Beer and Beowulf: The poetry of things

• Wednesday 14 June 2017, 8.00PM to 9.00pm
• Free admission
  No booking required
• Duke of York, King’s Square (map)
• No wheelchair access

Event details

Beer and poetry often went together in Anglo-Saxon England, and the hall was celebrated as the place of community and creativity. Come and join us in the beorsele or beer-hall of the Duke of York pub, for our annual evening of Anglo-Saxon beer and poetry.

A retinue of reciters, led by Matthew Townend of the University of York, will perform a selection of Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry, both in translation and in the original. There’ll also be an opportunity to try some Eoforwic Ale, a beer brewed specially for York Festival of Ideas by the Leeds Brewery.

In keeping with the Festival’s theme, this year we explore ‘The Poetry of Things’ with subject matter ranging from everyday domestic objects to Christ’s cross and Thor’s hammer.

About the speaker

Dr Matthew Townend is a Reader in the Department of English and Related Literature, and Centre for Medieval Studies, at the University of York.

Eoforwic Ale

Using an authentic Anglo-Saxon recipe, Leeds Brewery prepares a special beer – Eoforwic Ale – for York Festival of Ideas. It will be on sale throughout the Festival at the Duke of York pub on King’s Square, including at the Beer and Beowulf: The Poetry of Things event.