Anglo Saxon Research Paper

Throughout the story, Beowulf’s boasts resemble nothing less than a symbol of his arrogance. “…sailors have brought us stories of Herot, the best of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the moon hangs in skies the sun had lit, light and life fleeing together. My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king. 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. Now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come…I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I. My lord

Beowulf’s strong abilities allow him to lift a sword made for the giants. Although Beowulf is like Incredible Hulk, they also have differences. Unlike Incredible Hulk, Beowulf is not mean. Beowulf cares for his country and only strives to protect them. Incredible Hulk is mean, and bullies anyone in his way. People run away from Beowulf, just like they would Incredible Hulk. People runaway from them because they are scared of their strengths. “Grendel’s one thought was to run from Beowulf…”(Raffel, 1963, l.330-331). Beowulf is capable of lifting very heavy things, and which make him very powerful to the world.

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

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf touches on the vice of pride, and is instilled in the main character, Beowulf, the great and mighty warrior. His boasting and arrogance when first dropping anchor at Heorot transitions throughout the poem, and, in contrast with his ideal kingsmanship, motivates him to accomplish and overcome the many challenges he faces as an epic hero. The contrast of his absent humility in the rise and fall of the story help promote the progression of the story, through its different purposes. Beowulf, when first landing upon Hrothgar’s kingdom, boasts, which does not go unchallenged, so that he might gain the trust of the Danes, but when knowingly facing his last battle, uses bragging to comfort and brace himself for his ultimate demise.

To begin, a cultural truth admired by the Anglo-Saxon is courage in battle because it is a trait of a good warrior in the eyes of Anglo-Saxon people. Courage in battle is the ability to not be afraid of the enemy, be strong, and brave. Beowulf shows his above average strength and courage in battle when he is going to battle Grendel: “When it comes to battle, I count myself/ as dangerous any day as Grendel,/ … No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me/ if face me he dares” (Beowulf 677-685). In this quote Beowulf states and declares his abandonment of weapons, as well as his belief that he is as strong as Grendel, so he will fight him without a weapon. This shows Beowulf’s courage in battle because it displays his tremendous strength and boldness by going to fight a monster with no weapons, which demonstrates that he is not

In the story Beowulf, the main character Beowulf shows a lot of character of a hero. The characteristic are bold, level headed and strong, Beowulf is bold because he fight and risk his life for his people. For example he fights Grendel first and kills him and Grendel’s mom mother came for revenge, he fights her without a sword but ends up killing her with one. Starting at line 490 to 493,“And struck will

On the contrary, people might describe Beowulf as pompous and conceited because of his long speeches of pride. Yes, these speeches do stroke his ego, but his egotistical mindset is no match for 3 monsters, his ego did not beat those monsters he did. His pride comes from a place of fear and weakness and in order to show the people that he has proof of strength, he must show them through pride. These long speeches of pride do not make him stronger, they only make him more right, “no strength is a match for mine” he said while describing his “battle” with Brecca (267). When Beowulf arrives he is an outsider who has come to save them, and only cares about the betterment of people. This kind of thinking is what drives the plot forward, Beowulf's ability to block out the things that make him weak (everybody drowning in his debt) is very powerful, filtering the comments to aid him instead of go to far and make him weak.

Beowulf embodies the Anglo-Saxon archetype of an epic hero. A key moment in the epic is when king Hrothgar welcomes Beowulf to his kingdom and says “But to table, Beowulf, a banquet in your honor:/Let us toast your victories, and talk of the future” (ll. 223-224). Here it is shown that even a king is acknowledging Beowulf’s bravery and is throwing him a feast, one of the highest honors a king could bestow upon anyone, showing Hrothgar’s great admiration for Beowulf. During the feast Unferth questions Beowulf’s honor but is shown to be a coward himself when Beowulf refutes his claims and inspires king Hrothgar with a speech: “The Geats will show him courage, soon/He can test his strength in battle. And when the sun/Comes up again, opening another/Bright day from the south, anyone in Denmark” will be able to enter Herot (ll. 332-342). Much like they typical Anglo-Saxon

In the beginning of the book Beowulf is described as the greatest hero of the world. Beowulf comes to hear about the destruction Grendel has caused and travels to the land of the Danes to try and help Hrothgar defeat Grendel. He brought to sea with him 14 brave warriors and voyaged to Hrothgar’s kingdom. As they exit the boat the mounted guard asks what Beowulf and his warriors are doing, Beowulf responds in a long message about what they are doing there and who they are going to save. The mounted guard responds “I believe your words, I trust in your friendship. Go forward, weapons and armor and all, on into Denmark. I’ll guide you myself and my men will guard your ship, keep it safe here on our shores” (Raffel 15). Beowulf gives off the feeling to people that do not even know him that he is a great hero and that he can be trusted.

The Anglo Saxon is a primary source written by an anglican monk who was captured and taken back to Norway. This chronicle is a recount of the brutal and harsh conditions in captivity and slavery. However; it may not be 100% historically correct due to the obvious grudge and biased point of view the monks have against the Viking warriors. The chronicle was originally written in old english and continuously updated for many years between, 1116-1154 AD . 9 copies of the original were made and spread throughout monasteries around england. All of these facts help depict the importance of this book. This source is quoted as being the single most useful old english historical source due to the fact that it helped historians piece together the romanian

Strength is without a doubt one of the most important traits which a hero should possess and the Anglo-Saxon’s felt the same way. Beowulf’s strength can be compared to that of the American comic book heroes, Superman and Batman, for he is deemed the “strongest and greatest of the Geats”. The first time that his strength is witnessed, not just spoken of, is when he kills Grendel by ripping the monstrous villain’s arm off. But his most notable display of strength occurs when he enters into combat with Grendel’s mother. When everything seems to be going all wrong for Beowulf, he spies a “heavy” sword hanging on the wall of her lair. With all his power and might, Beowulf drew the sword, “hammered by giants...and….so massive that no ordinary man could life it”, from its scabbard. He “lifts it high over his head”, the sword clasped

Beowulf consciously chooses to act in a superhuman manner: “I shall perform the deeds of a hero or I have passed my last day in this mead hall.” Even Grendel recognizes the hero’s superior strength: “The criminal knew he had not met in this middle-earth another with such a grip.” Other warriors when thinking of Beowulf “would quickly compose a skillful tale in words.” Hrothgar refers to Beowulf as “the best of warriors.”  The Danish queen Wealhtheow compliments after Grendel’s defeat, “You have earned forever the praise of men from near and far.” Hrothgar expounds on good warriors: “This is the best-born man – my friend Beowulf … the best of warriors.” When the dragon burns the mead hall of the Geats and Beowulf prepares to retaliate, he “scorned a host, a large army … he didn’t fear the dragon’s war …” Beowulf is also superior in a moral sense: When Hygelac’s wife Hygd previously offered Beowulf the kingdom, he declined to accept because there was a legitimate heir to the throne. Beowulf’s example of extreme heroism motivates others to extraordinary deeds: Wiglaf, seeing Beowulf’s strength compromised by the dragon’s fire, risks his life to aid Beowulf in his final battle. It is obvious that the hero possesses superhuman qualities. As

Beowulf was a highly skilled and great fighter, but because of his over-confidence in himself the

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.

In the Anglo-Saxon literature, the scop has a privilege of retaining history, culture and social values of that society. In many cases the scop exercises the power to create stories which reflect the values of that society. The Rood in the ¡°The Dream of the Rood¡± also tells a story of which affects its society and people. The existence of this witness that reports the suffering and the glorification of Christ proves necessary for the people to believe. The Rood becomes a hero that preserves an event that proves crucial to the society. As the Rood observes the suffering of Christ, it also shares with him the pains of crucifixion. In other words, the Rood takes part in Christ¡¯s crucifixion which pertains to the salvation of the souls.