The Anglo-Saxon Generation

The epic Beowulf tells the tale of a legendary archetypal hero named Beowulf who slays the evil monsters that terrorizes a foreign king’s kingdom as well as defeat a terrifying dragon that has plagued his homeland. By listening to the story of Beowulf, Anglo Saxons could learn about their ancient values of bravery, loyalty, and the heroism needed to defeat the evil monsters; these epic heroes were the self-portraits of their cultures. Beowulf is the manifestation of the Anglo Saxon values: bravery, physical strength, fame, loyalty as a follower, and generosity as a leader.

What kinds of cultural values would have contributed to the Anglo-Saxon Poetry? The value of valor contributes to the Anglo-Saxon poetry and is in Beowulf. Unselfishness also contributes to the culture and shows in the story of “The Seafarer”. The value of justice in “The Wanderer” contributes to the poetic characteristics also. These values all contribute to the Anglo-Saxon culture and show how writers back then have a basis to follow for poetic aspects.

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.

Throughout the Anglo-Saxon period, treasure and weaponry were highly valued among the kingdom and its people. Only those worthy enough to the King or Queen would receive treasure. Treasure was typically given to high-ranking warriors and loyal civilians that had accomplished some great deed. Beowulf shows that these men were so attached to those treasures and weapons that they buried them along with their dead

English is a language that has been around for roughly 1300 years. Its’ early days included several variations of the language. Despite this, the Anglo-Saxons were the most prevalent group in England and are basically the most responsible for the long history of the English language as they were one of the few groups in the world not using Latin. Their history and culture is largely responsible for where the language is in the world today, with several classic pieces coming from this time period which showcase what the various tribes valued in terms of traits. The Anglo-Saxons were a people who respected honor, justice, and bravery.

Beowulf shows the anglo saxon ideal of pride and self worth. Beowulf goes to the land of the

Beowulf has been translated from long ago, so no one knows if he was a real person or just a story. There are nine values that give strength to the inner self and respect for others and the community. Anglo Saxon’s were community and family based people. Their value included Courage and Selflessness, Truth, Honor, and Perseverance. Beowulf was a normal man who worked hard to achieve his goals and make life better for those around him.

Beowulf, the great warrior of the Geats hears about a monster named Grendel, a monster who controls Herot. Herot is a town that’s in desperate need for a savior; consequently, Beowulf believes that he can be that guy. The author of this Beowulf is unfortunately unknown. There are many examples of Anglo-Saxon values in Beowulf. Anglo-Saxon’s values are key to how they live their life.

In “Elements of Literature” it says, “Fame and success, even survival, were gained only through loyalty to the leader” which shows that in order to have a decent life as an Anglo Saxon, you must show loyalty to others in your tribe. They also relied on one another to create security since they lived in clusters and show the relationships between leaders. In Beowulf, Wiglaf was the only Geat who decided to stay and help Beowulf kill the dragon while all the other men hid for their lives. Wiglaf was loyal to Beowulf and in the end of the poem it says “Then the king in his great… unclasped the collar of gold from his neck and gave it to the young thane”. Beowulf is giving his valued belongings to Wiglaf in thanks for staying with him before Beowulf dies.

Beowulf is the classic hero archetype, his personality and heroics lauded and replicated in literature to this day. However, the same cannot be said about the Northern Anglo-Saxon society that fashioned him. A thorough dissertation of Beowulf exposes a society principally centred on opulence, strife, vengeance, brutality, superstitions, and chauvinism although underlying positive aspects subsist. Often disguised as “honor, glory, might and wealth” battle glory, affluence and retribution were rudimentary aspects of life for the Ring Danes, Geats and other pagan Anglo-Saxon warriors.

Gold and wealth is described at length in Beowulf, suggesting that it has a large significance in Scandinavian culture. It is often given by kings to their tribes to ensure loyalty from their people , and also to demonstrate their successes in battle. Here Wealhtheow offers this torque to Beowulf, asking him to ‘take delight’ (1216) in it, and to ‘wear it for luck’ (1217). This suggests Wealhtheow is distracting Beowulf from King Hrothgar’s desire to adopt him as a son, and entreating him to simply accept the status of warrior by offering him a reward of gold. She also uses prolepsis to predict a future for Beowulf, further ensuring that he is not dissatisfied with his position as a warrior ‘Be acclaimed for strength, for kindly guidance/ to these two boys, and your bounty will be sure’ (1219-1220). This also is transitional, bringing in past victories and tying them to future ones, showing Beowulf a picture of his future legacy. He has already ‘won renown’ and is ‘known to all men’ (1221), and ought to be reassured that he has achieved the glory he set out to gain, without the further need to overshadow her sons. Here we can see that gold is

There’s one thing people all around the world have in common; it’s morals. Early chivalric virtues were the precursor to modern moral codes. During the Anglo Saxon era heroic codes played a immense role in their culture. The Saxons believed in strength, courage, and loyalty. These codes were not only applied to warriors, but women and the kings too. The Anglo Saxons culture and codes can be erected from stories like Beowulf and Sir Gawain The Green Knight. Stories like these were told by scopes to influence young men into fearless warriors. The chivalric virtues fidelity and honest were representations of knightly codes of the late 14th century.

Anglo Saxon literature displays death, violence, and abandonment, all of which cause great conflict within the culture. Men are always going off to defeat beings of magic and mystery. Through the analysis of Beowulf and other famous Anglo Saxon poems, it is evident that death and abandonment cause loss of self. In The Wife’s Lament Anglo Saxon literature displays loss of self due to abandonment .

Many cultures have their own way of determining the status of a person by a value system. Although, the value system of the Anglo-Saxons in the Middle Ages is quite different than the value systems of today. The value systems, most people know, determine status by how much money or how accomplished an individual is. This is similar to the value system explained in the epic poem, but there are just a few differences. The value system is determined mostly by the heroic code, in which the main character in the epic poem, Beowulf, shows many of those characteristics of the heroic code that a warrior knight, of that time, followed. The heroic code also helps exemplify the culture of the Anglo-Saxon in the Middle Ages by explaining the emphasis the Anglo-Saxons put on their admiration of men of outstanding courage.

The giving of gold and treasures after a victory in battle shows the value of celebration and generosity within the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture. After defeating Grendel, Hrothgar throws a big feast. At this feast, he rewards Beowulf with tons of treasures, such as, “… a gold standard as a victory gift, /an embroidered banner; also breast-mail / and a helmet; and a sword carried high, / that was both precious object and token of honor (1020-1023). The defeat of Grendel gives Beowulf the fame and glory he desired. Now, because he has slain the monster, he is seen as the strongest warrior around. With this title and recognition, lots of gold and treasures come towards him. This giving of gifts shows the traditions within the warrior culture because they are rewarded for their courageous acts. The rewards also