Language and literature remain often much longer then the cultures that inspired them. Beowulf is one of the oldest pieces of Anglo-Saxon poetry with its manuscript fating back to the early 1000s. Though the manuscript being written by hand could have been copied for a much longer period of time. Beowulf as a manuscript can be seen as the intersection of two cultures. In its original form the poem was part of a long tradition of oral poetry. When this tradition was final written down it was though early english. This anglo-saxon writing was dominated by Christian insinuations like that of monasteries. These were involved in large scale manuscript making and those who wrote these manuscript down would have down so in a Christian viewpoint.
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After the ashes of Beowulf are collected they are storied in a burrow that can be seen “visible from afar to sea-voyagers” (Beowulf, 3158) In the burrow are also placed the “rings and bright jewels” that the dragon perviously defeated was hoarding. (Beowulf, 3163)These two actions argue towards the material culture of the vikings. According to christen values the accumulation of wealth is considered greed. But viking culture, to have items of wealth were considered a luxury in a harsh climate and life that the vikings lived. Items are consider symbols of power, since it was through rings and the safety of a communal hall that a viking king would pay his followers. These particular items have a further significance since upon Beowulf's death he calls for the dragons wealth to be brought to him to look upon the gold that he has lost his life for. This gold represents the future stability for his people, since these items wold surpass Beowulf in life. But this brings up the issue of reburying the gold into the burrow where it would remain “useless to men as before” (Beowulf, 3168) In this sentence the word before refers to the time perviously when the gold did not exist. It is useless because it is laying in a burrow. In this case reburying this gold would be the opposite of Beowulf’s wishes for a more stable future. But this action has
After the ashes of Beowulf are collected they are storied in a burrow that can be seen “visible from afar to sea-voyagers” (Beowulf, 3158) In the burrow are also placed the “rings and bright jewels” that the dragon perviously defeated was hoarding. (Beowulf, 3163)These two actions argue towards the material culture of the vikings. According to christen values the accumulation of wealth is considered greed. But viking culture, to have items of wealth were considered a luxury in a harsh climate and life that the vikings lived. Items are consider symbols of power, since it was through rings and the safety of a communal hall that a viking king would pay his followers. These particular items have a further significance since upon Beowulf's death he calls for the dragons wealth to be brought to him to look upon the gold that he has lost his life for. This gold represents the future stability for his people, since these items wold surpass Beowulf in life. But this brings up the issue of reburying the gold into the burrow where it would remain “useless to men as before” (Beowulf, 3168) In this sentence the word before refers to the time perviously when the gold did not exist. It is useless because it is laying in a burrow. In this case reburying this gold would be the opposite of Beowulf’s wishes for a more stable future. But this action has