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How Did Christianity Influence Anglo Saxon Time

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Many compositions of Anglo-Saxon, also known as Old English, literature reflect the influence of Christianity on the British isles. The widespread acceptance of Christianity in the seventh century had a strong effect on literacy, as laws, histories, and ecclesiastic writings that were publicized by the church. Most of the pieces written during the Anglo Saxon period were composed between c.650 and c.1100. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and many others. These writings often combine Christian texts with Germanic heroic values. Religion played a very important role during the Anglo-Saxon time period. Before the year 596, almost everybody had strong pagan beliefs. …show more content…

By the year 650, almost all of England had converted to Christianity. Everyone applied their religious beliefs to what they did everyday including art and literature. During the Anglo Saxon time period, religion was a very popular topic for literature due to its large amount of influence in society. Heroism was also a main topic of literature during the Anglo-Saxon period. Heroism was highly praised during that time especially because of the constant war present in society. During this time, there was little or no topics of romantic love. Only about 30,000 lines of poetry from the age have survived to this time, and the epic poem "Beowulf" makes up a large portion of that. The Anglo Saxon period was historically of crucial importance because it was then that the foundations of an English nation took place. The Anglo Saxon's were a feudal system government which influenced England's development of what is now a monarchy system. The Anglo Saxons had many parts of their culture that we have today. Their period impacted the foundation of art, society, literature and culture of what he have

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The portrayal of someone who constantly defied the will of God by the alienated character Grendel and the embodiment of the heroic character Beowulf as someone who greatly admired the Lord show the value of practicing religion in the Anglo-Saxon

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As for the lack of reference to the story of Jesus Christ and the crucifixion, the way I understand it, is that the early Anglo-Saxons had a great affinity for the Old Testament, it 's the source of one third of the extant poetry and a lot of the prose, according to the Malcolm Godden chapter in The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. Godden gives the reason that the Old Testament offered a straight answer to how the world and man began,so for them it was really a history book. The Anglo-Saxons also could see parallels between themselves and the Hebrew tribes (at first as invaders trying to set themselves up in a new land and later, dealing

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The thing that stands out when reading the stories of Beowulf, Sir Gawain, and the Canterbury Tales is that the writers use Christianity to show conflicts in human nature. Also with these stories taking place in different times with writers who have different opinions about Christianity and how it has influences Society. For example, in Beowulf, the writer chooses to mash up the ideas of Christianity and paganism because during the time that the writer was transcribing the story there were missionaries trying to convert the Anglo-Saxons that lived in Britain, so the missionaries used Beowulf as a way to reach the pagans. This is also been done to other stories like in the Viking legend Thor god of thunder where at the end of the story the world

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Writers of every era and every culture have always been influenced by their surroundings, whether that be the landscape itself or the deeply held beliefs of the people living there. These elements come across in their writings, one of the most commonly seen belief or value that can be found in Early British Literature is Christianity. While most of Britain was once occupied by pagans, after the conversion to Christianity these Christian themes can be found penetrating through every era of literature. The Old English epic poem, Beowulf, draws on Christianity to rationalize some of its supernatural elements, turning the pre-conversion myth into a lesson on faith. The Middle English romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, uses mysticism and

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A line of poetry may range from about eight to twenty syllables. There were so many parts to writing Anglo-Saxon poetry, Especially in Beowulf. The Pagan religion of these people was very different. They believed in Witch Craft, spells and charms of humans; but they also believed in doom and fatalism. The Anglo-Saxons strongly valued family members.

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He appreciates Beowulf’s bravery and loyalty so much that he thanks his mother and tells him he will love him like his own son. Another cultural value that can be seen in both Beowulf and the Anglo Saxons is the devotion to those in need. Specifically, the commitment to avenge a death of people of importance. The Anglo Saxons valued family and the importance of supporting and helping those close to them, which in some cases involved avenging loved ones deaths.

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These tales give modern historians and literary scholars concrete evidence to examine and understand Anglo Saxon life. In the day of Beowulf, storytelling functioned as principles to allow Anglo Saxon people to share and sculpt their future generations. Storytelling also played a large role in influencing civilians and leaders trust in others and each other. Stories could paint ideas and portraits of certain characteristics, even as either heroic or cowardly so as to manipulate civilians. In Beowulf, we learn the title character was widely respected.

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Christianity is arguably one of the the most influential and important aspects that originated in western civilization. The religion started out as a small sect of Judaism and a man named Jesus spreading his word with a few followers. For centuries, Christians in Rome endured persecution and secret worship. With the appeal of eternal salvation and the hierarchy of the church, Christianity gradually spread, began to rise, and eventually became the prominent religion in Rome. Today, Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world.

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