original Beowulf saga.
Although some parts of the movie remain faithful to the origins of the poem the majority of the plot are original and explore the relationship between Grendel and his mother and their motivation in more detail as well as what happens in Grendel’s cave between his mother and Beowulf.
The film has been made using a special technique of digitally enhanced live action and will be released on November 16, 2007.
Two versions of the movie have been filmed and will be released simutaneously, a 3-D version and a standard 35 mm version. The 3-D version is to be screened in over a thousand using the same 3-D technology as used for Monster House, Chicken Little, and the 3-D release of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The film will star Ray Winstone as Beowulf, Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar, Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother, and Crispen Glover as Grendel.
Paramount pictures also recently agreed on a licensing agreement with McFarlane’s Toys who will develope and produce action figures based on the upcoming motion picture.
The initial four figures that have been announced are:
- Young Beowulf
- Grendel
- Grendel’s Mother
- Dragon
Due Nov, 2007.
Colin Dorman
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