Sweden-Beowulf resources Sweden is rich in Beowulf resources. It was home to Beowulf's people, the Geats, as well as the tribes who eventually subdued them, known as the Svear (from which came the name Sweden). The mounds at Gamla Uppsala confirm some of Beowulf's claim to historical accuracy. The museums at Gamla Uppsala and Stockholm display artifacts from Beowulf's time and subsequent eras related to it. It might have been easier to foresee Sweden's amazing social and economic success 1500 years ago, in Beowulf's, Hrothgar's and Ongentheow's time, than that of, say, Denmark. Sweden is blessed with rich natural resources and a much bigger and more diversified land mass. As mentioned in Stockholm-Historiska-Museet, people in what is now Sweden were smelting bog-iron as early as 500 BCE. Swedish craftspeople and manufacturers are still exploiting their leading edge in this area, as witness the shipyards of Goteborg, and company names like Volvo, Saab, Husqvarna and SKF. The Swedish reputation for quality and flair for design creates a high demand for their exports. It may seem flaky to emphasize such hard-to-measure imponderables as happiness, democracy level, press freedom and freedom from corruption, yet it's these qualities that make for a decent life for citizens and decent prospects for their children and grandchildren. When a respected web site like worldaudit.org rates Sweden as 3rd highest behind Finland and Denmark in democracy, 2nd place behind Finland in press freedom, and 4th place behind Finland and Denmark in freedom from corruption, you know the Swedes are on to something. (By comparison, Canada is doing very well at 8th position for democracy; UK is 9th; USA is 15th; Italy is 29th; Haiti 113th; China 121st; Iraq 132nd; Turkmenistan, at the bottom, 149th.) Sweden has also been endowed with timber, waterways and a fair amount of agricultural land. You could say that's the reason for its modern success, but other countries have squandered their resources; the Swedes have managed theirs wisely. Similarly, all the world's nations have histories of civil war, disaster, mass foolishness, massacre and shame; yet the Swedes have learned from their experience, while many other countries have not. Statistics and facts aren't enough to persuade most of us; for me, at least, the evidence of Sweden's success is in the beauty of the countryside, the grace and convenience of the cities and towns, the amiable dispositions of Swedes themselves. One of the nicest rewards for me as a Beowulf pilgrim is that my first survey of Sweden's Beowulf resources was so superficial, I'm going to have to make another trip. If you haven't already experienced Sweden, I hope you'll begin to catch my enthusiasm from these pages: Stay in Sweden-Beowulf resources and go to: The Museum at Gamla
Uppsala for Burial Mounds, weapons and treasures A walk round the Gamla-Uppsala Burial Mounds, and thoughts on Beowulf's funeral Uppsala Cathedral and Gamla Uppsala Kyrka - A Quick Look Round The Historiska Museet in Stockholm, discussion of the sail on Beowulf's ship Stockholm - A Quick Look Round Vaxholm-Grinda Island Archipelago Cruise Vallentuna Area Runestones If you'd rather search in England, Denmark or Norway, click on one of these links: London, Maldon and Sutton Hoo: Copenhagen, Roskilde and Lejre: Oslo, Bygdoy and Bergen: Norway-Beowulf-resources (coming Feb, 2008) Or, Take me to Versions-of-Beowulf for recommended editions, translations movies, other media children's versions Take me to 6 Anglo-Saxon Poems Home! to beowulf-country.org/index Copyright: You may use the materials on this site for an essay or for private Beowulf study, but not commercially. Do credit your source!
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