On this blog, we often cite the Norse sagas as sources for many of the stories and anecdotes we share.
However, one famous poem that rarely gets mentioned is Beowulf.
This is for several reasons.
First, it is an Old English poem set in the Viking World, so there is debate over whether the world reflected in the poem should be considered representative of Anglo-Saxon England or Scandinavia.
Beowulf is also set before the Viking Age really began, relating events that happened in the 6th or maybe even 5th century when the Viking Age is considered to have started in the 8th century.
While this fact contributes to making Beowulf a challenging source to interpret, it also makes it an incredibly important source, as we have almost no other written sources that relate to this period in history.
In today’s post, we will explore whether Beowulf is a good source for unraveling questions of Viking history.
Who Wrote Beowulf and When
The oldest surviving manuscript of Beowulf can be dated between 975 and 1025 CE, though it may have been composed much earlier and transmitted orally.
It is set in a Viking world in the 6th century, a world which was pagan, though the writer probably came from a Christian world since England was Christianized (again, following the fall of Roman Britain) throughout the 6th and 7th centuries.
Conversion to Christianity makes dating the original composition of Beowulf important.
If the poem is old, with a long oral tradition, the pagan elements probably draw on first had knowledge transmitted over the centuries, with Christian elements added later.
But if it is a relatively late composition, say in the 10th century, then the pagan elements were probably added to create atmosphere and are based on assumptions about heathen neighbors rather than first-hand practice.
Opinion is currently divided.
One camp favors a composition date in the 7th century, when there were strong links between East Anglia and Scandinavia.
This is also the period of the Sutton Hoo ship burial, and Anglo-Saxon burial with clear Norse influences.
Another camp suggests that the poem was composed at the start of the 11th century when Norse influence in England had become more pronounced under Cnut the Great.
A Brief Overview of the Story
It focuses on a hero called Beowulf, from the Geats, a Germanic tribe from the region of Gotland in southern Sweden.
However, the story starts with the background that King Hrothgar of Denmark is enjoying a prosperous reign, and therefore builds a mighty mead hall called Heorot where his warriors can gather.
But the noise from the hall angers a monster called Grendel who lives in the swamplands of the kingdom.
Grendel attacks the kingdom every night for 12 years.
Eventually, Beowulf hears of their challenges and is inspired by the challenge.
He sails to Denmark with a small group of warriors to slay the monster.
When he arrives, a great feast is thrown in favor of the hero, but one of the Danes, called Unnfert, taunts Beowulf and suggests that he is not worthy of his reputation.
Beowulf responds by telling stories of his great exploits.
That night Grendel shows up, and Beowulf fights him bare-handed, ripping off his arm and mortally wounding him. Grendel goes back to his swamp to die.
While everyone in the hall is celebrating, Grendel’s mother, a swamp hag, learns of her son’s death, and she comes to the hall to get revenge.
On that night he murders Aeschere, one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisors.
This time, a company of warriors travels to the swamp, where Beowulf dives into the water and fights with Grendel’s mother, killing her with a sword forged for a giant.
He also finds Grendel’s corpse and decapitates it, bringing it back to the hall.
As a result, Beowulf’s fame spreads across the region, but Beowulf and his men return home to their king and queen, to whom they recount the story of their deeds.
He gives most of the treasure given to him by Hrothgar to his king and is also richly rewarded by him.
After a while, when both the Geat king and his son die, Beowulf is made king.
He rules wisely for 50 years.
But when he is an old man, a thief disturbs a barrow where a dragon is hiding its hoard of treasure.
The enraged dragon starts attacking the Geats.
Even though Beowulf feels his own death coming, he goes to fight the dragon, and with the help of his friend Wiglaf, he kills the beast.
But the dragon also bites his neck, and its venom kills him moments after the encounter.
His body is burned and buried in a barrow.
Is Beowulf Set in a Historical World
There is some evidence that the writers based the story within a historical world, even if the main character of Beowulf doesn’t belong there, as he is not mentioned in any other known sources.
Many of the clans and people mentioned also appear in Norse sources, as do many of the historical events.
To take just one example, Healfdene is named as the father of Hrothgar and as the previous king of the Scyldings in Beowulf.
He also appears in Old Norse sources as a king of the same people and as a son or brother of Frodi, a Viking who appears in many historical sources.
Healfdene appears in the Chronicon Lethrense, a Danish work from the 12th century, in Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum, another Danish work from the 12th century, and in the Ynglinga saga, an Icelandic work from the 13th century.
He also appears in the Icelandic Saga of Hrolf Kraki and in the Skjoldunga saga about the historical clan he is meant to have led.
Certain historical events referenced also appear to be genuine. In Beowulf, there is a battle on the ice of Lake Vanern.
It starts with the death of the Swedish king Ohthere, often considered the first historical king of Sweden, and his brother Onela trying to steal his throne.
Ohthere’s sons flee to the Geats, currently ruled by Beowulf’s brother Heardred.
When Onela attacks the Geats, Headred is killed, so in vengeance, Beowulf decides to help one of the sons, Eadgils, retake the Swedish throne.
This results in a battle between Eadgils and the Geats and Onela on the ice of the lake.
This event also appears in the Norse sagas, between Onela, called Ali, and Eadgils, called Adils.
The raid by King Hygelac into Frisia is also mentioned by Gregory of Tours in his History of the Franks, confirming it as another historical event.
This suggests that whoever composed the poem had a good grasp of the legendary history of Scandinavia.
The composer(s) also seem to have been familiar with Norse mythology, as Beowulf’s battle with the dragon clearly mirrors Thor’s battle with Jormungandr at Ragnarök.
Jormungandr is considered a serpent, but the Vikings did not distinguish between serpents and dragons.
Thor will kill Jormungandr, but he will spew so much venom into Thor that he too will die, just like Beowulf.
Beowulf is then laid to rest according to Viking pagan tradition, with his body cremated and his remains placed in a burial mound.
Revelations from Beowulf
If we accept that the composers and writers of Beowulf had knowledge of the Viking world in the 6th century, then does the poem reveal any interesting information about Viking life that we did not already know from other sources?
Historian Tom Shippey thinks there are treasures hidden in the poem.
In a post explaining why he wrote his book Beowulf and the North Before the Vikings, he cites a passage in the poem that reads “taking away the mead-benches from many tribes,” which suggests that destroying the long halls of other tribes was a way of destroying their power center.
This has now been confirmed by archaeology, which has found evidence of mead halls that have been deliberately smashed and vandalized but not plundered.
This seems to relate to a dominant group taking over other tribes to make a larger Danish community, which is exactly what the Scyldings do in Beowulf.
Consequently, it is fair to say that Beowulf is a useful source for Viking history, especially in the centuries before the start of the Viking Age proper.
As long as historians are aware of its historical context, it can provide invaluable insight into a still misunderstood period of Viking history.
