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<p><em>Beowulf</em> is one of the most important poems in Old English and the first major poem in European vernacular language. It dramatizes behavior in a complex social world&mdash;a martial, aristocratic world that we often distort by imposing on it our own biases and values. In this cross-disciplinary study, John Hill looks at <em>Beowulf</em> from a comparative ethnological point of view. He provides a thorough examination of the socio-cultural dimensions of the text and compares the social milieu of <em>Beowulf </em>to that of similarly organized cultures. Through examination of historical analogs in northern Europe and France, as well as past and present societies on the Pacific rim in Southeast Asia, a complex and extended society is uncovered and an astonishingly different <em>Beowulf</em> is illuminated.</p><p>The study is divided into five major essays: on ethnology and social drama, the temporal world, the legal world, the economy of honour, and the psychological world. Hill presents a realm where genealogies incorporate social and political statements: in this world gift giving has subtle and manipulative dimensions, both violent and peaceful exchange form a political

Author

Hill, John M

Publisher

University of Toronto Press

Published

1995

Language

EN

ISBN

9781442655614