Kennings In Beowulf

The Medieval Period was an era of darkness and distress. Feudalism drove peasants to the ground, and knightly nobles ruled society. Despite the large shadow cast by the Renaissance’s discoveries and developments, the Medieval Period still produced notable achievements, especially in literature. One of the most famous of such literature is Beowulf, which tells a story of a legendary hero who endures life-threatening trials to protect the people of Denmark. The language of this piece of writing demonstrates Medieval times through epic characteristics, storytelling practices, and the frequent noting of Christianity. To begin, Beowulf reflects the Middle Ages by telling its story through epic poem characteristics since epics were very popular
A common feature of stories told in this period is kennings. In the textbook mentioned earlier, a kenning is “a descriptive phrase or compound word that substitutes for a noun” (Allen, et al. 34). Many kennings are peppered throughout the text; for example, the “shepherd of evil” and the “guardian of crime” (31) both refer to Grendel. These descriptions give interest when hearing the story told. Furthermore, orally-told stories such as Beowulf use techniques like alliteration. The Poetry Foundation explains alliteration as the repeated sounds of stressed consonants, typically at the beginning of the word or phrase (Sitar et al.). In the text, line 1418 gives a great example: “Miserable, mighty men tormented” (57). Alliterations, like kennings, give audible attraction to the story, and both were common fundamentals of Medieval epic
This religion became very powerful to the Medieval people because it “opened up a bright new possibility: that the suffering of this world was merely a prelude to the eternal happiness of heaven” (Allen, et al. 21). Thus, it was used quite often in literature. While there were several allusions to the Bible within the text, two primary ways that Beowulf mentions Christianity is to explain good versus evil and to describe Beowulf’s divine protection. The tale depicts Grendel as the evil of all evils, and he was conceived by the sin of Cain who killed his brother, Abel (6-7). Once Beowulf killed him, “hell opened to receive him” (35). Henceforth, the story glorifies Beowulf as an almighty protector; however, even the protector needs his protection. In his battle with Grendel’s mother, the “Holy/ God, who sent him victory, gave judgement/ For truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens,/ Once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting” (62). This means that God gave Beowulf the strength to continue his fight. God played a huge role with everyone in the novel and immensely helped Beowulf during his