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1、[ReadingPart]1.1BeowulfHistoricalBackgroundTheepicpoemBeowulf,writteninOldEnglish,istheearliestexistingGermanicepicandoneoffoursurvivingAnglo-Saxonmanuscripts.AlthoughBeowulfwaswrittenbyananonymousEnglishmaninOldEnglish,thetaletakesplaceinthatpartofScandinaviafromwhic
2、hGermanictribesemigratedtoEngland.BeowulfcomesfromGeatland,thesoutheasternpartofwhatisnowSweden.Hrothgar,kingoftheDanes,livesnearwhatisnowLeire,onZealand,Denmark’slargestisland.TheBeowulfepiccontainsthreemajortalesaboutBeowulfandseveralminortalesthatreflectarichGerman
3、icoraltraditionofmyths,legends,andfolklore.TheBeowulfwarriorshaveafootinboththeBronzeandIronAges.Theirmead-hallsreflectthewealthylivingoftheBronzeAgeNorthmen,andtheirwoodenshields,wood-shaftedspears,andbronze-hiltedswordsarethoseoftheBronzeAgewarrior.However,theycarry
4、iron-tippedspears,andtheirbestswordshaveironoriron-edgedblades.Beowulfalsoordersanironshieldforhisfightwithadragon.Ironreplacedbronzebecauseitproducedabladewithacuttingedgethatwasstrongerandsharper.TheNorthmenlearnedhowtoforgeironinabout500B.C.Althoughtheyhadbeensuper
5、iortotheEuropeanCeltsinbronzework,itwastheCeltswhotaughtthemhowtomakeanddesignironwork.IronwasaccessibleeverywhereinScandinavia,usuallyintheformof“bog-iron”foundinthelayersofpeatinpeatbogs.TheBeowulfepicalsorevealsinterestingaspectsofthelivesoftheAnglo-Saxonswholivedi
6、nEnglandatthetimeoftheanonymousBeowulfpoet.TheGermanictribes,includingtheAngles,theSaxons,andtheJutes,invadedEnglandfromaboutA.D.450to600.BythetimeoftheBeowulfpoet,Anglo-SaxoninEnglishwasneitherprimitivenoruncultured.AlthoughtheBeowulfmanuscriptwaswritteninaboutA.D.10
7、00,itwasnotdiscovereduntiltheseventeenthcentury.BScholarsdonotknowwhetherBeowulfisthesolesurvivingepicfromaflourishingAnglo-Saxonliteraryperiodthatproducedothergreatepicsorwhetheritwasuniqueeveninitsowntime.CManyscholarsthinkthattheepicwasprobablywrittensometimebetwee
8、nthelateseventhcenturyandtheearlyninthcentury.Iftheyarecorrect,theoriginalmanuscriptwasprobablylostduringtheninth-centuryVik
