Anglo Saxon Culture

Anglo Saxon Culture

Beowulf is an epic poem from the Anglo-Saxon period about a hero who takes on great challenges and adventures. The character Beowulf embodies the virtues of the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs. He embodies the traits of Anglo-Saxon society: strength, courage, and honor.

Strength and physical appearance are essential to the Anglo-Saxon warrior. Beowulf is described as having the strength of "thirty men" in just one of his arms, and when he first arrives in the land of the Danes, the coastguard sees the mighty hero and says, "I have never seen a mightier warrior on earth than is one of you, a man in battle-dress" (Beowulf). Strength is clearly an important characteristic of heroes in Anglo-Saxon culture.

Next, Beowulf shows that every hero must have courage. In an argument with Unferth, Beowulf says, "Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good" (Beowulf). This quotation shows the importance of courage in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Fate, which was thought to be set in stone, seems to bend for a hero who has enough courage. Beowulf tells Hrothgar and the Danes that he will kill Grendel, but he says he will do this without his sword, and this shows his courage. Beowulf then speaks inspiringly to the thanes in the mead-hall, “I resolved when I set out on the sea, sat down in the sea-boat with my band of men that I should altogether fulfill the will of your people or else fall in slaughter, fast in the foe's grasp. I shall achieve