E X T E N S I O N BEOWULF Anglo-Saxon literature began on the continent before the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain. When the first invaders arrived in Kent in 449, there already existed Anglo-Saxon songs about their heroes. It was an oral tradition transmitted by the scops, minstrels1 who went from court2 to court to sing the poems accompanying themselves on the harp. This poetry expresses heroism, violence, the melancholy3 of time and the inevitability4 of death, mixing pagan and Christian elements. These feelings are represented in the epic poem Beowulf. Beowulf, which probably came from the continent, was a collection of short poems about the same subject. It became a complete story in Northumberland in the 6th century. The story tells the adventures of the Scandinavian hero Beowulf who comes from Sweden to help Hrothgar, king of Jutland. Beowul sails to Jutland 1. minstrels: singers. 2. court: place where noblemen lived. 3. melancholy: sadness. 4. inevitability: certainty. 65