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Beowulf change
Anglo saxon beliefs and values
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Beowulf change
Anglo saxon beliefs and values
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Anglo - Saxon Culture valued war, loyalty, honor, and riches. The American values are not the same as the Anglo - Saxon values. The Modern day values focus more on religion and equality. Shild was an abandoned child, who valued honor and riches to become a King.
However, Beowulf was the last of his family after a fifty year reign. He gave his throne to Wiglaf because he was by his side when he was dying. Beowulf felt as if he could up keep a legacy because he was loyal to be by his side. Christianity coexist uneasily at
He had no fear fighting off Grendel, but he did have fear fighting the dragon, but he was not going to give up. Beowulf was so loyal to the Geats he died after killing the dragon. The soldiers in the world are loyal to our country by protecting the citizens and obeying orders. Some soldiers die fighting, but most soldiers would be happy to die that way knowing that they fought for our
He withheld his strength, unless necessary, and with time, grew the loyalty, courage, and faith warriors have today. To start off with, loyalty is defined as “the quality of being loyal to someone or something”. In Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is illustrated in your mind as a powerful being who is modest in thought and speech and he is very loyal to his king and the Danes king, Hrothgar. Beowulf, is both modest and humble, when kindly explaining to
America has lost thousands of men and women in the Middle East assisting our allies. Beowulf lost a few men against Grendel and Grendel's mother. No matter how many people are lost, loyalty remains in both cases. From Beowulf loyalty is a key element in the Anglo-Saxon culture and is proven that people rely on each other. Also, Beowulf identify the problem of recognizing the bad guy or the monster.
After Beowulf’s army abandons him in his time of need against the dragon, Wiglaf addresses them, stating, “Everyone of you… our whole nation will be dispossessed, once princes from beyond get tidings of how you turned and fled and disgraced yourselves. A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame” (Heaney 195). Beowulf’s people prize the integrity and courage of a warrior above all else because it is the only way to keep a society safe and stable against enemies. Wiglaf’s accusations show that not only will the warriors lose respect and pay the price for their cowardice, but so will the entire kingdom, as foreign invaders will prey on their weakness.
The epic Beowulf is set in the misty days of ancient Scandinavia, far removed from modern society and modern notions of morality. Certain elements are familiar, however, such as the overall structure of society. While significantly smaller than the modern idea of a nation-state, Anglo-Saxon government is set up along similar lines. The ruling class is present and expounded upon in the epic, as are the warriors; in fact, the lines between the two are often blurred. Peasants are referred to, but are implied more than anything, as is typical in this sort of poetry.
During this time, full devotion to a king was integral and Beowulf expresses his intention to complete his mission at all costs. His courageous personality, unending bravery, and devout loyalty do not go unnoticed. Regardless of the challenge and the potential sacrifice, Beowulf’s devotion to protecting a fellow kingdom exemplifies his commitment to embodying the Anglo-Saxon code. After Beowulf’s meeting with Hrothgar, the king grants him permission to battle and kill Grendel. When addressing how he and his men plan to kill him Beowulf says, “I hereby renounce/ sword and the shelter of the broad shield,/ the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand/ is how it will be, a life-and-death with the
Although Beowulf has all of these qualities he completes such traitorous, dangerous feats for all of the wrong reasons. From these tasks, Beowulf expects everlasting glory, fame, and above all immortality. Elements such as friendship, loyalty, generosity and bravery were quintessential in Anglo-Saxon society. The most important being loyalty, without it the whole system would crumble. As the whole Anglo-Saxon “government” ran on the loyalty to each other, if there was no more loyalty between each other there would be no culture.
Beowulf was distinguished as a hero by the fact that he was a selfless, and did not return to Geatland when given the opportunity. After he had ripped off Grendel’s arm leaving him crippled to bleed to death, he had the opportunity to leave the Danes and return back to his homeland. However, he chose to stay and slay Grendel's mother. He did this brave, heroic act to keep the Danes safe from the wrath of her vengeance on the town for the death of her only beloved son, Grendel. By him doing this, it shows that he valued the Danes’ safety more than his, and he would do critical tasks in order to keep them safe.
These nations were all founded by Anglo-Saxons and while they shared languages, religions, and culture, they were constantly at war with each other, as all Anglo-Saxon warriors must embody possibly the most important of the Anglo-Saxon values, loyalty. Warriors must be absolutely loyal to their own kings and must fight to protect him and the kingdom even at the cost of their own life. In Beowulf, both loyalty and lack of loyalty are displayed. Beowulf's loyalty is shown when he asks his king, Hygelac, if he could be allowed to help King Hrothgar defeat the monster Grendel, who had been attacking Hrothgar's kingdom for the past 12 years. His victory over Grendel added greatly to his reputation as a warrior, and he had earned the respect of Hrothgar, but Beowulf remained loyal and returned to his king.
He did travel across the sea to kill a demon and then the demon’s mother for what seemed to be good will. Beowulf even states he is helping Hrothgar since he had helped Beowulf’s father in the past and Beowulf is returning the favor. Yet, Beowulf is still acting on his pride. He wants to defeat Grendel being that no one has been able to in the past and killing the monster for the Danes would surely bring him more honor and treasures. Beowulf never says that is why he is helping Hrothgar, but the context in which Beowulf says why he is there would suggest he cares more about glory than loyalty like he originally said.
The continued honor shown in Beowulf’s character shines through when Beowulf never mentions that Unferth’s trusted sword was no match for Grendel’s mother. Beowulf could have simply boasted how the sword was useless and ineffective against the female beast, yet he was silent out of respect for Unferth. Finally, during Beowulf’s time as ruler (fifty winters), another beast arrives: a dragon. This time, Beowulf is much older and is in a much weaker state than when he first defeated Grendel and his mother. However, that does not deter Beowulf from going out and defending his kingdom.
Beowulf risked his life multiple times by battling Grendel and Grendel’s mother to save the people of Denmark. He also embarks on a battle with a dragon as an old man ascending on the Geats Throne. Each battle Beowulf fought has all been for the safety of his people. Although the Knight did not battle as a deed for his people, he also is viewed as a humble person his battles were for a purpose greater than himself. The knight never talks about his brave and valorous deeds.
Motivations The three cardinal motivations for Beowulf to fight the monsters. People often have very different reasons to do something than others. Sometimes, people wonder why others do the things they do.