Food for Thought

Week 2 (September 2-8)

Beowulf (ca. 625-750)

When we discuss the work in class, I will divide you into groups to consider the following issues.

1) Purpose: Anglo-Saxons told and retold this story for hundreds of years before someone transcribed it. Why do you think this tale survived for so long among the Germanic peoples who settled England? What purpose did it serve? What needs did it satisfy?

2) Religion: What Christian elements appear in this story? Judging from Beowulf, how Christian do you think the Anglo-Saxons were? If you were St. Augustine, charged with spreading the word of God, how would you change this story?

3) Kingship: According to the narrator, what makes a good king? What qualities must a good king possess? How do these qualities help maintain the peace and bind society together? Be sure to address (among other things) gift-giving.

4) Values: How does one measure a man in this society? How does one measure a woman? Why do the Geats and Scyldings use these standards of measurement?

5) Society: What threatens society's cohesiveness? What do Grendel and the dragon symbolize? Why does the author have Grendel attack a mead hall? Why does the dragon defend a cache of buried treasure? In what ways do their qualities seem the opposite of a good king's?

The Tale of Thorvald the Far-Travelled (ca. 990)

1) Why were the Danes so concerned with genealogy?

2) How did the Danes typically make a living?

3) What good qualities does Thorvald possess?

4) How far did the Danes range in their travels?

5) How did Thorvald manage to win converts to Christianity? Why did people believe in God (or in gods) during this period?

6) How must Christians prove themselves and their faith to pagans? What does this say about the way in which people conceived of God or gods?

7) How thoroughly Christian is Thorvald? What less-than-Christian deeds did he commit? Why does the story seem to assume that Thorvald is a good Christian?

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Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle, 2001
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