Religious Values In Beowulf

Beowulf had loyalty throughout his time getting on that boat and coming to Hrothgar including him fighting the last two battles with the monsters there after killing Grendel. Thats loyalty for sure because he only came to slay Grendel and he did but instead of leaving he stayed. Another situation in the epic where he showed loyalty is battling the dragon for the people with the warriors of his own that he had took under his wing and they ran off like cowards. On Page 52 and in lines 442-443 Beowulf’s people quoted “Our only help , Again, lies with you.” A quote for his people leaving him is on page 58 and are in lines 708-710, “None of his comrades Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble Followers; they ran for their lives, fled Deep in a wood.” This is proof that Beowulf was loyal because dealing with both of the situations he could have went back home and never thought of fighting the dragon and dying afterwards. That is basically how Beowulf showed loyalty in the

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, and the author of Beowulf is unknown. Beowulf is the The setting of Beowulf is in Sweden and Denmark(the book 1231). Beowulf is divided into three parts in which Beowulf fights a dragon, a monster named Grendel, and Grendel’s mother. The Anglo-Saxon people have many values. There are many Anglo-Saxon values throughout Beowulf such as loyalty, strength, bravery, generosity, honor, and glory.

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.

“No better king had ever lived, no prince so mild, no man so open to his people, so deserving of praise.” This is an ultimate description of the heroic events of Beowulf, an old Anglo-Saxon poem about a warrior who battles and destroys three horrifying monsters. Although written long ago, the emotions expressed within this work, emotions of bravery, valor, and ethics still speak to us centuries later. The anonymous author of the poem convinces us through the masterful use of various literary elements that emphasize its meaning and message. Conflict, imagery and setting are three literary elements that contribute to the effectiveness of the poem.

Each individual culture has many cultural truths that a group of people follow and believe in. Cultural truths are principles, values, or standards important to a group of people, which display moral behaviors that are respected and immoral actions that are scorned at. Also, cultural truths are norms in a society that you are born into and are expected to do daily because they shape the lifestyle of a group. For example, during the Anglo-Saxon period, there were a number of cultural truths that were applied to everyday actions and attitudes. An epic poem, composed based on the Anglo-Saxon period called Beowulf, written by an unknown author translated by Seamus Heaney, depicts many of the cultural values of the time period. In the poem, is it revealed that all the cultural values in the Anglo-Saxon culture are developed from the idea of a warrior culture. The epic poem is about a hero named Beowulf from the Geats tribe who goes off and helps Hrothgar and the Danes defeat a monster, Grendel, who attacks their mead hall. Before Beowulf meets his fate he fights three monsters, which includes Grendel, to protect the lives of people in two different tribes. Within the epic poem Beowulf, there are several of cultural values presented and focused on such as, courage in battle, fidelity to one’s word, and loyalty to kinsmen, which are all demonstrated by Beowulf.

During Beowulf’s time, a trait many Anglo-Saxons valued was loyalty. This trait was necessary in the pagan warrior culture that Beowulf lived in and was a key factor in many actions he did. For example, he participated in many events that were grueling for any person, but for Beowulf he would do it in the name of his nation. This is shown when he states, “They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies / when I battled and bound five beasts, / raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea / slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats” (419-423). Beowulf is willing to put himself through long lasting hardships in order to represent his nation. Also, it may appear Beowulf originally kills off Grendel for the Danes (his other fights have been strictly for the Geats) but really, he is paying off a debt to the Danish king for protecting his father’s life and ending a feud started by his father. The king briefly explains this occurrence when telling Beowulf, “There was a feud

Throughout the story of Beowulf, the concept of religion plays a significant role. The Christianity ideology views state that man can survive and do great things through the protection of God. A strong desire of pride is also represented in the form of a hero in Beowulf, which in a sense goes against Christian morals. This clash with Christian morals in Beowulf was in the context of pride vs. humility and selfishness vs. sacrifice. In the book, Hrothgar first explained to Beowulf that pride without humility will only kill him. Beowulf struggles to find his roots as a follower of God, as well as maintaining his views and actions of Paganism.

Religious undertones are prevalent in the literary texts of times past. The writers of that time often penned those stories specifically to teach a moral lesson based on his or her religious beliefs. Beowulf is no exception to that. Though not all scholars believe Beowulf’s author to have been a Christian himself, it is undeniable that Christianity influenced the text. At one point in the epic, Cain, Eve’s son, is directly referenced. With deeper analysis, one can see parallels between the monsters in the story and Satan. It’s also possible to draw similarities between Beowulf and Christ, Himself. There are numerous other examples of Christian undertones scattered throughout the text, and all of them have a cumulative effect that influences the entire epic. Such influences include prompting the reader to approach Beowulf as if it were an allegory (that is, to treat all elements of the story as a potential symbol representing a Biblical idea), indirectly alluding to Biblical stories, and encouraging introspection on the reader’s part by illuminating potential negative traits they may have.

In the old english poem, Beowulf, many religious beliefs are presented in ambiguous manners throughout this epic, Both biblical and secular elements are laced throughout this story by various characters, either in favor of living in the moment, or preparing oneself for the afterlife.

Warriors are considered among the bravest of men. In the Anglo-Saxon community, the warriors were of the most respected class, and made up the foundation for their way of living. Anglo-Saxon warriors would not stop fighting until either they were victorious or they were dead. Written during this Anglo-Saxon period, the epic Beowulf contains many pagan ideals, in addition to several references to Christian philosophy. Beowulf is a tale of dual ordeals; an external fight against treacherous enemies, and an internal struggle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, and betrayal. The story intertwines them with both pagan and Christian beliefs.

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.

Ashley Burns Kimberly Joyner English IVH 16 December 2015 Religion in Beowulf Beowulf was written in 1000 A.D by the Germanic Anglo-Saxons. During this time, Religion played a key role in society. Christianity was spreading throughout the land and essentially converted all the Anglo-Saxons from Paganistic beliefs to the Christian faith. Paganism was a “darker” religion while Christianity was much “lighter”. “Holy places are dark places.

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

Originating in the Anglo-Saxon period, the epic poem Beowulf portrays a legendary hero. Beowulf established the earlier form of heroism, and was then later introduced in to the English culture. Praised and admired by many people, Beowulf possesses several distinct traits that allow him to be defined perfectly as an ideal Anglo-Saxon hero; his eagerness to seek glory and fame, rather than richness and treasures, his loyalty and graceful attitude not only to his rulers but also to his followers, and his contradictory beliefs of faith and fate

The epic tale of Beowulf was written sometime after his death. In other words, a long time ago during the Anglo-Saxon period. Today, directors in Hollywood did not keep from creating their own rendition of this epic poem As a result, plenty of modern interpretations of Beowulf, such as Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel, have been released. Naturally, the cultural values that might be reflected in modern Beowulf renditions will demonstrate a clash with those of the original fifth century Beowulf literature. One reason for this is that in the modern age we value characters with profound characteristics, characters that change due to the challenges they experience; characters that we as the audience can attach to. Flat characters like those of the original Beowulf text are difficult to empathize with since they are not realistic enough for our standards. Due to these differences in culture and values, the Beowulf and Grendel from the original Beowulf text possess definite contrasts when compared with their Beowulf and Grendel counterparts.