Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Beowulf Embodies the Values of Anglo Saxon Society
The Anglo-Saxon people, who govern England up until the Nor spell conquest, were composed of war-ridden Nordic and Germanic peoples. They descended from the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They valued courage, metier and trust for fame and glory and commitment to obtaining it (similar to the estimationls regarding fame and delight in espoused by Homers Achilles). They also valued philanthropy and the protection of others. The first value, courage, is constantly devote to the test in the dark and touch-and-go world of Beowulf.This world was filled with monsters and obstacles to get through or overcome. Beowulf himself is said to be the strongest man on earth at that time, and the elbow room he wrestled Grendel almost effortlessly, while so some(prenominal) others had failed, proved that he had a kind of superhuman physical strength. His desire for fame and his commitment to obtaining it was also very strong, he had an enormous amount of willpower and was unflinching to win hims elf a name.Even aft(prenominal)(prenominal) he was famous throughout the know world for his deeds, he still was non yet satisfied. After he had fought in many battles and saved the Danes from Grendel and Grendels mother he was still not content. He battled the potassium bitartrate, which was his superior accomplishment, and proof of his courage and sheer heroism. Although it fuck be interpreted as a proof of courage, one could also whole tone at it as foolishness, a mans self-centered desire to gain glory, even after he has been saturated with it.However, the Anglo-Saxon conceit of selfishness was far less abstruse than our own. Their idea of generosity was helping friends and allies, especially in form of gifts for chivalric acts. He did send off the dragon and Grendel partially because he cute to protect the Danes and his own people from these twain atrocities, but he was also cause by a desire for glory. Beowulf himself was apathetic to the notion of death, he state d it many times throughout the poem, a charming example is his speech prior to scrap Grendel.However, he is obsessed with his legacy and his name, which is more important than life itself to him and the other Anglo-Saxons. For example, the striver in Beowulfs expedition to slay the dragon is not even in the head count due to his lineage and rank. Fame is part of structure the noble family name and rank. Social mobility was evenhandedly high among the warrior class in Beowulfs times, oft like it was in the Roman legions. A good name and the amount of gold determines a warriors rank, the world of Beowulf, for the warriors at least, is a meritocracy.
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