Beowulf & the Anglo-Saxons (Part 7)

Miraculously preserved over the centuries, its artistic importance was unrecognized until an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) revealed its unity and multi-dimensional structure. Beowulf is now regarded as the most important manuscript the Anglo-Saxons have handed down to us, of immense linguistic as well as poetic value.

This program sets out to trace the origins of the tribes that brought this epic into being, the war-like Northmen from Sweden, Denmark and Germany who were to conquer and settle regions of a more clement and fertile island that would become known as England, named after the tribe of the Angles. Using 3-D animation, location footage, archive materials and interviews, the Beowulf epic is examined in the light of the civilization that created it. It investigates their religious beliefs as well as their everyday life, and suggests that, old as the poem is, it may have roots in an even more ancient fertility cult.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Beowulf
• Old
• English
• Poem
• Angles
• Saxons
• Jutes
• Frisians
• Documentary
• England
• JRR
• Tolkien
• Myths
• Legends
• Folklore
• Archaeology

[MrsRainbowCoffee]

my dog likes to watch this

[johnnysbubbletop63]

Astafaras or andwist--it's Anglo-Saxon, not gibberish.

[willsgotbeer]

I have just found this awesome poster, this poster shows our early English heroes from the 'Adventus Saxonum'499 AD and warband leaders Hengist and Horsa, through to King Harold and Hereward 'the Wake' ,all depicted against the backdrop of a dramatic cliff side setting. and below a corresponding description, Little has been done to make ourselves or our children proud of our own English heroes.This poster puts that right at last. you can get it at wyrdart (.) co (.) uk <remove brackets.

[billyshake]

Well, Yuri, I understand what you are saying and most likely it's right -- but I was simply making a joke about reenactors; I've known many and they're the same guys who drink two-liter bottles of coke and eat a whole pizza while playing Dungeons and Dragons. But thank you for the lesson in ancient vs. modern body imagery.

Btw, though of course Beowulf was most likely an amalgam of other men, he would not have been anywhere near as tall as the gentleman playing him in the video.

[YuriPRIME]

but in fact, despite what our modern popculture promotes as ideals of beauty, old time warriors were this kind of plump guys who had had hard muscles under their thick "skin"... something like Kingpin from Spiderman :P altho less hardcore :D

[YuriPRIME]

But he most likely looked like that if so. Back in those days strong men also were bit fluffy so to speak, as they consumed lots of meat, aspeciauly during winter and simply HAD to eat much fatty food to keep warm, during winters most of wars were held, so warriors sat in halls, enjoyed feasts every day being ready to fight.

As for goatee I doubt it... most likely he had full long beard.

Now we think when someone is strong he must have lots of muscles... or be fat or skinny

[billyshake]

God, I hope if Beowulf WAS a real guy, he didn't look like a geeky reenactor with a big belly and whispy little goatee.

[mythgar]

I am Beowulf, worship me!

[wordf]

why embedding is disabled? :(