| epic | a long narrative poem written in an elevated style; it presents characters of high position in a series of adventures important to a race or nation. |
| scop | anglo-saxon bard or minstrel who tells the story |
| caesura | break in the middle of the line |
| alliteration | repetition of original sound. Found numerously throughout the epic. |
| assonance | repetition of vowel sounds |
| consonance | repetition of consonant sounds |
| litotes | kind of understatement that asserts an idea by giving the negative of its opposite |
| metaphor | comparison made without using like or as |
| appositive | a word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun |
| epithet | a descriptive nickname |
| kenning | A metaphoric compound employed in Anglo-Saxon literature in which the name of a thing is replaced by one of its functions or qualities. e.g “word hoard” |
| patronymic | calling someone by their patriarchal lineage. |
| Beowulf | protagonist, fights Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon |
| Hygelac | Beowulf’s Uncle, ruler of Geatland |
| Wiglaf | Beowulf’s one loyal soldier in the fight against the dragon also a relative of Beowulf and he is the successor to the throne |
| Hrothgar | King of the Danes |
| Unferth | a thane, advising King Hrothgar, he has a flyting with Beowulf. |
| Grendel | demon that terrorizes mead-hall |
| Grendel’s mother | fought Beowulf in the mere (/underwater lair) |
| Naegling | Beowulf’s sword |
| Geats | Beowulf’s kinsmen |
| Danes | Hrothgar’s kinsmen |
| wyrd | old Anglo-Saxon term for fate |
| flyting | a formal exchange of insults |
| Hrunting | the sword given to Beowulf by Unferth that proves useless in the fight in the underwater lair |
| elegy | a poem that laments a death or loss |
| comitatus | a group of well born men attached to a king or leader in a bond of mutual loyalty. |
| Mead-hall | a place of safety, warmth, and community in the Anglo-Saxon world |
| Mead | an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey |
| dragon | the last challenge faced by Beowulf, who dies fighting it. Guards a large treasure-hoard |
| swords | Beowulf has trouble with them as they always break, presumably because he is too strong |
| Heorot | The great mead-hall of the Danes |
| barrow | an Anglo-Saxon burial mound |
| lyric | Caedmon’s hymn style |
| Elegiac | Style of “The Wanderer” |
| sutton hoo | Ship found in England- similar to the one on page 5 |
| head of GrendalHilt of sword | two thing Beowulf brings back from grendal’s lair |
Beowulf Terms
February 23, 2020