Beowulf given trigger warning for violence
Animal cruelty, ableism and eating disorders are among themes flagged up to university students
Beowulf has been given a trigger warning by a university, as it is included among poems flagged for topics such as violence, animal cruelty and ableism. Beowulf is taught at Aberdeen as part of the module Lost Gods and Hidden Monsters in the Celtic and Germanic Middle Ages. The epic poem has a specific warning for violence, while other historic works of literature contain references to “death, blood” and “eating disorders”, a blanket warning for the module states.
‘It is the duty of staff to ensure that students are prepared for anything that they may find distressing’
WITH its foul monsters and fire-breathing dragon – not to mention its 3,000 lines of early English verse – Beowulf is not for the faint-hearted student.
But now, the Anglo-saxon epic comes with a trigger warning, as it is included among poems flagged for topics such as “animal cruelty” and “ableism”.
Myths and legends from the Middle
Ages contain references to “death, blood” and “eating disorders”, according to professors at the University of Aberdeen, where students are cautioned: “There will also be monsters.”
Beowulf is taught at Aberdeen as part of the module Lost Gods and Hidden Monsters of the Celtic and Germanic Middle Ages. The poem has a specific warning for violence, while a blanket warning for the module, seen by The Daily Telegraph, states: “Texts studied on this course contain representations of violence, coercion, animal cruelty or animal death, incest suicide, explicit sexual content [and] ableism.”
Students are also warned about violence in Norse sagas. More than 30 potentially upsetting issues are listed in total.
The eponymous hero of Beowulf, described as having superhuman strength, dispatches the monstrous Grendel – who is described in Old English as unhaelu meaning “infirm”, which some scholars argue pitches the good-able against the bad-disabled.
Aberdeen’s cautionary note covering this text and others warns students about “blasphemy, defecation, psychological violence, pain, alcohol abuse, symbols of evil, black magic, death, blood and eating disorders” in the literature of the Middle Ages.
The University of Aberdeen’s policy states: “It is important that the education we provide exposes students to contentious and challenging material, and that we espouse the right of individuals to speak freely within legal boundaries.
“At the same time, the mental health and well-being of students is a primary concern of the school.
“In the spirit of inclusivity, it is therefore the duty of all teaching staff to ensure that students are aware of course content before they are exposed to it, so that they are prepared for anything they may find distressing.”
The university has been approached for comment.
One of those baby-name websites says that Grendel is “a special name that is sure to be loved”. Aberdeen University knows better. It warns that the poem in which Grendel is killed has “particularly graphic representations of violence”. You would be silly to expect medieval literature to lack “abduction, death, blood, mental illness, misogyny, blasphemy, pain, alcohol abuse, evil, black magic and harsh punishments” and perhaps to some the university’s warning sounds more like a promise. Yet it is surely wrong to call the Grendel episode in the poem Beowulf “graphic”. Grendel is terrifying because he is not described. He just comes out of the night and eats warriors. Beowulf rips his arm off, he dives into the lake and dies. But that’s life and a happy ending – except for the monster’s mother, to whom the poet returns ...