Kinship In Anglo Saxon Society

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.

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.

The contemplative question of “What would Jesus do?” has become a popular pragmatism in society today. There is an unwritten rule or sense of morality by which a properly functioning civilization may live. However, what method did early Anglo-Saxons use to remind themselves of what would be the proper thing to do in a situation? Even though they were a violent and warmongering culture as a whole, geared toward waging and winning war, they did have a moral code to honor. Anglo-Saxons prized the values, which they would have been learned by rote since childhood, including: courage and selflessness, honor, discipline and duty, hospitality, self-reliance, and perseverance. These principles of character are some of the main mores clearly

The Anglo-Saxons held several different values than what we do today. Some people say they would have fit in better back in those days. However if you look at some of the things the American culture values today, you will see some similar values. Comparing Beowulf to our modern day values several things can be compared and contrasted.

First, loyalty is very important to the Anglo-Saxon people. Loyalty is swearing allegiance to a person, place, or thing. There are many examples of loyalty in Beowulf. Beowulf is exceedingly loyal throughout the entire Anglo-Saxon epic. Beowulf shows loyalty to the Geats and his king. To elaborate, Beowulf shows loyalty to the Geats and his king, Hygelac, by notifying them of his plans to travel to the land of the Danes and help the Danish King, Hrothgar, defeat Cain’s descendant, Grendel, who has been terrorizing Hrothgar’s mead-hall. Beowulf is loyal and seeks the approval of the Geats and Hygelac before anything else(first and foremost), and Beowulf most likely would not have left the land of the Geats to help the Danes if his people and king did not approve. Also, Beowulf demonstrates loyalty to Hrothgar because of an allegiance between Beowulf’s father and Hrothgar. Beowulf helped the Danes for glory and because of a sense of devotion to Hrothgar who once helped Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow, after he killed a man. Hrothgar paid the death price for

According to the vikings, in “Viking Warrior,” oaths were an unbreakable promise, that they took very seriously. Vikings believed that if you broke your word that you should die. They did not write down

freeman, earl, and churl to their king - a whole-souled devotion to which Anglo-Saxon was ready

Anglo-Saxon culture consisted of receiving fame, glory, and wealth through acts of vengeance and courage. “Beowulf” portrays these parts in great detail and shows how destabilizing it can be. Through acts of vengeance, a never ending war occurs.

The Anglo Saxons were an interesting people that were loyal to their lord. Each group had a leader that commanded and directed the warriors. Loyalty was an important part of the Anglo Saxons culture. In Beowulf, the Anglo Saxons were expected to remain loyal to their leader as he was responsible for protecting them in battle. The leaders of the Anglo Saxons were admired for their courage and determination as they guided the group of warriors in their endeavors. In “The Wife’s Lament”, the wife remains loyal to her lord even though she is treated harshly by him. She chased after him when he left, and continued to love him after he ostracized her. As evident in Beowulf and “The Wife’s Lament”, the Anglo Saxons greatly relied on a noble leader to protect them from danger and direct them towards success; as a result, the followers were loyal to their lord by showing reverence and admiration as well as honouring their legacy, even if the lord neglected to fulfill his duties.

In Anglo Saxon stories, the relationship between the ruler and his thanes is known as comitatus. The comitatus relationship requires that "the thane swear to defend a lord to their death, while he provides them with the protection and a share of his wealth and weapons." This sounds like a typical

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.

The Anglo-Saxon period was a time around 410 AD where settlers from Modern Germany invaded Britain after the failure of the Roman Empire. Anglo-Saxon warriors were hired to preserve the Roman way of life but decided the land was good for themselves. Therefore, Britain became their home. Anglo-Saxons contributed greatly to the foundations of Britain by spreading their culture in ways of their language, literature, religion and traditions in law and government. They were referred to as the “First Englishmen” and left the strongest reminder of their presence in ways such as the Exeter Book. The Exeter Book was literature that expressed all the ways and values of the Anglo-Saxon people. “The seafarer”, “the wanderer”, and “the wife's lament” being part of the Exeter book expressed the central theme of isolationism.

The Anglo Saxon period is the oldest known period of time that had a complex culture with stable government, art, and a fairly large amount of literature. Many people believe that the culture then was extremely unsophisticated, but it was actually extremely advanced for the time. Despite the many advancements, the period was almost always in a state of war. Despite this fact, the Anglo-Saxon period is a time filled with great advancements and discoveries in culture, society, government, religion, literature, and art.

In Greek Mythology, the power of right is passed by kinship in generations, and people’s belief in gods leads their life and their acts show gods’ will. In the meanwhile, politics originally indicates certain relationships are between politics and groups of individuals. Moreover, politics is always referred to methods, including the purpose and the use of power, for addressing impacts on the tendency of those individuals’ performance, as well as their engagement and activities in civic affairs. In result of that, theories of political behavior are aimed at explicating the influences that define an individual’s behaviors, opinions, and participation in civic

The Anglo-Saxon heroes actively choose to suffer and face their wierd. However, their keeping of the allegiance enables them