Beowulf: The Mysterious Fertility Cult Origin Of The Anglo-Saxon Legend | Beowulf | Absolute History

Through animation, location footage, archive, and interviews, the Beowulf epic is examined in the light of the civilization that created it, the Anglo-Saxons. In this documentary, we investigate the Anglo-Saxons' religious beliefs, and their everyday life, and explore the suggestion that the poem may have roots in an even more ancient fertility cult.

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[onemercilessming]

I once read an excerpt of "Beowulf" in Olde English to my second graders to show them how language changes over time. I never saw such wide eyes!

[momma_bat]

In HS we had to memorize part of the Canterbury tales. The AP had to do it in olde English. We did not. However, we got extra credit if we chose to do so. I was the only one in my class that chose tbis option. My teacher said I did better than most of his AP students! It is so fascinating how language has evolved

[vickihshallenberger]

I tried to watch this documentary because I've never heard the legend or story of Beowolf. I found that the volume was too low and the narrator could have talked a little bit louder. I'm sorry but I can't really understand the story because of those things

[mathonamoore]

Greetings from Ireland on the 11th of September 2022 @10.02pm.❤️🇮🇪❤️

[tammijatti]

Brings back so many memories. My favourite high school English teacher read this to us. The old English, I mean. At least an excerpt. I think the introduction essentially. He himself was Dutch, and had been living in Canada for a very long time. But he could really get the pronunciation down. And he read it very theatrically. At the end of his reading, a bunch of 16 year old jaded high school kids, stood and gave him a standing ovation. The vast majority of us kids, including myself, had roots in parts of the world that were nowhere near Britain. My ancestors were from India and Afghanistan. But it didn’t matter! This was just freaking amazing!

[StephanieMcPeakPetersen]

I wrote a prequel to Beowulf called "Grendel's Aunt." 74 stanzas of metered, somewhat alliterative, loosely and internally rhymed poetry. One excerpt:

Now her nephew in question, nefarious Grendel,
the seed of her sister, descendant of Cain,
was a monster whose drool filled a marsh full of moule,
and whose breath spored infective murrain.

"Tell me, where can I find him? He sounds just the part!"
shouted Hymm, now excited to meet him.
So they trudged themselves down into bowels of miry
and boot-squished through through foul-smelling swamps of perspiry.
The fetidness beckoned of Grendel, that knave,
and they found him asleep in his cave...

[lel]

Lol I realized I had a hack for the audio badness. The music only comes through my right earbud and the left carries the normal audio track. Much better after that. Love the legend of Beowulf.

[weyjosh]

more anglo saxon history please!! a forgotten age of the original englishmen

[robvancamp]

It's nearly unintelligible over the WAY too loud background music...

[SlightlySusan]

There is music playing beneath the speaker's words that make this video almost impossible to listen to. Is there someway I can lower -- or eliminate -- the music coming through my computer. And I have twice shut off the volume to understand where the music is coming from.

[vampcaff]

Anyone else get ten minutes in while only wearing one ear bud wondering what the heck is going on?

[bjorreb]

It's said that they think they found the foundation of Beowulf house on the swedish island Gotland in the middle of the Baltic Sea.

[thelostlegendsoflewesandhamsey]

Beowulf is Beornwulf who is also Ragnar who is actually Ecghberts son and Aethelwul’s brother. This is real, this is true.

[lisapop]

The helmet is stunningly beautiful. That was an amazing, talented craftsman/men

[ElizabethDMadison]

so hard to hear the narration with music of equal loudness layered over it

[forrestfey]

Berserk is someone that wears a ”bear shirt (särk)” that is someone that can turn into a bear or fight like one. Maby Beowulf was a berserk, if the name hints at bear ( hunter of honey).

[kellybraun]

This was hard to listen to with headphones. The narrator was only speaking in my left ear and the rest was in my right. Really uncomfortable and frustrating.

[skabettispaghetti]

I keep trying to break into Beowulf, to see what all the hoopla is about, and I'm sorry but I can't. The language is impossible, even in modern translation. "He" is used for everyone, and there are no identifiers regarding the "He" being discussed. It's so frustrating, I think I need to just let it go.

[daniangela]

Too bad the awful sound tract drowns out the narrative . : (

[dylanangel]

the audio mix is painful. compressing it to mono might even be better