Wednesday 14 September 2011

Sutton Hoo

Today in class, we discussed the how the great hall "Herot" translates to the "hart" or "stag" hall. We also talked briefly about how stags were the symbol for kings to the Anglo-Saxons.

On the East side of England, burial mounds have been uncovered dating from the Anglo-Saxon period. The area is now an archaeological dig, and it gives scholars a detailed look into the lives of these ancient people. The awesome thing is that the more they find out about this time period, the more insight we gain into the literature!

Please take a few minutes to visit the Sutton Hoo site and look at some of the pictures and reports from the project. When you get to the main page, make note of the scepter pictured on the left side of the screen. Do you see the stag on top of the circle? Through clues gleaned from literature such as Beowulf, we know that it belonged to a king of some tribe. You'll also seem some great boat pictures that will help you picture that riddle 32 much more clearly!

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