The masterpiece of Beowulf gives us a wealth of symbols and themes to analyze.

Throughout the
epic perception of major icons such as the great two mead-halls of Heorot and Hygelac's Hall
and treasure are important parts of Beowulf. A deeper look into these material possessions and
physical places show us that the meade-halls were a significant place of culture and importance,
and perception of treasure changed through the story.

The great hall of Heorot was a very important place for the king and soldiers of Denmark. Built
when there was prosperity throughout Hrothgar's kingdom, it was a symbol of hope, light, and
strength. Heorot was an ancient mead-hall. As its name suggests, it was a place where there
could be feasting and drinking. Historically, a mead-hall was usually a single room hall made
especially for this purpose of merry-making for the king and his soldiers. However, Heorot was
perceived as much more in Beowulf. First of all, it is suggested in the text that this hall was a
place of greatness, and had multiple side rooms and a chamber where the king could sleep. The
king distributed the spoils of battle by "offering everyone, young and old, all he could give that
God had granted" (lines 63-64). Songs were sung and listened to, tales of old were recounted and
passed down, and the reputation of warriors was spread.

It also was perceived as a place of light and refuge in the ever-present darkness surrounding
them. After the first attacks of Grendel, the kingdom of Hrothgar became a place of darkness and
danger, especially at night. The only place that could be a place of refuge was Heorot, though its
strength waned as Grendel repeatedly terrorized the soldiers. Which brings up another point, as
Beowulf took place in Norse culture, or somewhere in Denmark, did the soldiers wear Viking
helmets as part of the armor? It never was described in Beowulf what kind of battle dress the
soldiers wore in the great hall of Heorot.

Anglo-Saxon Winter Feast

The Mead Hall

The Mead Hall Feast (Symbel) is the focal point of Pre-conquest Anglo-Saxon society.
An entire ritual culture developed around feasting and its significance to life. On the
most basic level, the Symbel is a place to see and be seen. More importantly, it is a place
that a leader could assess the resources that were at his disposal: manpower, supplies,
etc. During this period, rents and taxes were paid in the form of foodstuffs. Often, the
leader will accept payment in the form of a feast held in his honor. The guests at the
feast are people in service to the leader and those whom he feels should know of his
power. By breaking bread with him they offer their pledge of allegiance to his lands and
causes. By giving them feasts, the leader literally makes a pledge of support and
provision to his men, who in turn will be offered as support to the king. The King, who is
often the feast's guest of honor, witnesses the feast and its display of resources and
manpower, thus getting a good understanding of how much support the local leader can
provide in time of war.

Feasts can last for days on end. Entry to the hall is by invitation only. Not getting an
invitation is grounds for a challenge! The guests are summoned to the hall by the
sounding of a horn. Upon entering, they take turns washing their hands in a public
display of hygiene — very important in this culture! After sitting down, the Lord of the
hall welcomes guests of honor and then the Lady of the hall passes around a horn filled
with mead. Each person who receives the horn then offers up a toast to the leader, the
king, etc. After the toasting ends, the eating begins. Food is served in the order in which
it was done, not necessarily in courses. There are special servers for each part of the hall.
Some servers, like the Cup Bearer Ladies, are considered part of the decorations for the
evening. How richly they are dressed and how pretty they are give direct reflection on
the Lord of the hall. The quality of the food and entertainment are also scrutinized for
excellence.

People in the Hall

The Mead Hall is the meeting place for all levels of Anglo-Saxon society. Kings are
served by champions, Ceorls find serving girls to flirt with. Itinerant musicians and
poets petition for the right to perform before the high table in the hopes of gaining favor.
No matter who you are, you know that you have a specific place and role to play at the
Symbel. Symbel guests are familiar with these personalities:

Lord of the Hall: the regional leader. The feast is a celebration of all of his
power.
The Lady of the Hall: The hostess. She has overseen all of the preparations to
make sure everything a perfect a reflection of her Lord's status.
The Scop: (pronounced "shop") the head Bard. He is the master of ceremonies.
His ability to read the mood of the room will drive the tone of the celebrations
for the night.
High Table Servers: Men of high status, they are entrusted with making sure
that the quality of food and service that is offered to the Lord and his guests is
exceptional.
 The Cup Bearers: Beautiful noble women who serve libations to other nobles
in the hall. They are as much a part of the scenery as the wall hangings and
tableware.

Hall Set Up

Mead halls are set up with tables in 2 rows along the long sides of the hall. A fire pit is in
the central area of the hall; this is the area where all of the entertainments occur. In the
center of each row are the High Seats: the places where the regional leader and his
guests of honor sit. The leader sits across the room from his guests so that they can have
equal access to any entertainments in the central area. Tables are covered with linen
cloths. One cloth is just a table covering. The other cloth is a long piece of fabric across
the seating edge: a big communal napkin that is replaced several times during the meal.

Some of the food will come in from outside cooking areas and some of the food is served
directly from the central fire pits. The high tables get things first, and then the rest of the
populace gets their meal. High table of course has the best cuts of meat and the nicest
dishes to eat out of. However, the people at high table often send servings "down the
hall" for individuals of special notice.

• Our Symbel will be a little different because we don't have the perfect room. The
tables will be in rows, but there will be people sitting at both sides of the populace
tables. There will be tablecloths laid on all tables, but only high table will have the
changing of the big napkin. In front of high table will be a fire dish representing a
central fire pit.

Entertainment and Interaction

Mead halls are big places where many things happen at once. Deals are made, marriages
arranged, treacheries plotted. Poets recite their latest works at high table while harpers
make music at the other end of the hall. In the middle of all of this, people gossip, flirt,
boast, bargain and even argue. That is life. Sometimes, the lord of the hall will challenge
guests to riddle contests. Winners receive prizes like arm rings, servings of special
dishes, and high praise from the Scop. If necessary, the Lady of the Hall will get a handle
on the behavior of the servers. There are very strict rules about interaction: if a guest
brings a servant, that servant is to either help serve the hall or sit at the feet of hsi
master. If a guest brings along retainers, then funds have to be exchanged to make up
for the extra food consumed. If guests get too friendly with the serving girls, they also
have to hand over money or supplies to make up for the insult to the Lord and Lady of
the hall.
• Your seat may not be front and center at our Symbel. But if you pay attention, you
will see that life is going on around you. One end of the hall may have very different
entertainment than the other. There is no need to worry about being quiet
during performances. But please do be courteous if the Lord or Lady of the
hall calls for silence. If you are interested, pay attention. If not, go about your
revelry just as the Anglo-Saxons would have done. You can add a lot to the atmosphere
yourself by utilizing the Anglo-Saxon English words that you have been taught. You
can also have fun with period topics of conversation. These would include local gossip,
discussion of the quality of the feast, what your plans are for the New Year, whom you
hope to hook up with that night, what your latest shopping finds are, etc. The servers
will be communicating with you in Anglo-Saxon and will be especially appreciative if
you join them in the spirit of the evening.

Feast Preparation

The Anglo-Saxon feasting culture is the basis for year round activity. Feasts are held for
many different occasions through out the year. Usually, there is a regional schedule so
that a particular area knows in advance how to manage resources. A proper feast takes
months of planning. Individual animals are selected for fattening. Vegetables and herbs
are cultivated and stored until needed. Dairying women prepare cheeses and butter
weeks in advance. The Baker is also be hard at work collecting yeast and rationing out
grains to make sure that there will be enough for the celebration. In a large community,
the Baker man over-sees men and women as they prepare loaves. In a smaller
community, the kitchen women take care of the entire loaf making process. Typically,
meat butchering and preparation is the work of men in the kitchen. Women take care of
the creation of condiments, vegetable dishes, and beverages. The Lady and Lord of the
house count on the kitchen manager to plan the feast and collect all of the necessary
ingredients from the food rents paid out over the year. It is imperative that the feast be
delicious, plentiful, and truly nourishing.

There are many ways of cooking available to the Anglo-Saxon chef. Foods can be spit or
over roasted, grilled, boiled, oven or pit baked, and pan fried. The fire pits and fire
dishes in the mead Hall provide a lot of heat for cooking. Additional cooking needs can
be met in separate areas either outside or in other buildings. A wide array of spices and
herbs (cinnamon, black pepper, salt, mustard, to name a few) are combined with
products to create simple but delicious meals. The everyday diet is full of vegetables and
whole grains. The majority of meals are probably boiled as this preserves as many of the
nutrients in food as possible and is an efficient use of heat sources. But, feasts are a time
to have special dishes so foods are prepared in less practical ways and the dishes
themselves are not always as balanced.

Bread holds a special place in Anglo-Saxon society. The roots of the words for Lord and
Lady come from the words for loaf giver and loafmaker. The one thing that a lord should
always have plenty of is bread. Bread is eaten with a variety of toppings like cheese,
relishes, and fruit butters or purees. On feast days, special breads are made with
unusual combinations of grains and seasonings.

• Our Symbel menu will probably seem odd to you. As this is a winter feast, the foods
used are those which would have been put away for winter storage or those which are
still available at this time of year. There will be a lot of meat and root vegetables, but
not much in the way of green leafy vegetables. The cuts of meat have been chosen to
reflect the likely butchering styles of the day. (Yes, your food will have bones and fat in
it).

The spices enhancing our food reflect the wealth of the Lord of the hall. The
combinations may surprise you! Condiments have been created to accent your food. Try
them on plain bread as well as on the meats. Cooks have been preparing in advance just
for this meal: researching menus, learning new techniques, and even dividing kitchen
jobs between men and women. The perfect way to show your appreciation is to try one
bite of every dish that you can.

Fun and Games

Pass the horn: The Lord of the hall will start a round of libation by passing a drinking
horn to the guests. The horn needs to pass from person to person, each who chooses
taking a sip, clockwise around the room. The game is to keep the horn from being set
down before it gets back to the Lord's table. This game may be played several times
during the feast.

Riddles: Anglo-Saxons love riddles! The Scop or the Lord/Lady of the hall will call out
the lines of a riddle. The first person to answer correctly will be given a prize. There will
be several riddles read during feast.

Challenges and Gaming: Gaming is a big part of any Anglo-Saxon get-together.

Board games will be part of the evening's entertainment after feast. Feel free to offer
challenges to your table mates for matches of chess in the gaming emporium. Placing
wagers on the games is entirely in the spirit of the evening too! Have fun! (An amazing
dessert buffet will be served during the gaming).
 Seating

A big part of an Anglo-Saxon feast is the special ceremony of toasts and greetings that
opens up the festivities. In order for this to go smoothly, there will need to be a
designated head for each table. This person will be responsible for giving a brief general
toast when the Lady of the Hall offers the horn to them.

• In attempt to create a more period atmosphere, benches will be used for seating
along the insides of the table rows. The head of the table will need to sit on the bench
side so they can make their toast from the center area.

• As you check in on site, please take the time to fill in your name on the table chart.
After the Feast Briefing, the populace will be allowed into the hall to layout their gear.
Just look for the sign that labels your table and set things up. After set up, the hall will
be briefly emptied so that it can be made as special as possible for the feast experience.

Menu
Bread, butter, honey, fruit butter
Vegetable and Barley Soup
Roasted Chicken
Roasted Root Vegetables
Roasted Pork
Baked Apples
Cheese (water and cider)

Back to the Hero of the Chalice main

Boasting Beowulf-style

submitted by Karen Yoder

On a typical school day in the month of October, most

students gather in their usual classrooms, books and
supplies in hand to face another day of note taking,
reading, computations, and so forth. However, for Ms.
Yoder’s proud seniors, the Class of ’09, on October 3rd,
they confidently marched through E100’s threshold
(English IV) with boasts in hand prepared to tell their
individual stories of
accomplishments. As a culminating
activity for our study in Anglo-Saxon
literature, the students were assigned
to write a warrior’s boast, similar to that which was spoken in Anglo-Saxon
days as a means to secure the king’s confidence and the comrades’ admiration
and trust. Maneuvering their way through the five stages of the writing
process, students created their own boasts about their lineage, their strengths,
and even their next great acts. Not only did we practice our basic writing skills,
we learned about Anglo-Saxon characteristics in story-telling such as the use of kennings,
alliteration, imagery, and heroic verse.
On our day of celebration, the students read their boasts to a small group of classmates and received applause and encouragement to continue their pursuits in this challenging world. Of course, the festivities included samplings of
Anglo-Saxon cuisine which were enjoyed by all.