Beowulf is an early medieval epic heroic poem in Anglo-Saxon staff rhyme. With its 3182 verses, it is the most important single surviving work in the Anglo-Saxon language; at the same time, it accounts for ten percent of the total surviving textual material of this linguistic form. The epic was probably written after the year 700 and is set in Scandinavia in the period before 600 AD. As with many other medieval texts, no contemporary title has survived for the epic; since the 19th century, the name of the hero Beowulf has been in use as the name of the poem.

What are the Anglo-Saxon values?

Some of the most Anglo-Saxon values, as illustrated by Beowulf, include bravery, truth, honor, loyalty and duty, hospitality and perseverance. Let’s look at these in a bit more detail.

Terms in this set:

• Courage and selflessness;
• truth;
• honor;
• fidelity;
• discipline and duty;
• hospitality;
• industriousness;
• self-reliance;
• perseverance.

What are the Anglo-Saxon warrior values?

Loyalty, honour, bravery, duty, sacrifice were at the hub of the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture. For the Anglo-Saxons were true valiant warriors and deemed worthy adversaries by their opponents.

What earthly virtues did the Anglo-Saxons value?

earthly virtues of bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship.

What qualities did the Anglo-Saxons value in their heroes?

In Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, to be a hero was to be a warrior. A hero had to be strong, intelligent, and courageous. Warriors had to be willing to face any odds, and fight to the death for their glory and people. The Anglo-Saxon hero was able to be all of these and still be humble and kind.

What were Beowulf’s values?

The characters in Beowulf demonstrate three of the most important morals at the time of the story’s creation: bravery, honor, and loyalty.

Beowulf

Beowulf is considered an epic whose protagonist wanders to prove his strength over supernatural beings and beasts. The poem begins with Beowulf’s arrival in Denmark, where Grendel’s assaults have been going on for a long time. An elaborate genealogy of the characters is described, as well as the way in which the characters are closely intertwined. The warriors follow a heroic code, which is the basis for all words and deeds.

The society described in the poem values honor, courage, and bravery; warriors are highly respected and achieve significant positions. The king, who holds the position of protector of his country, expects the military service of his men; they are rewarded by him for their efforts with weapons, valuables and lands.

In addition, the individual sees himself under the influence of an overpowering fate; Beowulf, for example, enters the conflicts with the attitude that not he himself, but fate will ultimately decide the outcome – a worldview deeply rooted in the Norse warrior tradition.

The poem blends Norse with Christian traditions. The characters all display traditional character traits valued in Germanic and Norse traditions. Moral choices here are often complemented by a Christian outlook. Grendel, as a descendant of the fratricide Cain, is also placed in a Christian set of values. It has been speculated that Beowulf represents the Christianized form of a traditionally Norse material.

While earlier scholars such as J.R.R. Tolkien (he translated the original text into modern English in 1926) divided the epic into two parts, with the first describing the adventures of the young hero and the second depicting the hero’s kingship and death, more recent literary scholars have taken the view that the epic must be divided into three separate parts. Jane Chance of Rice University argues that the battle with Grendel’s mother constitutes a separate chapter as the climax of the epic poem. She points out that the poem is divided by four funerals, three of which are known: Scyld’s ship burial, the cremation burial of Hildeburh’s brother and son, and Beowulf’s burial in the mound. Additionally, the burial of the Last Survivor is interpreted as such.

What are 3 virtues that the Anglo-Saxons live by?

In Beowulf, an English epic poem that tells of the tell of the incredible warrior Beowulf, Anglo-Saxons values of the time period are displayed. Loyalty, bravery, and honesty are three of the most important values…show more content…

What do you learn about Anglo-Saxon culture and their values based on the traits that Beowulf exhibits as a hero?

They were strong, intelligent, tactful, courageous, and willing to sacrifice all for glory and their people. The heroic traits of the literary characters in Beowulf, “The Wanderer,” “Dream of the Rood,” and The 13th Warrior both define and set the standard for the Anglo-Saxon hero.

What are the major characteristics of Anglo-Saxon literature?

Key Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon Poetry

• Heroic poetry elements.
• Christian ideals.
• Synecdoche.
• Metonymy.
• Irony.

Why did the Anglo-Saxons value bravery?

Courage to the Anglo saxons was very important because it showed how high your social status should be and how much of a “man” you are and weather you deserve the honor given to you .

What did Anglo-Saxons believe in?

Anglo-Saxon paganism was a polytheistic belief system, focused around a belief in deities known as the ése (singular ós). The most prominent of these deities was probably Woden; other prominent gods included Thunor and Tiw.

What qualities did the Anglo-Saxons value in their heroes quizlet?

Anglo Saxons valued strength, leadership, willingness to help others, and bravery. Beowulf sailed to the aid of his kinsman, Hrothgar, showing these qualities.

What does Beowulf’s speech suggest to you about Anglo-Saxon values?

What does Beowulf’s speech in lines 630 – 649 suggest about Anglo-Saxon values? Beowulf’s speech suggests that courage is typical of an epic hero and honor is more important than life.

What was the Anglo-Saxon warrior code?

Anglo-Saxon warrior code stressed reciprocal loyalty between a lord or king and his followers as well as a deep sense of community. By acquiring fame a warrior could stave off his wyrd, or fate, at least temporarily and achieve a kind of immortality.

What does Beowulf teach us about Anglo-Saxon culture?

Throughout the epic poem Beowulf, we can see key essentials of the Anglo-Saxon Culture such as bravery, friendship, generosity, and loyalty. Probably the most important trait to them is loaylty. The Anglo-Saxons governing system was built on the fundamental of Loyalty.

What type of culture did the Anglo-Saxons have?

The Anglo-Saxons were part of a warrior culture, and as warriors they reflected their values through heroic acts just as Anglo-Saxon traditions in Beowulf. Similar to many other cultures, The Anglo-Saxon was tribal in structure, which grew and changed over time to an extent, but there was always a hierarchy.

What religion did the Saxons follow?

At the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon period, Paganism was the key religion. People would worship a number of gods and goddesses, each responsible for their own area of expertise. Anglo-Saxon pagans also believed in going to the afterlife when they died, taking any items they were buried with with them.

What is the Anglo-Saxon heroic code?

The Beowulf heroic code, or the Germanic code or Anglo-Saxon heroic code, is shown through the focus on loyalty, bravery, victory in battle, ancestry, pride, and more. There is a code of behavior for all the characters within the poem.

What does Beowulf tell us about the Anglo-Saxon culture?

Beowulf is an ideal example of the true Anglo-Saxon culture, society and tradition. He is all-good, fighting for what’s right and noble, in search of honor, and he wants to be both loyal to a king and to his people.

What are the 4 key values of the Anglo-Saxon religion?

Some of the most important of these values include bravery, truth, honor, loyalty and duty, hospitality and perseverance.

What was the Anglo-Saxon culture?

The Anglo-Saxon period includes the creation of an English nation, with many of the aspects that survive today, including regional government of shires and hundreds. During this period, Christianity was re-established and there was a flowering of literature and language. Charters and law were also instituted.

What was the Anglo-Saxon society based on?

The Anglo-Saxon community in England was basically a rural one. Most people depended on the land for survival. At the top of the social system was the royal house. This consisted of the king and aethelings who claimed a common ancestry with the king.

Do Saxons still exist?

While the continental Saxons are no longer a distinctive ethnic group or country, their name lives on in the names of several regions and states of Germany, including Lower Saxony (which includes central parts of the original Saxon homeland known as Old Saxony), Saxony in Upper Saxony, as well as Saxony-Anhalt (which

What were the five main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms?

By the 600s, there were five major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in old Britannia: Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent and East Anglia (See: Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms in England 700s Map).

What religion did the Saxons follow?

At the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon period, Paganism was the key religion. People would worship a number of gods and goddesses, each responsible for their own area of expertise. Anglo-Saxon pagans also believed in going to the afterlife when they died, taking any items they were buried with with them.

What did Anglo-Saxons call heaven?

The Anglo-Saxons believed that there were seven ‘realms’ – the one that humans inhabit was called ‘Middangeard’ and their version of heaven was called ‘Neorxnawang‘. They worshipped at religious sites – which were sometimes timber-framed temples, or otherwise could be a sacred tree or hill.

What language did the Anglo-Saxons speak?

Old English

The Anglo-Saxons spoke the language we now know as Old English, an ancestor of modern-day English. Its closest cousins were other Germanic languages such as Old Friesian, Old Norse and Old High German.

What did the Saxons believe before Christianity?

In Roman Britain many people had been Christians. But the early Anglo-Saxons were not Christians, they were pagans.

What is the oldest religion?

It is the world’s third-largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit.

Did the Anglo-Saxons believe in Thor?

The Saxons were very superstitious and believed in elves, goblins and dragons. The Anglo-Saxons worshipped the gods Tiw, Woden, Thor and Frig. From these words come the names of our days of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.