Actions

Beowulf the Event

From EastKingdomWiki

Revision as of 17:46, 28 May 2015 by Hobbe Yonge (talk | contribs) (Added some sections)
Photo
Photo needed.jpg
Caption Needed
Information
Location: Concordia of the Snows, Cohoes, NY
Date: 3/26/2011

Highlights

  • Brief listing of major points of the day

From the Pikestaff

Event details "Hwaet! We Gar-Dena in geardagum.."

"Listen! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes..."

...and we will hear the bards of the Known World perform the epic poem Beowulf in modern English translation. A glorious Anglo-Saxon feast prepared by Lady Nadezhda Voronova will be served.

Those who are interested in performing a section should contact Master Toki Redbeard (contact information below).

In addition to the main hall, the site features a separate bar that is available for socializing. We must ask that conversations take place in the bar. All alcoholic beverages must be purchased at the bar.

This is am "immersion" event. Seating will be on benches, light will be by flame, and tables will be appropriate to the setting.

There will be limited modern seating for those who require it. On-board space is limited

Artistic Director: Master Toki Redbeard

Academic Advsior: Dr. M. Wendy Hennequin; Tennessee State University (Mistress Fiana of Clare) Site Opens: 10am Site Closes: 10pm

Event Location Ukrainian-American Citizens Club 1 Pulaski St Cohoes, NY 12047

Directions: From the East and West: Take your best route to the non-toll portion of I-90 in Albany. Take exit 6 onto I-787 North. Take 787 for 7.9 miles. Turn right onto Ontario street, go .2 miles. Turn right onto Pulaski St. The site is at the end of the road. From the North and South: Take I-87 to exit 7- Troy/Cohoes onto RT-7E. Take the Albany/Cohoes exit onto I-787N towards Cohoes. Turn right onto Ontario Street. Turn right onto Pulaski St. The site is at the end of the road.

Event Fees Site : Adult: $10.00 Non-members will also be charged the non-member surcharge of $5.00. Teen (ages 13-17): $3.00 Youth (ages 6-12): $2.00 Child (under 6): Free

Feast: The feast is limited to 40 gentles. Enclosed flame allowed. Adult: $12.00 Teen (ages 13-17): $8.00 Youth (ages 6-12): $5.00 Child (Under age 6): Free

Make Checks Payable to: SCA, Inc. - Barony of Concordia of the Snows

Contact Information Event Steward: Autocrat: Lord Alberic von Rosstock

Send Reservations to: Send Reservations to: Lady Louise La Motte

Other Contact Information: Head Cook: Lady Nadezhda Voronova

Memories

  • memories from individual people, can also be formal event reports. (This sub header should always be included so that people are prompted to leave their memories).


On March 26, 2011, in Cohoes, NY, Beowulf the Event presented the entirety of the epic poem, Beowulf in modern English translation. We set out to present Beowulf as living, performance art. Each artist was asked to find their own voice, and to let the poem speak to them. They selected, with guidance, the translations they used. Some translated themselves. The performance time was four hours and fifteen minutes

I am indebted to Dr. M. Wendy Hennequin, Amanda Lord, Anne Rookey, Joel Lord, and each performer who took on the challenge to love the poem, to free it from dust, breathe life into Beowulf, and welcome its spirit into their own.

To everyone who has the opportunity to hear Beowulf anywhere, even if they have to recite it in a living room with friends—and a break for pizza—I say to you "HWÆT!" Open your ears and your hearts and your minds, and listen.

- Michael Dixon; Artistic Director


Beowulf, a Personal Relationship:

My relationship to Beowulf is personal rather than academic. I experience it more than I think about it. It is an emotional text for me, both inspiring and transporting. When I am telling a story in verse from the Beowulf epic, it feels as if the story comes not from me, but through me, burning bright, as if I am a temporary vehicle for a greater truth. When it is going well, my listeners and I can live together for a short while in the medieval world -- time travel for real! Surrendering to its pull I discover again and again that this Medieval Superhero story of monsters and kings is unexpectedly humane and insightful. In the section I will tell today, Beowulf describes King Hrethel's grief and despair at the accidental death of his eldest son Herebeald, killed by a stray arrow shot by Herebeald's younger brother, a very sad and moving scene. The medieval world-view lacks vocabulary to name King Hrethel's condition, but Beowulf describes him as taking to his bed unable to cope with the demands of leadership, involuntarily replaying the death event over and over again in his mind -- what we today might call depression and the flashbacks associated with PTSD. Through the centuries that separate us, a father's pain touches us in a common place. Though the outward forms of our lives are very different, though we hold different beliefs and assumptions than our ancient ancestors, the human experience remains the same.

- Anne Rookey; Assistant Artistic Director


Beowulf, for the Modern Audience:

I find myself drawn to the major themes running through Beowulf. The poem starts with the lineage of one king and ends with the death of another. Threaded between tales of hell-monsters and dragons, the poem and its hero returns to one central question again and again: What makes a good king? We live in a world where the qualifications for Anglo-Saxon kings may seem irrelevant. I would tell you otherwise. The values from Beowulf apply to all leaders of men. Courage and strength through adversity. Generosity to one’s people. Lastly, the mildness and wisdom to chose one’s battles and guide one’s people. In Beowulf, one hears of the legendary glory of spear-Danes and Geats, whose lessons still echo down through the years.

- Amanda Lord; Assistant Artistic Director/Assistant Technical Director


Beowulf, the Very Basics

No one knows exactly when or exactly where the poem Beowulf was composed, or who wrote it, or why. Beowulf appears in a single manuscript called the Nowell Codex (or by its British Library designation, Cotton Vitellius A XV), which includes several other works. The manuscript was created around the year 1000, and paleographers believe Beowulf was copied from an earlier manuscript, now lost. The Nowell Codex was badly damaged in a fire in 1731; a eighteenth century transcription by the Danish scholar Thorkelin helps scholars reconstruct some, but not all, of the poetry now lost to fire damage.

The action of Beowulf takes place in the early 500s. Several characters, such as Hrothgar, Beowulf's uncle Hygelac, and the Swedish king Onela, are actual historical figures who appear in other sources, including histories and Old Norse and Icelandic sagas. From these external sources, we know that Hygelac died around 521. Beowulf was composed in the West Saxon dialect of Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon), and it uses the poetic form common to Old English poetry. This form does not rhyme, as much of our later medieval and modern poems do; nor does it have a regular rhythm or meter. Instead, the lines of Old English poetry generally have four heavy stresses, and at least two of those stresses alliterate or repeat initial sounds of the stressed syllables.

Beowulf has both Christian and pagan elements. Scyld Scefing, mentioned at the beginning of the poem, is thought to be a vegetation deity, and Weland, who made Beowulf's mail-shirt, was the Norse blacksmith god. The Danes, in an effort to rid themselves of Grendel, worship idols. Yet Scyld passes into the Lord's keeping when he dies, Grendel is descended from Cain, God grants Hrothgar glory in war, and God awards the outcomes of every battle. The poem assumes the audience knows both the Christian and the pagan stories, as well as the histories of various kings, queens, and warriors mentioned in the speeches and digressions.

Despite digressions, alterations, and unfortunate losses to the poem, Beowulf continues to be a compelling and living work, a tale of fate, feuds, and kingship. And yes, monsters.

- Dr. M. Wendy Hennequin

Photos

  • Add photos if we have them

More Information


Events of the East Kingdom
Events: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s

Event Types: Tournament, War, University, Court, Arts & Sciences Competition