Chesterton, Alfred, and The Ballad

G. K. Chesterton, by Ernest Herbert Mills, 1909.

Today we are beginning our study of a different poem, a poem which is written many years later than Beowulf but one that concerns the life Anglo-Saxon culture just as Beowulf does. This new poem concerns the life of what might be the greatest king England has ever seen. But half way through his life this would not be evident, for he was a much battle-weary and much defeated king in his early reign. But he was a stout-hearted and learned king, whose strength lay in the fact that he was a stout-hearted and learned Christian. This is in part why G. K. Chesterton chooses him as the hero of his poem, The Ballad of White Horse, which celebrates the victory over the viking raiders of the 9th century. "Alfred," as Chesterton tells us, "defended the Christian civilization against the heathen nihilism." That is why we remember him. In this poem, Chesterton does not merely recount the nature of an important battle; he illustrates the antithesis between light and darkness and elucidates the stark difference between pagan nihilism and Christian wisdom.   

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Read "Genius With a Message" by Deb Elkink
3. King Alfred Unit:
1. Who is G. K. Chesterton?
2. Who is Alfred? 
3. What is a ballad?
4. Read and discuss "Prefatory Note" by Chesterton
1. What hath legend to do with history?
5. Review HW: 
1. Be good.

The Ballad of the White Horse

King Alfred at Winchester.

Yesterday we looked at the author of The Ballad of the White Horse. Today let us focus the main character of this poem. Our objective is to understand the both the significance of this great man, what it meant he means to England, and what we as Christians can learn about how we can preserve the culture.
 
Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Read the "Dedication" of The Ballad
3. Lecture on Setting and Characters (take notes):
1. What is the setting of the poem?
2. What is the White Horse all about?
3. Who is Alfred/characters in poem, and what is the battle of Ethandune? 
4. Read The Ballad together.
1. Love it and discuss it.
5. Review HW: 
1. Study notes.
2. Be good.

Beowulf Exam - Part II

Northern Antiquities,
English translation of the Prose Edda, 1847.
Painted by Oluf Olufsen Bagge.

Today we do battle. We slay monstrous questions and dragonish queries with the sword of truth. Be on your guard, and work quickly and completely. 

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Weekly Latin Proverb: Ab una disce omnes.  
1. "From one, learn all." From Virgil's Aeneid (Book II, 65), this phrase reminds us that conformity unavoidable and that learning by example happens for good or ill. This relates to education is the sense that in spite of our "learning differences" we still need a standard to which we can look and model. Is not the inevitable effect of education? Even if you "differentiate instruction," the child still conforms to something, but the question is to what is he conforming?  
3. Finish Beowulf Exam
4. Begin Unit on King Alfred and The Ballad of the White Horse.
5. Review HW:
1. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf Exam - Part I

ALTDORFER, Albrecht. St George. 1511
Woodcut, 197 x 152 mm
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna

Today we do battle. We slay monstrous questions and dragonish queries with the sword of truth. Be on your guard, and work quickly and completely. 

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Beowulf Exam
3. Review HW:
1. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf Study Sessions - Part IV

Norse Cosmology. Illustrated by

We have been studying Norse culture and history, which is a series of violent actions and reactions of a brave and strong and cold people. Our objective today is to see the universe and its cosmology the way the medievals themselves saw it, both pagan and Christian. Here we have an illustration of the Norse cosmology.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Read the "Worldview" section of Beowulf in the Omnibus Reader (p. 4).
3. Study Packet: review, discuss, and take notes on the major sections of Beowulf:
1. Session XIIII
2. Session XIV
3. Session XV
4. Review HW:
1. Beowulf Exam Friday (11/15). Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England and your RJs on Beowulf.  
2. Binder Check Friday (11/15). 
3. Finish reading Beowulf. If you haven't already.Take notes as you read.
4. Be wise; be perfect.

Medieval Cosmology: Beowulf study session - Part III

Norse Cosmology

We have been studying Norse culture and history, which is a series of violent actions and reactions of a brave and strong and cold people. Our objective today is to see the universe and its cosmology the way the medievals themselves saw it, both pagan and Christian. Here we have an illustration of the Norse cosmology.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Read the "Worldview" section of Beowulf in the Omnibus Reader (p. 4).
3. Study Packet: review, discuss, and take notes on the major sections of Beowulf:
1. Session XIIII
2. Session XIV
3. Session XV
4. Review HW:
1. Beowulf Exam Friday (11/15). Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England and your RJs on Beowulf.  
2. Binder Check Friday (11/15). 
3. Finish reading Beowulf. If you haven't already.Take notes as you read.
4. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf study session - Part II

The Oseberg ship prow,
Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway.

We have been studying Norse culture and history, which is a series of violent actions and reactions of a brave and strong and cold people. Our objective for this week is to prepare for this week's exam at the end of the week.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Read the "Worldview" section of Beowulf in the Omnibus Reader (p. 4).
3. Study Packet: review, discuss, and take notes on the major sections of Beowulf:
1. Session XIIII
2. Session XIV
3. Session XV
4. Review HW:
1. Beowulf Exam Friday (11/15). Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England and your RJs on Beowulf.  
2. Binder Check Friday (11/15). 
3. Finish reading Beowulf. If you haven't already.Take notes as you read.
4. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf, Dragons, and the Resolution and my birthday.

Today I am 35.

We have been studying Norse culture and history, which is a series of violent actions and reactions of a brave and strong and cold people. Our objective for this week is to prepare for this week's exam at the end of the week.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Non scholae, sed vitae discimus. 
1. This proverb contains the purposive essence of classical education: "Not for school, but for life do we learn." School is not job training, nor is it to perpetuate the "system" of school. Knowledge is valuable, and is not utilitarian. We should be life-long learners, not merely because our knowledge has use. We learn because it conforms to those transcendent qualities of being, Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, which Christ our Lord made incarnate.
3. Review and discuss RJ: Beowulf, lines 2070-3182
1. How does Beowulf fight and slay the "fire-drake"?
2. What happens in the end? Explain the resolution. 
4. Review, discuss, and take notes on the following comparison of Christian and Anglo-Saxon Society:
1.  In lines 2020-2068, Beowulf foresees the grim consequences of a proposed marriage between the Danes and Frisians. How does this inform and foreshadow the ending of the poem?
2. In lines 2911-2927, what does the messenger who tells the Geats of Beowulf's death predict?
3. What do these episodes tell us about the pagan culture of death before the conversion to Christianity? 
5. Review HW:
1. Beowulf Exam Friday (11/15). Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England and your RJs on Beowulf.  
2. Binder Check Friday (11/15). 
3. Finish reading Beowulf. If you haven't already.Take notes as you read.
4. Be wise; be perfect.

   

Beowulf and the end: Resolution, Paganism, & Christianity - Part I

The Gokstad Viking ship,
Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway.

Professor Merkle notes: "Beowulf’s translator, Seamus Heaney, gives us an excellent summary of the Germanic warrior culture enshrined in Beowulf. It is “a society that is at once honour-bound and blood-stained, presided over by the laws of the blood-feud, where the kin of a person slain are bound to exact a price for the death, either by slaying the killer or by receiving satisfaction in the form of wergild (the ‘man-price’), a legally fixed compensa- tion.” The “claustrophobic and doom-laden atmosphere” of this culture “gives an intense intimation of what wyrd (fate) meant.” Everyone thinks of themselves as “hooped within the great wheel of necessity, in thrall to a code of loyalty and bravery, bound to seek glory in the eye of the warrior world. The little nations are grouped around their lord, the greater nations spoil for war and menace the little ones..."

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Review and discuss RJ: Beowulf, lines 2070-3182
1. When Beowulf returns from his exploits in Daneland, what does he do with his treasure haul, and how has Beowulf's status changed as a result?
2. What happens for the next 50 years?
3. Cur draco oppugnat? (Why does the dragon attack?) How does this fit with fairy tales?
4. Why didn't Beowulf gather an army to fight the dragon?
5. How does Beowulf fight and slay the "fire-drake"?
6. What happens in the end? Explain the resolution. 
3. Review, discuss, and take notes on the following comparison of Christian and Anglo-Saxon Society:
1.  In lines 2020-2068, Beowulf foresees the grim consequences of a proposed marriage between the Danes and Frisians. How does this inform and foreshadow the ending of the poem?
2. In lines 2911-2927, what does the messenger who tells the Geats of Beowulf's death predict?
3. What do these episodes tell us about the pagan culture of death before the conversion to Christianity? 
4. Review HW:
1. Beowulf Exam Friday (11/15). Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England and your RJs on Beowulf.  
2. Binder Check Friday (11/15). 
3. Finish reading Beowulf. If you haven't already.Take notes as you read.
4. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf and the Fire-Drake

CARPACCIO, Vittore. St George and the Dragon.
1502. Tempera on canvas, 141 x 360 cm.
Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice

Today we shall begin our work with study and discuss the final act of Beowulf. This will involve the draco, and the "fire-drake" is not mere literary convention. It has great significance and worth on many levels. In addition, we shall present our Anglo-Saxon poems. 

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Reading Journal (11/8): Beowulf, lines 2070-3182
1. When Beowulf returns from his exploits in Daneland, what does he do with his treasure haul, and how has Beowulf's status changed as a result?
2. What happens for the next 50 years?
3. Cur draco oppugnat? (Why does the dragon attack?) How does this fit with fairy tales?
4. Why didn't Beowulf gather an army to fight the dragon?
5. How does Beowulf fight and slay the "fire-drake"?
6. What happens in the end? Explain the resolution. 
3. Present Anglo-Saxon Poetry Project
4. Review HW:
1. Beowulf Exam next week (11/15). Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England and your RJs on Beowulf.  
2. Binder Check next week (11/15). 
3. Finish reading Beowulf. If you haven't already.Take notes as you read.
4. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf, heroism, and poetry.

CARAVAGGIO. David and Goliath
1600. Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid

This week we have looked into the concept of heroism as it relates not only to this poem but to our lives as Christians and to the culture. Yesterday we considered the Biblical understanding of heroism, and that however different the hero may look, Sampson or Rehab or Jacob or David, the essential trait that the Scripture praises is "faith." The writer of Hebrews makes this clear. Today we shall consider further wisdom of the poem.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Work on Anglo-Saxon Poetry Project:Write 20 lines of poem in Anglo-Saxon style. It can be on any subject, but try to relate it themes in Beowulf. Battle glory. Courage. Manliness. Slaying of monsters and dragons. Vengeance. God's providence in sending a deliverer. Et cetera. Your poem must contain 5 kennings at minimum. You can use the kennings you already made or make up new ones. 
3. Lecture on Poetry and Image: Abstract and Concrete Language
4. Discuss RJ on Beowulf, lines 1500-1800
1. What advice does Hrothgar give Beowulf after he slays Grendel's mum? How does he admonish him? 
5. Review HW:
1. Finish reading Beowulf. All of it. (11/8).
2. Anglo-Saxon Poem Project (11/8). Due tomorrow!
3. Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England
4. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf and Heroism - Part II

MICHELANGELO Buonarroti. 1509.
David and Goliath (detail). Fresco.
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

Today and this week, we shall look into the concept of heroism as it relates not only to this poem but to our lives as Christians and to the culture. And remember our Latin Proverb of the week, Ignavum fortuna repugnat. Just as God "resists the proud," so does fortune "resist" the lazy. Think of this also in terms of heroism; the real hero is not passive, lazily waiting for fortune to make him a hero. The real hero makes himself a hero, proving it by his works. Today we shall also consider what makes a Biblical hero. Consider David here.


Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Discuss RJ on Beowulf, lines 1062-2489
1. What does Hebrews 11 say about the qualities of a hero?
2. What advice does Hrothgar give Beowulf after he slays Grendel's mum? How does he admonish him? 
3. Work on Anglo-Saxon Poetry Project:Write 20 lines of poem in Anglo-Saxon style. It can be on any subject, but try to relate it themes in Beowulf. Battle glory. Courage. Manliness. Slaying of monsters and dragons. Vengeance. Et cetera. Your poem must contain 5 kennings at minimum. You can use the kennings you already made or make up new ones. 
4. Review HW:
1. Finish reading Beowulf. All of it. (11/8).
2. Anglo-Saxon Poem Project
3. Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England
4. Be wise; be perfect.

Beowulf and Heroism - Part I

Today and this week, we shall look into the concept of heroism as it relates not only to this poem but to our lives as Christians and to the culture. And remember our Latin Proverb of the week, Ignavum fortuna repugnat. Just as God "resists the proud," so does fortune "resist" the lazy. Think of this also in terms of heroism; the real hero is not passive, lazily waiting for fortune to make him a hero. The real hero makes himself a hero, proving it by his works.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Discuss RJ on Beowulf, lines 1062-2489
1. According to Anglo-Saxon culture as seen in Beowulf, what are the qualities for a hero?
2. Grendel is strong and subdues the Danes. What makes him not a hero? 
3. From what you've read in popular stories, legend, myth, etc. what are the common traits of a hero? 
4. What does our Modern culture say a hero is or must be? 
5. What does Hebrews 11 say about the qualities of a hero?
3. Review Anglo-Saxon Poetry Project:Write 20 lines of poem in Anglo-Saxon style. It can be on any subject, but try to relate it themes in Beowulf. Battle glory. Courage. Manliness. Slaying of monsters and dragons. Vengeance. Et cetera. Your poem must contain 5 kennings at minimum. You can use the kennings you already made or make up new ones. 
4. Review HW:
1. Finish reading Beowulf. All of it. (11/8).
2. Anglo-Saxon Poem Project
3. Norse Mythology Project
4. Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England
5. Be wise; be perfect.

Happy All Saints Day!

This image depicts the Biblical promise to the Church:
"God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet,"
which is one of the celebratory purposes of Halloween.

Happy All Saints' Day! Last week was "All Hallows Eve" (the day before All Saint's Day). It is essential to remember that Halloween was and still ought to be a Christian "holy-day." The problem is that we have let the World redefine it;  because the Church has lost its voice, lost its love of the calendar, lost its militant power, we have forgotten the true significance of many such holidays. We are supposed to worship in spirit and in truth; we must, therefore, return once more to the true meaning of things. Remember, any calendar and the significance of its events shows the cultus of a culture, that is, the thing that binds a culture together in worship. The Christian calendar saw fit that it should tell a story, the story of the life, death, resurrection of Christ. Friday was All Saint's Day, the last day on the Church Calendar, where we celebrate the final victory of Christ over the devil through his saints.

Today and this week, we shall look into the concept of heroism as it relates not only to this poem but to our lives as Christians and to the culture.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Latin Proverb: Ignavum fortuna repugnat. Literally, "Fortune disdains the lazy." Let consider this as we continue on our journey. If you wish to do well but are slothful, then do not expect fortune to help you. Just as God "resists the proud," so does fortune "resist" the lazy. 
3. Reading Check Quiz: Beowulf, lines 1278-1491
4. Discuss RJ on Beowulf, lines 1062-2489
1.  According to Anglo-Saxon culture as seen in Beowulf, what are the qualities for a hero?
2. Grendel is strong and subdues the Danes. What makes him not a hero? 
3. From what you've read in popular stories, legend, myth, etc. what are the common traits of a hero? 
4. What does our Modern culture say a hero is or must be? 
5. What does Hebrews 11 say about the qualities of a hero?
5. Review Anglo-Saxon Poetry Project:Write 20 lines of poem in Anglo-Saxon style. It can be on any subject, but try to relate it themes in Beowulf. Battle glory. Courage. Manliness. Slaying of monsters and dragons. Vengeance. Et cetera. Your poem must contain 5 kennings at minimum. You can use the kennings you already made or make up new ones. 
6. Review HW:
1. Finish reading Beowulf, lines 1061-2489. And then keep reading.
2. Anglo-Saxon Poem Project
3. Norse Mythology Project
4. Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England
5. Be wise; be perfect.