ShmoopTube

00:04

When you read Beowulf for the first time, you should prepare yourself for a culture shock. [Guy gets struck by lightning from a cloud with culture written on it]

00:09

Heck, the story's over a thousand years old, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the characters

00:13

are pretty different from you and your friends.

00:15

And if they're not different from you and your friends then, uh…

00:18

you've got some…interesting… Germanic warrior friends there… [Guy in a picture with Germanic warriors]

00:23

Anyway, assuming that's not the case, you're probably just as unfamiliar with their practices

00:26

and customs as they would be with iPhones and selfie sticks. [Guy using his selfie stick to take a picture of him and the warriors]

00:30

Though, to be fair, selfie sticks were pretty weird, even five years ago.

00:33

However, the more you learn about these folks, the more at home you'll be in the world of Beowulf.

00:38

Not that you'd want to call it home; there wasn't much in the ways of

00:41

indoor plumbing in Anglo-Saxon England. [Guy looking for the shower]

00:44

Never walk barefoot around the edges of the castle there…just…trust us. [Guy with muddy feet]

00:50

Okay, first things first: who are the Anglo-Saxons? Well they're descended from a mix of people who

00:55

were indigenous to Great Britain, as well as a whole bunch of [Great Britain circled on the map]

00:59

Germanic tribes that migrated from other parts of Europe. [Migration routes shown by arrows]

01:02

Border crossing was a lot easier in those days, what with the lack of passports, or

01:06

paper work, or even…borders.

01:08

Among these incoming Germanic tribes were some Scandinavian tribes

01:12

that moved to England around the fifth century.

01:14

We just happen to meet some members of these tribes in Beowulf. [Arrows showing the beginning and end locations of Beowulf]

01:18

As you might expect, these folks had some definite cultural values and traditions, many

01:23

of which fall under the umbrella of Germanic warrior culture… [Umbrella falls down with Germanic warrior culture written on it]

01:26

…because surprisingly enough, Germanic knitting culture doesn't come up much in Beowulf, so

01:31

we'll focus on the warrior culture. [Old guy angrily knitting]

01:34

For one thing, there was a very clear power structure. The ruler supreme is the lord.

01:38

He – and yes, it was always a he –… [Sexist stamp]

01:41

….would protect the people in his territory with the help of his thanes:

01:45

a group of men who pledged loyalty to him. [Group of Thanes appear]

01:48

That loyalty was guaranteed by rewarding the thanes with the spoils of war: jewelry, weapons,

01:54

roasted potatoes… ya know whatever they got.

01:56

A lord who gave his men only twigs and piles of leaves would not remain a lord for long. [Thane says he's going to kill the lord]

02:02

Women had a place in political affairs, too, but unfortunately more as objects than as…

02:07

y'know, people with actual agency. [Sexist stamp]

02:10

A society that treated women like objects. Real original, guys. What's next, pillaging

02:15

and plundering in cloaks and funny hats?

02:17

Haha, guess so...

02:19

When feuding lords were ready to make peace, one might give the other one their sister

02:24

as a guarantee of that peace. That sister would be called a peace weaver, but no matter [Lord hands his sister over, she has a peaceweaver name badge]

02:29

what you called them, it wasn't a lot of fun for the ladies. [Sexist stamp]

02:34

So no matter how irritating your brother might be,

02:36

at least he's not giving you away to a lord in exchange for peace.

02:41

One value that was particularly prized among German warriors – apart from loyalty to

02:46

your lord – was stoicism: that is, being able to endure pain or difficulties without

02:51

showing your emotions. [Man is hit in the eye with an arrow and doesn't react]

02:53

As you might imagine, Germanic warriors weren't big on talk therapy.

02:57

No Dr. Phil back then... [Warrior talking to Dr. Phil]

02:59

They also put a lot of importance on a warrior's words matching their deeds. Did you boast

03:04

that you're going to kill that horrible monster that's roving around the countryside?

03:08

Well, you'd better get out there and kill it, or you'll suffer a fate worse than getting

03:12

torn apart by a monster: embarrassment. [The woman is crushed by the monsters foot]

03:16

Now that we've got a fuller grasp on Germanic warrior culture,

03:18

understanding Beowulf will be a lot easier. [Guy smiling as he says he almost understands the book]

03:21

Definitely easier than teaching a Germanic warrior how

03:23

to use a selfie stick as something other than a weapon. [Warriors chasing a guy holding selfie sticks like spears]

Full Transcript