Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxon Period

Improved Essays
Beowulf by unknown is a great example of the work from the Anglo-Saxon period. This period was one that lasted for six hundred years lasting from four ten to one thousand sixty six. This time period existed mainly in Britain and brought on new religious beliefs. Many things stemmed from the Anglo-Saxon period such as the concept of respect or Christianity. The text Beowulf is a great representation of all of these ideas from the Anglo-Saxon time period. The main character of this epic is Beowulf who is a mighty hero who wins over the hearts of many by defeating three major monsters: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Beowulf was set in Northern Europe near the land of Denmark and Sweden and was said to be wrote by many Christian men, …show more content…
The Anglo-Saxon code speaks heavily as being a part of the group. Therefore, as a component of a group, it is necessary for the individual, regardless of status, to do what one can to protect the group. At this point in the epic (part 3), Beowulf has found himself in a very sickly state where he is no longer young and able to readily fight. Thus, Beowulf must ask for help of a younger person, something that can be an obstruction to one’s pride, “Beloved Beowulf, best of warriors, avoid such evil and seek the good, the heavenly wisdom. Beware of pride!” (Pg. 6). While Beowulf was used to being able to fight his own fights, this is the point in his life where he must accept the fact that he can no longer do so. His act in this part of the book can be described by one word: generosity. This generosity is applied very heavily in the group as he does this for the group. He could have let …show more content…
Killing Grendel was away for Beowulf to complete his duty in life. All people, as believed according to the Anglo-Saxon code, if one can do something for the better of the group, it is their responsibility for that individual to do so. This is exactly the case with Beowulf as he was a mighty man in the prime of his life able to defeat many evils. Another motivation through this epic is that of defeating Grendel’s mother in part two. Beowulf did this one to show that he could complete the job of ridding the city completely of evil. This was important to him and the Anglo-Saxon code as it demonstrated the idea of respect. A hero is one who would leave a good legacy behind, with the people who knew him thinking highly of him. The only way for this to happen is by the individual taking immediate action, as Beowulf was able to do. Finally, the good of the people is the last motivation for killing the dragon in part three. This dragon was a monster that occurred at the end of Beowulf’s life. He was unable to destroy this monster by himself, leaving him with the only choice of asking for help. While this did little for his pride, it helped the good of the people as they were able to destroy the dragon. While it would have been better for Beowulf’s pride to attempt to defeat the monster by

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the epic poem, Beowulf, Beowulf’s motivations are his sense of duty, desire for glory, and need to leave a mark behind. Beowulf fights Grendel the monster because he sees it as his duty to do so, not simply for the sport of killing a monster. The idea of duty is sometimes when an individual owes someone else a favor, or if the individual has the ability to do something, that person should use their ability. In Beowulf’s case, he is physically able to help Hrothgar out and therefore, makes it his duty to defeat Grendel.…

    • 1303 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf Heroism

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The topic for today is Beowulf as a hero. Beowulf, an epic poem composed in approximately 750 AD (Greenblatt 26), is a story of a Dane named Beowulf and his astonishing feats. Beowulf is a quintessential hero. He shows a copious amount of the overt traits such as bravery, strength, sacrifice, honor, faultlessness, courage, compassion, and being all-around impeccable. To further drive home Beowulf’s innate heroism, other characters almost always refer to how heroic he is.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf is considered the oldest epic poem in the English language, and the earliest piece of indigenous European literature. In the 19th century, Beowulf was written in Old English, the language of the Saxons. This epic did not have a title originally, but began to be referred to by the name of the Scandinavian hero, Beowulf, with heroic sources and virtues as the primary focus. Both the hero and the story are fiction even though historical elements run through the poem (Snell 1). There have been no records found of the known author of Beowulf so much information is not given.…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the characteristics that Beowulf had like an Anglo-Saxon Hero was his bravery. He didn’t have any fear of going head to head with different creatures that he battled. For example, Beowulf said, “I drove five great giants into chains… hunting monsters out of the ocean.” (p.50). He conquered these massive and difficult tasks without fleeing away or refusing to do them.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Due to the fact that our way to live and speak has changed throughout the years, our way to write has also developed. If Beowulf was written in a contemporary style these differences will be shown in both structure and context. If this was written in a contemporary style, it would possibly be a lot of differences.…

    • 209 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anglo-Saxon culture considers heroes vital with the warrior prevailing. Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, verifies the Anglo-Saxon culture with Beowulf vanquishing the monsters, including Grendel. Beowulf comes to the Danes to help defeat Grendel, the giant monster killing men while they slept. As a warrior, Beowulf enjoys the thrills of fighting and being known by the community as their hero. Although Beowulf succeeds in overpowering Grendel, the true victory to him includes being seen as a hero through the battle.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Odysseus Vs Beowulf Essay

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beowulf wanted to die on his feet, fighting an enemy so that he had a semblance of honor in his end, he thought fighting the dragon was the best way to do that, as well as save his people from that threat, and give them riches acquired from the dragon’s…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Beowulf” and “Grendel” are two stories of the same events. From two completely different perspectives. The story of “Beowulf” paints Grendel as a horrible heartless monster. However this is completely untrue. Between the two stories Grendel is the real victim.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Exploring Mythology Myths have been around for many years, and generations. In fact myths have been around since man learned to speak. Some famous myths are still well known around the world like Santa Claus, or Zeus the Greek god of the sky. There are different kinds of myths some can be about heroes, gods, or kings, and honesty a myth can be about anything, or anyone it just has to get popular, so people would retell it for generations.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Historical Context In the epic story of Beowulf it reflex to an Old Norse Culture. It was written between 8th century and 11th century in England and it is one of the most important poems in old English literature. The Reflection from the epic story to Old Norse Culture, all men must be fearless, strong, full body armor, and kill enemies and monsters in traditional battle. The Character Beowulf is a perfect example to meet all the expectations in Old Norse culture.…

    • 1754 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Beowulf- The Anglo-Saxon Hero” The Anglo-Saxon culture embraces virtues such as courage, strength, loyalty, cunning, and generosity. These virtues are exemplified by the epic hero Beowulf. Beowulf possesses each of these characteristics.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    What Makes an Epic Hero? The story Beowulf is England’s earliest masterpiece originated from the Anglo-Saxon poem. Beowulf is considered as the longest and greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem. Through Beowulf we can understand what the Anglo-Saxons valued.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Multiple quotes mention the connection between loyalty and kinship, which is an essential cultural truth in Anglo-Saxon. Especially, loyalty motivates Beowulf and his actions. It starts with Beowulf’s decision to help the Danes at the very first beginning of the poem. Beowulf is a loyal warrior to Hygelac, who is not only his king but also one of his closest kinsmen. The beginning describes Beowulf as Hygelac’s loyal follower - “ Hygelac’s thane”.…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Beowulf In England

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Beowulf is the first masterpiece in British literature. Although written in England. Beowulf describes the adventures of a hero who came from the southern part of Sweden, an area called Geatland in the poem. Nothing in this poem take place in Britain, also it does not contain a reference to any British figure.…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Heroic Code In Beowulf

    • 2007 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In this boast he told his people that it was his duty to fight. He specifically said, “This fight is not yours, / nor is it up to any man except me / to measure his strength against the monster / or to prove his worth” (ll. 2532-2535. Beowulf as king knew that it was his place to take on a battle with dragon. Although he was old, he still showed honor in keeping everyone safe. He knew that he had to pay his respect towards the heroic code and if he were to die it would be through the honoring of it.…

    • 2007 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays