Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxon Religion

The core beliefs and the things the anglo-saxons saw as important are clear throughout the story of beowulf. The anglo-saxons believed in strong loyalty to each other and to the leader. The anglo saxons also had a pagan background and saw warriors as high members of society. All these beliefs and core values are exhibited in beowulf.

“Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster, God must decide who will be given to death’s cold grip. Grendel’s plan, I think, will be what it has been before, to invade this hall and gorge his belly with our bodies.” (Lines 268-273) This quote was said by Beowulf a little while before he fought Grendal. This quote shows that Beowulf is ready to risk his life to save his people from a monster that has killed many people. He does this throughout this epic; fighting battles with different monsters that put his people’s lives in danger. Also during some of the fights he has faith in God and he believes that God will be there to help him when he needs it. Beowulf is a blending of Christian traditions and beliefs such as

The character Aldred who is 20 years old and his cousin Alfred in medieval Anglian kingdom in the seventh century, were Alfred has committed a crime by killing someone. Alfred and his family will have to pay a huge amount of compensation as a punishment of the crime. Due the punishments made by the kings no residence of northumbria would think of violating the rules. This punishments helped to reduce the crimes happening in northumbria. Northumbria was ruled by many kings. Also the people of northumbria did not follow a particular religion. The region of Northumbria history has continued to revolt against the government for crime and justice, religion, and origin of Northumbria territory and Anglo Saxon.

Beowulf remains one of the most important works of English literature though it was written centuries ago. One reason for this fact is that many of the themes that it touches on are still pertinent in today's extremely different society. One of the most prevalent themes found in Beowulf is the importance of the heroic code. Much of this epic poem is dedicated to conveying and exemplifying the heroic code which values such attributes as strength, courage and honor. Conflicting with this ideology are other factors such as Christianity, and these tensions affect the lives and decisions of the narrative's characters.

Religion has inspired human literature for centuries. From Shakespeare’s Hamlet to more modern tales such as Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things, we can see the influence human faith has had throughout the centuries. In Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, we can see the impact that both Catholicism and Paganism play in the characters’ lives. We see an abundance of mythical creatures which are normally condemned by Catholicism mixed with the catholic ideas of hell and demons. Grendel and his mother are blatantly described as demons throughout the story. They even live in a hellish space beneath the earth. We can also see symbolism of the seven deadly sins in each creatures the hero, Beowulf, destroys and even in a select few of the

Overall, in Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales religion is one of the most important things is religion. From this hysteria many different things ensue, but the important thing is to understand that no matter what you believe in or how rich/poor you are, you are all the same when you die. Beowulf and The Nun’s Priest will be buried in the same ground, even though one died a king and the other died a servant. In the end, the placement of a person in a social hierarchy may determine or undermine the path of religious pilgrimage they may take in their life. We are all the same in the eyes of God, or whatever religious deity you believe in.

The primary objective of historians is to determine the culture of civilizations in the past. Historians use literature, artifacts, and folktales to grasp an understanding of a specific culture. The epic poem, Beowulf is the first piece of literature known to the English language. Unlike the hundreds of other English literature, Beowulf gives readers an insight into the culture of Anglo-Saxons in southern Sweden between the time period of 449-1066 AD. Beowulf contributes to the understanding of the Anglo-Saxon culture by including information about power, religion, and reward.

My redefinition of this is that It’s amazing how God and his reign puts rank, status, and smarts upon people. His control is powerful and great, and he sometimes allows for men of a certain lineages to follow the path he has already laid out for him, granting him with a full life and intense happiness on earth with Strongholds to command in his own country.

In this reading there is much about the Anglo-Saxon beliefs, most of the passage is surrounded around ancestry. In line 128 when Beowulf is greeted by the solider, the solider says "...he knows of your noble birth..." When saying that he's telling Beowulf that he is and honorable man. When Beowulf gets the chance to boast about himself he talks about his ancestry he says "Higalac is my cousin and my king..." Beowulf is trying to show that not only is he an honorable warrior, he is also the nephew of a king.

“Beowulf is an epic poem written during the Anglo Saxon period Anglo Saxon are a primitive society whose only belief is in wryd Beouwlf demonstrates he is an epic hero by his belief in fate his superhuman strength and his actions determine the future of the Geats. First, Beowulf’s belief in fate represents the ideas of society which is the second characteristics of an epic hero In a speech to Hrogthar beowulf claims “fate will unwind as it must “(44)His statement goes back to the Anglo Saxons pagan religion the statement reflects beowulf is realistic about the possible outcome and recognizes his limitation in the upcoming fight . Beowulf tells everyone in Hrogthars court he is able to achieve great things because of his intent only to do good

Christian beliefs are some of the most outstanding themes within the poem Beowulf. In their text, the poet hugely uses the Christian religious beliefs to symbolize certain element of the good and the evil. Further, the poet still utilizes the Christian beliefs or religion to symbolize heaven and hell. During the Anglo-Saxon period, religion hugely influenced a lot of literal work.

Beowulf is one of the most important pieces of English literature. The epic poem is said to be a great representation of the Anglo-Saxon era. Written by an anonymous monk between 800 and 1000 A.D., Beowulf displays Anglo-Saxon practices, beliefs, values, and religion. Beowulf is not only a fascinating story, but also a primary source for the time period. Serving as a primary source document, scholars can have a deep understanding of the Anglo-Saxon culture. They can learn about the Old English language, their customs and beliefs, and what they valued. This is why Beowulf is one of the most important pieces of English literature.

Through out Beowulf the element of religion holding a significant meaning behind the act of boastings in an age concerned with the pursuit of fame, honour and glory. Beowulf words make constant biblical references throughout his speech to refute Unferths dismissal of his abilities stating “ i was the strongst swimmer of all...ocean lifted me and laid me ashore.” -532 The personification of the ocean presents an image of supernatural elements as though Beowulf is attempting to associate himself with divinity and a man of god and his fate. In context religoin was seen as a powerful tool in persuading masses and was often used through politicians and prominent members of society in order to gain followers and thus support from community.

Throughout the Anglo-Saxon world, stories were often on the ways people passed on lessons and stories without actually writing things down. These epics would be passed from one another through verbal communication and were based around different aspects of life for a someone of Anglo-Saxon descent. The story Beowulf is a perfect example of how Anglo-Saxons based their stories around their beliefs on how a hero should behave. Around the time the story was first told, people were often terrified of the horrible things in the world. The character Beowulf was built around how a hero would be represented in these times by having honor in battle and gives self-sacrifice for the good of the people.

Although “Beowulf” is the oldest recorded English poem, it is amazing how it can still relate to life today. “Beowulf” is an Old English epic poem created by an unknown Anglo-Saxon author whose intention for this poem was that it be read aloud and passed down orally. In the epic “Beowulf,” it is easy to see how different the values of the Anglo-Saxons are compared to the values of our modern society when it comes to honor and value. In the epic poem, “Beowulf,” a major theme is the differences and similarities of a warrior and noble kings character, as well as how the author utilizes the qualities of the character Beowulf to embody both groups.