Beowulf And Anglo Saxon Values

523 Words2 Pages

An important aspect of the Anglo-Saxon culture was the values and how much the people held them in their hearts. These values are quite unique when being compared to modern-day values and the way society works today, as we have grown as people and changed our views. When thinking about Beowulf, the way the warriors acted is a detail that comes to mind. These warriors fought with everything they had and believed they had two choices, victory or death. While this is still true today, we do not blame our warriors or call them cowards for not wanting to fight, unlike the Anglo-Saxon people. In the story of Beowulf, the battle with Grendel is considered intense, as many warriors died trying to save the kingdom; however, Beowulf is honored and celebrated …show more content…

When comparing modern heroes to classical ones, there is an important aspect to take note of, irregular abilities. In epics, such as Beowulf, the main character and hero of the story has abilities that no normal man possesses, which is similar to the heroes of today. The figures we label as modern heroes can be alien (Wonder-Woman), geniuses (Batman), or even contain special powers (Spider-Man). Within the story Beowulf, it is noted that a warrior fights for justice for the kingdom and city and they try their hardest to bring honor to whomever/whatever they are fighting for. Similarly once the leader of a warrior dies, the warrior will do his best to bring honor and avenge his leader. This is seen in Beowulf whenever Wiglaf promises to protect the throne like Beowulf had done and even calls anyone disloyal to Beowulf a coward, as they left him alone to fight a dragon. This is also quite similar to modern heroes, for example, when Robin decides to take over as Batman when Gotham believed he was dead. He decided to avenge Batman and honor him in the best way he could, bringing justice to Gotham and fighting the villains just as his mentor

Open Document