Comparing Beowulf And The Anglo Saxon Era

more than use art to rid of unwelcome spirits. Shields, churches, even the handles of swords have been known to have pictures, or art, on them by this time. Much like Egyptians, important members of society would generally be buried with artifacts to keep them protected in the afterlife. Which is a peculiar sight to see since the Anglo-Saxons did not believe the afterlife as pagans, but as stated, they were converted into Christians when the St. Augustine came to the pagans.

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 Anglo-Saxons’ cultures and traditions are rooted in their beliefs of the perfect hero. Their ideal hero has many key characteristics influenced by their culture including courage, strength, bravery, thick skin, loyalty, humbleness, and the ability to create strong trustworthy friendships. Beowulf is an epic poem that exhibits the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero. The Anglo-Saxon traditions illustrated in Beowulf accurately represent the Anglo-Saxon traditions of the time period. This is accomplished through the distinct correlation of heroic characteristics between Beowulf and the culture’s traditional depiction of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Beowulf is one of the oldest poems in history, it was originally written in Anglo-Saxon, and it was told orally with many literary devices so it could be remembered throughout generations. It shows what their society was based on back in the Anglo-Saxon era. Although throughout history the poem has been changed to fit our modern day society. For example, having different values and morals and how we look at religion has all changed. In the Beowulf poem and movie there are many similarities and differences in Religion, Characterization, and Morals it highlights the value and beliefs of each 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.

Many people wonder how you could possibly compare an ancient Anglo-Saxon culture with the sophisticated world that we live in today. Despite numerous cultural and technological advancements, the time of Beowulf and modern day have many similarities. When examining the two cultures closely, it is observed that they have not so much changed as they have evolved. Having an army, fearing literal and hypothetical monsters, and the joy of different forms of entertainment are three of the most common and obvious resemblances. Although, Beowulf took place in the fifth century, our current day society has significant similarities to this time period.

Beowulf is an epic story about a man who soon becomes king of the Geats because he shows great loyalty and dedication for protecting his people. Beowulf fights his own battles, without anyone fighting beside him. Beowulf fight his battles the way the most people would not dare to even try, no matter if they had the numbers and the weapons. Beowulf saved a town, three times, each time by killing a certain monster that came and threatened the town he cared about. But, within the last battle Beowulf had fought, he had died. Beowulf would soon be

there were several battles and fights taking place in a variety of different locations. Beowulf was a brave warrior, who was called upon to defeat monsters that terrorized towns and the townspeople. He was well known for being stronger than almost every warrior and that he could take down sea monsters by himself. Beowulf was the sheer vision of someone who could take on anything thrown at him or went against him. Beowulf in the beginning of his reign as the greatest warrior in the land, had fought to protect those who needed help and by the end of his warrior days, he was a greedy and hungry for glory. Beowulf developed as hero throughout the three fights by fighting to defend others, fighting to please himself and fighting to be glorified.

The battle with Grendel starts out as an impossible feat. Beowulf participates in this fight as a way to repay for all the splendid things that the king has given to his father. Beowulf possesses the strength

Throughout the era of the Anglo-Saxons, there was one main code which provided a way of living for the people known as the warriors’ code. Deemed as fighting or die trying. In this society, heroes were only the bravest and most superior warriors who embodied strength, intelligence, and courage. In this era of the Anglo-Saxons, Beowulf exemplified these three characteristics through his numerous encounters. These included confrontations with creatures such as Grendel and an all mighty dragon. Although Beowulf participated in various battles, some were more heroic than others such as his fight with Grendel compared to the fight with Grendel’s mother. In Beowulf’s battle against Grendel Beowulf was more heroic than during his measly encounter

When Beowulf agrees to battle Grendel, he is purely accepting the challenge because he feels it is his moral obligation. He knows it is his duty to defend and protect the citizens of Geats. Obviously, no one honestly wants to fight a massive lizard man, who can crush thirty men at once, but hey, let's let Beowulf give it a shot. Surprisingly, Beowulf tells the King that he wants to fight the monster with his bare hands; grappling, would be a better way to describe his intentions. I am still not completely sure why Beowulf chose to deny any and all kinds of weapons, but his insane game plan ends up working, so I guess that's all that truly matters

In the old English Anglo-Saxon writings, many heroes were given fanciful characteristics. For example, Beowulf was depicted with an immense amount of strength that people today could not achieve. Nowadays, the recreation of old fiction is very common. However, when fiction from the eighth century is recreated to fit our modern time, the characters are seen to resemble our human features, skills, and ways of thinking. Eighth-century writing is not as rational as our entertainment today. Comparing today 's modern Beowulf & Grendel (Gunnarsson) with the Anglo-Saxon period Beowulf (Heaney), we are shown the many differences of culture and realism between the characters through their strength, intellect, and way of living.

Anglo-Saxon culture, as conceived through the context and writing of Beowulf, provides a clear glimpse into the lives, modes of function, and habits of the ancient society. In this, many aspects of their culture can be understood from reading the epic and analyzing the importance of it’s contents. However, certain details about large cultural ideologies, such as Anglo-Saxon beliefs concerning the universe and conduct, convey a deeper and more important understanding of Anglo-Saxon society. These concepts, in building the framework of our understanding for and about Anglo-Saxon culture at this time period in history, displays a complexity and line of thought that is still present to a degree in modern times. Thus, the Anglo-Saxon concepts

In Beowulf we see characteristics such as bravery, loyalty, honor, superhuman physical strength, and the willingness to risk his life for the greater good. Beowulf shows bravery when he hears about how Grendel is attacking the Hrothgar and the hall. Grendel was attacking the men at night and Beowulf wanted to go help. "In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac’s follower and the strongest of the Geats greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world heard how Grendel filled nights with horror and quickly commanded a boat fitted out, proclaiming that he’d go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar, now when help was needed." (Beowulf 111-116) In this section we see how Beowulf was not afraid to go up against Grendel . He shows his willing to risk his life for the greater good when he is not afraid to go up against the dragon in his last battle. " “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old, now, but I will fight again,

Anglo-Saxons conquered most of the British Isle in the centuries following the withdrawal of the Roman Empire. While they were Germanic pagans, they crossed the North Sea to Britain bringing their ideals with them in 449 AD. 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.