Even if a stuÂdent assigned Beowulf is, at first, disÂmayed by its lanÂguage, that same stuÂdent may well be capÂtiÂvatÂed by its setÂting. While that mythÂiÂcal but someÂhow both gloÂriÂousÂly and dankly realÂisÂtic realm of kings and dragÂons, mead halls and bog monÂsters may feel familÂiar to fanÂtaÂsy enthuÂsiÂasts, it’s also strange on a deepÂer levÂel; this stoÂry, any modÂern readÂer will feel, is in no sense a prodÂuct of our own time. In order to conÂcreteÂly enviÂsion both the action of that epic and the culÂture that gave rise to it, it helps to examÂine artiÂfacts from around the same place and time in hisÂtoÂry. To find such things, we need look no furÂther than SutÂton Hoo.
Beowulf is set in the fifth and sixth cenÂturies; SutÂton Hoo is an archaeÂoÂlogÂiÂcal site whose conÂtents date from the sixth to sevÂenth cenÂturies. LocatÂed “in the eastÂern part of EngÂland, in a counÂty called SufÂfolk, which at that time was part of the East Anglian kingÂdom in Anglo-SaxÂon EngÂland,” it conÂsists of “a grave made in the midÂdle of a 27-meter-long ship that was buried beneath a giganÂtic earth mound, and inside a burÂial chamÂber that was placed in the midÂdle of the ship were laid out some amazÂing treaÂsures drawn from all over the known world at that time.” So says Sue BrunÂning, curaÂtor of the EuroÂpean earÂly medieval colÂlecÂtions at the British MuseÂum, in one CuraÂtor’s CorÂner videos that proÂvide close-up views and explaÂnaÂtions of a couÂple of parÂticÂuÂlarÂly imporÂtant SutÂton Hoo artiÂfacts.
This helÂmet and sword (with othÂer Anglo-SaxÂon swords also brought out for comÂparÂiÂson) are assoÂciÂatÂed with King RædÂwald of East Anglia. Beowulf, you’ll rememÂber, opens with the funerÂal of the DanÂish king Scyld ScefÂing, and takes place entireÂly in ScanÂdiÂnavia. But the simÂiÂlarÂiÂty between the elabÂoÂrate ornaÂmenÂtaÂtion on the SutÂton Hoo artiÂfacts and that on comÂpaÂraÂble objects unearthed in eastÂern SweÂden sugÂgests a conÂnecÂtion between those regions in that era, and Beowulf itself may have been comÂposed in East Anglia. It takes some imagÂiÂnaÂtion to picÂture this sevÂenÂteen-cenÂtuÂry-old helÂmet and sword intact and in their prime, but howÂevÂer they looked, one sureÂly wouldÂn’t have turned down the extra conÂfiÂdence they’d have proÂvidÂed in a showÂdown with GrenÂdel.
RelatÂed conÂtent:
A VinÂtage Short Film about the SamuÂrai Sword, NarÂratÂed by George Takei (1969)
ArchaeÂolÂoÂgists DisÂcovÂer a 2,000-Year-Old Roman Glass Bowl in PerÂfect ConÂdiÂtion
Bronze Age Britons Turned Bones of Dead RelÂaÂtives into MusiÂcal InstruÂments & OrnaÂments
The British MuseÂum Puts 1.9 MilÂlion Works of Art Online
Based in Seoul, ColÂin Marshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and culÂture. His projects include the SubÂstack newsletÂter Books on Cities and the book The StateÂless City: a Walk through 21st-CenÂtuÂry Los AngeÂles. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
Leave a Reply