Beowulf

Question 1

Name of the King Beowulf Helps

Answer 1

Hrothgar

Question 2

Name of Hrothgar’s Hall

Answer 2

Heorot

Question 3

Name of Beowulf’s People

Answer 3

Geats

Question 4

Who helps Beowulf defeat the dragon?

Answer 4

Wiglaf

Question 5

Who is Beowulf’s father?

Answer 5

Ecgtheow

Question 6

Name of Hrothgar’s People

Answer 6

Danes

Question 7

Who is Beowulf’s Lord?

Answer 7

Hygelac

Question 8

How does Beowulf defeat Grendel?

Answer 8

In hand-to-hand combat. After intense tussling, Beowulf rips off Grendel’s arm and shoulder, and Grendel retreats to his lair to die.

Question 9

What tale does Hrothgar’s bard tell during their celebration of Beowulf’s defeat over Grendel?

Answer 9

Sigemund and the dragon

Question 10

What is the name of the sword, lent to him by Unferth, that Beowulf first carries into battle with Grendel’s mother?

Answer 10

Hrunting

Question 11

What is depicted on the hilt of the sword Beowulf takes from Grendel’s mother’s lair?

Answer 11

It shows how war first came into the world and how the flood destroyed the tribe of giants. It is also marked with ruins that tell of its first owner and when the sword was made.

Question 12

What is the name of the sword Beowulf uses in his battle with the dragon? What happens to it?

Answer 12

Neagling; it snaps.

Question 13

The poem begins with a discussion of which mythic figure (Hrothgar’s ancestor)?

Answer 13

Scyld Scefing (Shield Sheafson)

Question 14

What is a kenning?

Answer 14

A kenning is a metaphorical phrase, or compound word used to name a person, place or thing indirectly. Commonly used in Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Question 15

What are some examples of kennings?

Answer 15

• “whale-road” for sea
• “battle sweat” for blood
• “raven harvest” for corpse
• “Shepherd of evil” for Grendel
• “mail-shirt” for armor
• “earth-hall” for burial mound

Question 16

What is “ubi sunt”?

Answer 16

From the Latin, the basic gist is “where are those who came before us?”

This is one of the “genres” of Beowulf. Written during a Christian time about pagan heroes, the whole poem is a kind of ubi sunt of the writers pre-Christian predecessors.

The underlying feature of all Ubi-Sunt poetry is an expression of loss for bygone days, and a reflection on the transitory nature of existence.

Question 17

What is the name of of Hrothgar’s wife?

Answer 17

Wealhtheow

Question 18

Discuss the role of women in Beowulf.

Answer 18

• Grendel/Grendel’s mother = part of the monstrosity is the fact that the maternal relationship is emphasized instead of the paternal
• Daughters often go unnamed, even if they are important. We never learn the name of Beowulf’s mother, for instance, even though it is through her that Beowulf is related to Hygelac.
• Even the women we do learn the names of, like Wealhtheow, play a very limited role. It is often mentioned that they are used for political pawns or to emphasize hospitality.
• In general, less respect is given to women than to the treasure and weapons valorized in the poem. These objects have histories and names that are remembered and passed down. Not so with women; they are worse than objectified.

Question 19

When was the Beowulf manuscript rediscovered?

Answer 19

Late 18th c.

Question 20

What are all of the Biblical references in the poem from?

Answer 20

Old Testament