Anglo Saxon Values In Beowulf

Beowulf, like many modern heroes such as the ones we see in movies and read about in comic books has an unnatural amount of strength. Take superman for example, he has superhuman strength. Although Beowulf does not have the same amount of strength as superman he still has more than the average human. This gives him a typical “hero” trait that many people are familiar with today.

First of all, in the epic poem “Beowulf”, Beowulf substantiates that he is courageous, has strength, and is honorable. Beowulf demonstrates his courage through the battles he is fighting and his men. None of his men are willing to go out or join Beowulf during the battles. This can be seen when Beowulf is fighting his last battle and none of his men give him a helping hand, “None of his comrades Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble Followers; they ran for their lives, fled deep in a wood”. This went in account for Beowulf’s courageousness. Moreover, Beowulf has astronomical amount of strength, and Beowulf’s Battle against Grendel said it all. This goes to accommodation when Beowulf has to use his bare hands, “And was instantly seized himself, claws bent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm…nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder… his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke”. So to be able to give Grendel fear and break his

The Anglo-Saxon culture came from the ethos which arose from years of progress and understanding. This culture a unification of independent principalities brought together by one king known as Alfred the Great. The true sense of the culture came with the values of loyalty, kinship, and bravery, which present themselves in the epic tale of Beowulf whose violent victory propelled him from mercenary to rightful warrior and respected hero. where the birth of a hero came from the actions of a rightful warrior.

Courage, bravery, and strength are three heroic Anglo-Saxon characteristics that tie together perfectly. Without courage, you will not have strength and bravery. Without strength and bravery, you will not have the courage to face your challenges. Anglo-Saxons believed three of these characteristics were perfectly interwoven in the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero (Garcia). Beowulf identifies to three of these Anglo-Saxon characteristics flawlessly as he fights the monstrous Grendel. Courage means fighting even if it means death; it means challenging your fate and being brave no matter the circumstance (Cascio). Beowulf shows special strength and bravery when he has the courage to renounce his use of weapons and protection when battling Grendel. “No weapons, therefore, for either this night: unarmed he [Grendel] shall face me if face

Beowulf’s strength is beyond any of human comparison and has allowed him to accomplish tasks that would have obliterated lesser men and gain renown throughout the world. Beowulf’s boasts of his strength are not to be received as prideful or egotistical but rather as a true representation of his power as Beowulf always fulfils his boasts. When Beowulf pledges to vanquish Grendel, he does not take it lightly and tells Hrothgar and his wife, Wealhtheow, that “..I shall fulfil that purpose, prove myself with a proud victory or meet my death here in the mead-hall.”(636-638), showing that he is prepared to die, if needed, to defeat this hellish creature. Later that night, in his battle with Grendel, Beowulf showed his strength. “The Captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth… in all his days, he had never been clamped or cornered like this”(749-752,755-756). Beowulf’s strength surpassed that of even supernatural beings and allowed his to go on the offensive against a foe that had ravaged Heorot for years and thus allowed him to fulfill his boast. Beowulf power is brought out in his recitation of his deeds and again later actions against the mother of Grendel and a fire breathing dragon that threatens his home. In all of this fights, Beowulf is not seeking glory for himself, but

Each individual culture has many cultural truths that a group of people follow and believe in. Cultural truths are principles, values, or standards important to a group of people, which display moral behaviors that are respected and immoral actions that are scorned at. Also, cultural truths are norms in a society that you are born into and are expected to do daily because they shape the lifestyle of a group. For example, during the Anglo-Saxon period, there were a number of cultural truths that were applied to everyday actions and attitudes. An epic poem, composed based on the Anglo-Saxon period called Beowulf, written by an unknown author translated by Seamus Heaney, depicts many of the cultural values of the time period. In the poem, is it revealed that all the cultural values in the Anglo-Saxon culture are developed from the idea of a warrior culture. The epic poem is about a hero named Beowulf from the Geats tribe who goes off and helps Hrothgar and the Danes defeat a monster, Grendel, who attacks their mead hall. Before Beowulf meets his fate he fights three monsters, which includes Grendel, to protect the lives of people in two different tribes. Within the epic poem Beowulf, there are several of cultural values presented and focused on such as, courage in battle, fidelity to one’s word, and loyalty to kinsmen, which are all demonstrated by Beowulf.

At the feast, a Dane named Unferth, envious of his kinsmen’s admiration of Beowulf, begins to taunt the Geat. He claims that Beowulf once lost a swimming match against Breca and that Beowulf will meet with defeat for a second time when he faces Grendel in the mead-hall. Mentioning the swimming race reassures that indeed Beowulf is indeed mortal and capable of defeat comparatively than displaying him as immortal. When Grendel arrives to slay Hrothgar’s men, Beowulf battles with Grendel and manages to amputate Grendel's arm and shoulder to which then Beowulf drapes his arm from the rafters of the great mead hall. “The victory, for the proof, hanging

Every culture has its own set of beliefs values and customs. Cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout a lifetime. A culture is the sum of a group’s way of life and this is no different with the ancient Anglo Saxon culture. Cultures usually have distinct figures that reflect their culture as a whole. The importance of religion, values, and heroes are reflected a great deal in the epic poem of Beowulf accurately showing the Anglo Saxon culture as a whole.

Some of the most common values during the Anglo-Saxon period include courage, loyalty and generosity. The Anglo-Saxon era was almost always in the state of war which is why it is a time when fighting is valued more than working things out. This meant that heroes of this period fought for fame, glory, and pride. Heroes were expected to boast. Beowulf, the best symbol for Anglo-Saxon heroes, proves this by volunteering to fight the monster just because he was bored and wanted to do something he can brag about. In the story, Beowulf boasts of his bravery by talking about his past battles and victories. Beowulf basically acts more for his own glory than for the general well-being to his people. While in our modern period,

Part of the reason Beowulf is very well-known is that he has larger-than-life strength, more than that of any man. When he talks to King Hrothgar, he boasts: “They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth. I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned.” (Unknown, 246-254) This shows that Beowulf has overcome many trials with his strength, and that unlike any other man, he has proven to be able to overcome the impossible. While Beowulf is fighting with Grendel the story says that Grendel “Twisted in

Anglo Saxon values are portrayed throughout Beouwulf and allows reeaders to understand the concept of a hero. The warrior Beowulf is introduced as “Higlacs / follower and the strongest of the Geats” (ll. 109-110). To quench his thirst for fame and an epic quest, he sets sail to honor a favor. Because of Beowulf’s great strength and noble birth, he is able to complete his quest which in turn makes him and epic hero.

Although viewed as ruthless savages, the Anglo-Saxon culture was not founded on the sole idea of barbaric brutality. The Anglo-Saxon beliefs were established by loyalty, generosity, and valor. As a result, the people of the Anglo-Saxon culture lived life by these ideals which created a great thirst for fame in being the best version of themselves. If one was decent at fighting, they would train to be the best fighter they could be, or if someone was intelligent they would devise complex riddles to boast of their intelligence. In order to fulfill their beliefs, there were many aspects of the Anglo-Saxon culture that were not only prevalent in their day to day life, they were expressed through their literature as well. In Beowulf, the

One of the Anglo- Saxon values still holding true today will have to be loyalty. One might wonder, what exactly is loyalty? Loyalty is being faithful to something or someone, or in shorter words, always sticking to a person or thing no matter what the situation is. Beowulf shows his loyalty when he states he “will not shift a foot” (2524) because he cannot break his word. Wiglaf understands this loyalty to one’s reputation and how it is linked to being a warrior. (2890-1) “A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame” Beowulf hands Wiglaf his collar of gold, his war shirt, and his helmet and tells him to use them well” showing an act of loyalty.

Beowulf is a classic example of heroic code, which consists of honor, generosity, bravery, truth, hospitality, and perseverance. These are the Anglo-Saxon values, and were treasured above religion. Beowulf, as an epic hero, symbolizes many of these, but the clearest would have to be honor, bravery, and perseverance. In the time period for Anglo-Saxons, honor was extremely important for various reasons, so it makes sense that Beowulf would be so strongly integrated with integrity.

Beowulf travels around the land, battling the huge, malicious creatures that debilitate his kingdom. He does so for the benefit of his kingdom and at the same time, he improves the situation his own reputation. In Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero is all around characterized by the actions of Beowulf. The qualities mostly seen throughout the Anglo-Saxon period are strength, bravery, loyalty and belief in God. Beowulf states “So I praise God in his heavenly glory...” this shows Beowulf’s faith in God and how religion was an important characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon period (Heaney, 1778-9). Clearly, Beowulf is a perfect representation of an Anglo-Saxon hero. His strength and courage are unparalleled, and he is much more honorable than any of the corrupted knights around him.