Anglo Saxon Identity Essay

My cultural ancestry comes from a Cuban and Mexican decent. I have chosen to write about my Cuban side because I can relate to them more than I could with my Mexican side. I was raised around my Cuban family and would occasionally see my Mexican side due to them living so far away. I have spent a lot more time associating with Cubans and have adapted to more of their habits.

The Anglo-Saxons kept detailed records of their familial heritage through oral stories, such as Beowulf. When the narrator introduces a character into the story, he uses family lineage as an identifier. Beowulf introduces himself as “‘King Hygelac’s blood-kin,’” and King Hrothgar notes that Beowulf’s “‘kin-folk and I are hearth friends’” (390). Such elaborate descriptions of relationships are present with all of the major human characters introduced. The constant references to lineage and bonds of friendship show that the Anglo-Saxons exceedingly valued the ties to their ancestors and companions. By placing emphasis on their roots and their friendships, the Anglo-Saxons were creating the basis of civilized society.

As American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez expressed, “Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.” Respecting everyone’s culture is a necessity, no matter their ethnic background, or if they stand out in society. Language, customs, food, and religion are all parts of a culture everyone possesses. All individuals have a viewpoint, a perspective of what cultures the world around them is compromised of. The culture in every human influences how they view the world around them by hiding one’s own culture, giving people biased views of others’ ethnicities, and weighing down the minority groups.

The story of Beowulf demonstrates well the type of lives the people of this time era lived. W.J. Courthope, and English educator, notes that during the story of Beowulf “…nothing can be more careless and casual than the references to the heroic exploits, the family relationships, and the tribal feuds of the persons and nations mentioned in the course of the story.” (1) Courthope believed that Beowulf was a work that’s true intentions were at the root of beginning to introduce Christianity to the Anglo-Saxon people of this time, and he readily supports this to have been “a work of oral literature by a Christian minstrel-poet that provides a valuable reflection of Teutonic life … it has been necessary to say in support of the proposition that Beowulf is to be regarded as a sample of the minstrelsy prevailing among the Anglo-Saxons before their conversion to Christianity.” (1) This is a stark contrast from the government system demonstrated in the story about King Arthur, and how the everyday lives and the role of the leadership or government systems had changed over time.

Anglo-Saxons refers to settlers from the German regions that migrated to Britain during the fall of the Roman Empire. In the story Beowulf, his actions portray him, indeed be an epic hero. Both Christianity and Paganism are both portrayed throughout the epic Beowulf. Beowulf frequently speaks of God throughout the story, while there are also many Pagan elements that are evident throughout the story as well. In addition, "It 's hard to ignore the Christian and Pagan elements in Beowulf. These types of elements are what define the heroic warrior in the epic Beowulf"(Vengeance the Pagan and Christian Inspiration). Throughout the epic Beowulf, while the Anglo-Saxons followed Christianity, they had a hard time letting go of the Pagan beliefs when things got hard.

In growing up in the position of the ‘other’ in society, Smith provides an empowered stance of identity exclusively through the demonstration of cultural hybridity, as evidenced by Millat and his gangster crew, the Raggastani’s. As Millat becomes increasingly connected to a swaggering identity highlighted by Western popular culture, his sense of belonging becomes established with the multicultural mix of South Asian and Caribbean teens he hangs out with: “It was a new breed, just recently joining the ranks of the other street crews. Becks, B-boys, Nation Brothers, Raggas, and Pakis; manifesting itself as a kind of cultural mongrel of the last three categories. Their ethos, their manifesto, if it could be called that, was equally a hybrid thing” (193). Here, Smith uses the Raggastani’s as a symbol representing the emerging identity of a multicultural London transformed by the migration of formerly colonized populations from South Asia and the Caribbean. Their mission, to put the “invincible back in Indian, the Bad-aaaass back in Bengali, the P-Funk back in Pakistani” (193), is about taking their identities which have been devalued in Western society and linking them together through a collective sense of approval. As a productive example of cultural hybridity taking place, they are a direct contrast with the forms of difference and racial purity that the Chalfen`s represent, and the resistance of letting go of traditions that their parents uphold. The group tries on a series

As time progressed and new ideas came about, they found themselves with the difficult task of deciding whether their culture would consist of pagan or Christian beliefs. This advancement, however, was no easy task and was surely not going to happen overnight. With this “unknown” decision yet to be made in their culture, the Anglo-Saxon people had many uncertainties which inevitably caused many concerns for them. So, as a solution, they did what any human being would do in order to obtain some type of comfort and security in their lives; they bottled up their fears and placed them in the hands of an epic

Throughout the Anglo-Saxon and Middle Age periods the main characters always had a similar established value; honor. This value is prominent in Beowulf, “The Seafarer”, and The Canterbury Tales. Each of the main characters portray honor either to himself, his followers, his king, and/or his God. These poems are the different aspects of honor intertwined together to form the most prevailing value during this time frame.

The Anglo-Saxons were Germanic pagans who invaded Britain and conquered large parts of the island in the centuries following the withdrawal of the Roman Empire. They crossed the North Sea to Britain in 449 AD bringing along new ideals with them. They valued many things in their culture; courage, religion, gratitude, strength, storytelling, loyalty, and morals are among some of the concepts they held in high regard.

The Anglo-Saxons were Germanic tribes from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony that had moved over to Britain. They had conquered the Jutes and Frisians from Denmark. In the time period where the Anglo-Saxon’s were living and thriving (410-660 A.D.), glory was one of the more important points of their beliefs. They wanted glory for their king, glory for their warrior tribe, glory for themselves, and finally, glory for their ancestors. Glory was the thread that kept the Anglo-Saxon culture, the warrior clans, and epic heroes, such as Beowulf himself, truly glorious.

Throughout the 17th and 18th century there has been several works written that allow us to make connections between the author , society, and help define “Anglo Saxons”, “Middle English”, and “Renaissance.” These works have various themes that infuse all three periods of British literature. Though there are several significant themes in British Literature, one theme are most apparent. The theme of loyalty in the Beowulf demonstrates how important loyalty was to the Anglo Saxons, while loyalty is not shown where it is supposed to be in the Canterbury Tales.

Beowulf Today The Anglo Saxons were a group of Germanic people who were the origins of Great Britain, back in the early 5th century, lasting until the 11th century, until they evolved into a different peoples giving a foundation for Britain that is seen later on in the following hundreds of years. These people were incredibly proud, and held very strong beliefs relating to their religion, camaraderie, and strength. Anglo Saxons were pagans, meaning that they had practiced a non-Christian religion; usually some form of polytheism, and this gave them a basis for their beliefs. They also had a very strong sense of camaraderie, moreso seen in the idea of comitatus, which is a strong sense of loyalty between a lady/lord and their subjects.

As the Anglo-Saxon’s settled in, the Jutes and the Frisians from Denmark were also settling in the British Isles, but the Anglo-Saxon settlers set their rules and became their own masters in a new land. Throughout the period the Anglo-Saxon’s broke off into seven known kingdoms: Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, and

In the years following the fall of Camelot the continued struggle to unite England waged on. To the north in Scotland warring factions of Vikings continued their brutal and savage pillaging of local inhabitants. For over three hundred years up until the 9th century both England and Scotland were so divided wars and bloodshed was a fact of life. So little time for peace and prosperity and what little there was of both swiftly came to a violent and savage end. Out of this period rode a man who would change the landscape of England and Scotland. Silas Moore a Saxon noble whose own linage can be traced to the court of Charlemagne arrived in Southern England at a time when the English Saxons were constantly being threatened by Danish invaders from

Britain is a small island north of Europe and during the early centuries it was part of the Roman Empire. However, the Germanic invaders known as Anglos and Saxons started conquering the southeastern lands of Britain. Consequently, during the early Middle Ages works of British literature were starting to be published. As such literature represents one way to learn about the culture of Britain. For Example, Beowulf and “The Dream of the Rood” describes Christian beliefs, which was the popular religion in Britain.