Dear Student,

This course is scheduled to be retired on June 30, 2025.  You may continue using this course; however, we highly suggest moving to the new, updated course.  

Anglo-Saxon England: Bede and Beowulf with Joseph Pearce

NOTICE: This is an older course recorded with Adobe Connect and/or Vimeo recordings. We are currently working to replace the recordings with new Zoom recordings.  Please don't hesitate to email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com with any questions.

Instructor Access (Optional grading support) is available for this course. Please note: this is ONLY recommended if you wish to write the optional paper. All quizzes are internally graded in this course. Optional papers will be completed via this page (click here) for an Instructor Access fee of $75.

How to get the most out of Bede and Beowulf with Joseph Pearce:

• First, read the course details below.

• Prepare a notebook for note taking and homework.

• Students begin the course by clicking on the "Recording" and watching the instructor's lecture for Class One.

• Complete the Week One Activities.

• If you need review, go back and watch the recording again and/or go over the PowerPoint.

• Repeat until all classes are complete.

• Once the course is completed to the parent's satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records. Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping.

Total Classes: 6

Duration: 55 minutes

Prerequisite: The ability to read and enjoy the works

Suggested Grade Level: 9th to 12th grade

Suggested Credit: 1/2 semester credit Literature or English

Instructor: Joseph Pearce

Course Description: The course will be an interdisciplinary class, integrating history, literature, and theology, focusing on the rich Catholic culture of Anglo-Saxon England (596AD - 1066AD), especially in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England and in the epic poem, Beowulf.

Course Outline:

• Class One: Setting the Scene: Who were the Anglo-Saxons?

• Class Two: Bede pages 51-77 & 103-104 & 146-7

• Class Three: Bede pages 284-94 & 321-328

• Class Four: Beowulf lines 1-1250

• Class Five: Beowulf lines 1251-2199

• Class Six: Beowulf lines 2200-3182

Course Materials: Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Penguin Classics); and,

Beowulf: A Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney (Norton Critical Edition)

Homework: The reading assignment for each class is detailed in the Course Outline above. Students should complete the assigned reading for each class beforehand. Students should highlight the passages discussed in class and review this for the quiz assigned for each class. The estimated time for homework for each class, i.e. for the assigned reading and reviewing for each quiz, should be about 90 minutes.

Tech Support: If you have any questions please contact us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com.

©2018 Homeschool Connections and Joseph Pearce.  All rights reserved. This course is designed by Joseph Pearce.

• This material is only to be used for its intended purpose by active subscribers of Homeschool Connections. Any other use without explicit permission is in violation of the seventh commandment (yes, the 7th commandment) and in violation of US and International copyright laws.

• You may print or download to local hard disk extracts for your personal homeschool and non-commercial use only. This is not to be used for homeschool co-ops without express written permission from Homeschool Connections.