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1、1.1BeowulfHistoricalBackgroundTheepicpoemBeowulf,writteninOldEnglish,istheearliestexistingGermanicepicandoneoffoursurvivingAnglo-Saxonmanuscripts.AlthoughBeowulfwaswrittenbyananonymousEnglishmaninOldEnglish,thetaletakesplaceinthatpartofScandinaviafromwhichGermanictrib
2、esemigratedtoEngland.BeowulfcomesfromGeatland,thesoutheasternpartofwhatisnowSweden.Hrothgar,kingoftheDanes,livesnearwhatisnowLeire,onZealand,Denmark’slargestisland.TheBeowulfepiccontainsthreemajortalesaboutBeowulfandseveralminortalesthatreflectarichGermanicoraltraditi
3、onofmyths,legends,andfolklore.TheBeowulfwarriorshaveafootinboththeBronzeandIronAges.Theirmead-hallsreflectthewealthylivingoftheBronzeAgeNorthmen,andtheirwoodenshields,wood-shaftedspears,andbronze-hiltedswordsarethoseoftheBronzeAgewarrior.However,theycarryiron-tippedsp
4、ears,andtheirbestswordshaveironoriron-edgedblades.Beowulfalsoordersanironshieldforhisfightwithadragon.Ironreplacedbronzebecauseitproducedabladewithacuttingedgethatwasstrongerandsharper.TheNorthmenlearnedhowtoforgeironinabout500B.C.AlthoughtheyhadbeensuperiortotheEurop
5、eanCeltsinbronzework,itwastheCeltswhotaughtthemhowtomakeanddesignironwork.IronwasaccessibleeverywhereinScandinavia,usuallyintheformof“bog-iron”foundinthelayersofpeatinpeatbogs.TheBeowulfepicalsorevealsinterestingaspectsofthelivesoftheAnglo-SaxonswholivedinEnglandatthe
6、timeoftheanonymousBeowulfpoet.TheGermanictribes,includingtheAngles,theSaxons,andtheJutes,invadedEnglandfromaboutA.D.450to600.BythetimeoftheBeowulfpoet,Anglo-SaxoninEnglishwasneitherprimitivenoruncultured.AlthoughtheBeowulfmanuscriptwaswritteninaboutA.D.1000,itwasnotdi
7、scovereduntiltheseventeenthcentury.ScholarsdonotknowwhetherBeowulfisthesolesurvivingepicfromaflourishingAnglo-Saxonliteraryperiodthatproducedothergreatepicsorwhetheritwasuniqueeveninitsowntime.Manyscholarsthinkthattheepicwasprobablywrittensometimebetweenthelateseventh
8、centuryandtheearlyninthcentury.Iftheyarecorrect,theoriginalmanuscriptwasprobablylostduringtheninth-centuryVikinginvasionsofA
