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Mar. 8th, 2003 07:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ealgyldenI'm too tired to type the whole next part of the Rohan/Beowulf thingie tonight, so instead here's a list of the important names in Beowulf that I'll be throwing around (I figure anyone who'll be reading Part II of the thingie will know the LotR stuff, but with Beowulf I'm never sure). WARNING- Spoilers for Beowulf! If you've been waiting your whole life to read a thousand-year-old poem in a dead language but haven't done it yet, and knowing whom everyone is will wreck it for you, stop reading.
Beowulf- a Geatish warrior, later King of the Geats. The Geats lived somewhere in southern Sweden, though it isn't exactly clear where thanks to the Beowulf-poet's greater interest in art than in geography (tsk tsk, Beowulf-poet!). They get wiped out or assimilated by the Swedes after Beowulf's death, and now they build Saabs.
Hrothgar- King of the Danes, well-loved by his people but troubled by recent events involving his followers (thegns) getting eaten. His home is Heorot ("hart", a standard totemic animal), the most glorious, renowned, gold-covered hall in all the land. For fifty years Hrothgar's reign has been a high point for the Danes, but now he and his nation have fallen under a shadow.
Grendel- the fellow doing the thegn-eating. It's not clear what Grendel is- he's variously called a man, a monster, and an evil spirit (he's both a "descendent of Cain" [lns. 105-109] and an ancient pagan water spirit). "Grendel" is a common noun, meaning a sort of amphibious fen-troll (much like the sort of troll in the "Three Billy Goats Gruff")- logically, Grendel and his mother live in the swamps near Heorot.
Unferth- one of Hrothgar's thegns, loyal to his king but not fond of this Geatish interloper. One of the fun details about Unferth that the Beowulf-poet casually tosses at us is that he has killed his brothers. Well, okay then.
Hygelac- Beowulf's king. Another example of good kingship for Beowulf to follow, though he and Hrothgar both die violently in battle (as does Beowulf. It's tough to be king).
Grendel's Mother- self-explanatory, I guess. She's the second of the three monsters Beowulf battles. The poet despises her as a monster, but has sympathy for her sorrow and her anger. She is, after all, a mother bereft, striking back at the one has taken the life of her son.
The Dragon- the last monster Beowulf battles (after reigning fifty years as king) and the one that takes his life.
Wiglaf- Beowulf's loyal kinsman and thegn, and the only warrior to stand with Beowulf at the end.
I think that's everyone I'll touch on, but if not I'll catch any others as I go along. And so, to bed...
Beowulf- a Geatish warrior, later King of the Geats. The Geats lived somewhere in southern Sweden, though it isn't exactly clear where thanks to the Beowulf-poet's greater interest in art than in geography (tsk tsk, Beowulf-poet!). They get wiped out or assimilated by the Swedes after Beowulf's death, and now they build Saabs.
Hrothgar- King of the Danes, well-loved by his people but troubled by recent events involving his followers (thegns) getting eaten. His home is Heorot ("hart", a standard totemic animal), the most glorious, renowned, gold-covered hall in all the land. For fifty years Hrothgar's reign has been a high point for the Danes, but now he and his nation have fallen under a shadow.
Grendel- the fellow doing the thegn-eating. It's not clear what Grendel is- he's variously called a man, a monster, and an evil spirit (he's both a "descendent of Cain" [lns. 105-109] and an ancient pagan water spirit). "Grendel" is a common noun, meaning a sort of amphibious fen-troll (much like the sort of troll in the "Three Billy Goats Gruff")- logically, Grendel and his mother live in the swamps near Heorot.
Unferth- one of Hrothgar's thegns, loyal to his king but not fond of this Geatish interloper. One of the fun details about Unferth that the Beowulf-poet casually tosses at us is that he has killed his brothers. Well, okay then.
Hygelac- Beowulf's king. Another example of good kingship for Beowulf to follow, though he and Hrothgar both die violently in battle (as does Beowulf. It's tough to be king).
Grendel's Mother- self-explanatory, I guess. She's the second of the three monsters Beowulf battles. The poet despises her as a monster, but has sympathy for her sorrow and her anger. She is, after all, a mother bereft, striking back at the one has taken the life of her son.
The Dragon- the last monster Beowulf battles (after reigning fifty years as king) and the one that takes his life.
Wiglaf- Beowulf's loyal kinsman and thegn, and the only warrior to stand with Beowulf at the end.
I think that's everyone I'll touch on, but if not I'll catch any others as I go along. And so, to bed...
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Date: 2003-03-08 06:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-03-09 11:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2003-03-10 01:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-03-10 01:30 pm (UTC)and absolutely, re: Kevin Smith.