E 505: BEOWULF


505 Schedule Simon Keynes' Anglo-Saxon Resources
 

Mar

We meet TTH 9:30 am - 10:45am in Bartlett.

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WEEK 6 Finnesburh

    Tu 1 Mar. sniwdæg

    • beoþ we besniwod banan boccræftes

     

    Th 3 Mar. Hall Battle

    • TRANS 1050a-1124b (Fitt XVI);
    • MR, "Battle of Finnesburh," pp. 212-15.
    • Byock, Saga of the Volsungs.
    • Fee, pp. 79-83.

There is more than one "woman-type": consider Norse parallels to warrior goddesses, queens, sooth-sayers, and so forth. How do women overshadow and outperform men like Hrothgar and Unferth? Consider the spectrum of morality displayed by both women and men--can we reduce this poem to two teams, the Men and the Women? How do Brynhild and Gundrun compare?

Consider also battles in halls. How do the feats of the Volsungs compare to the hall battle with Grendel? With Grendel's mother? How does Rhinegold play into this?