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Nostalgia for a time long forgotten

A selection from Act 1, Scene 1 of an original stage adaptation of the poem "Beowulf"

Heorot is a massive hall, constructed of a stout, rough-hewn timber frame that supports a gabled roof. Stag antlers adorn the rafters, giving the hall its name. The walls are filled with lavish hangings, works of art in embroidery, weapons taken in battle and other treasures. Great tables run down the centre of the hall, with benches on either side. At one end of the hall sits a table on a raised platform behind which sits the kings' and queens' thrones, as well as places for honoured warriors. At the other end of the hall is a massive, solid door. The entire effect is not be one of opulence or sophistication but rather that of rugged, natural beauty and hard-won gains.

At rise, the hall is in total darkness. A young woman's voice is heard, very haunting.

Scop: Long ago, in the lands beyond the whale roads, the Danish kings rose to their mightiest hour, led as they were by Shield Sheafson, a foundling, thrown up from the waters, who grew to become the nations' greatest warrior, conqueror, and king.

A light comes up on the Scop, an Anglo-Saxon Bard, depicted here as a simple peasant girl (Dramatic irony was a favourite device of Old English poetry, hence the feminine substitution).

Scop: His victories were bloody, and caused much suffering amongst his people, but at last he was able to exact tribute from far and wide. It was only then that a son was born to the valiant king, a prince they called Beow.

Scop moves about the mead hall, which is still in relative darkness, the light following her. She will make her way throughout the hall as she speaks, arriving at the king's throne by Shield's death.

Scop: The young prince was wise in the counsel he kept, generous in his giving and respected by all in his countenance. This was fortunate, because the great Shield's end came early, and his warriors put his body to sea, as he had instructed. His funeral prow was heaped with treasures, and he returned, in death, to the sea and state from whence he came.

Scop playfully tries on the crown that sits on the table, sits on the throne, etc.

Scop: And so the kingdom became Beow's to rule, and rule well he did for many years, until his time came as well. Then it was Halfdane's turn, another mighty warrior in his own right, who fathered three sons and a daughter. To the Swedes he gave his daughter to settle them in their feuding ways, and to war-making

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