Anglo Saxon Britain: The Dark Ages

114 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Beowulf and anglo-saxon culture

It is understandable that medieval, anglo saxon britain is often referred to as the dark ages. This can be seen as the dark ages are compared with other eras and how historians don't know a significant amount about this time. In some ways, this period of time has been lost to history. Many important records from this time have not survived. This world is also closely related to Beowulf as seen through the countless battles being fought during this era. Therefore it is clearly shown through the many battles fought in this era and how little we actually know about this time why anglo saxon Britain was also referred to as the dark ages.

Show More
Related

  • The Anglo-Saxon Period: Weapons and Warriors

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people may have heard of the story of Beowulf, but not know who the Anglo-Saxons were. According to an article on BBC History, the term Anglo-Saxon refers to settlers from the German regions of Angeln and Saxony. The Anglo-Saxons made their way over to Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire around AD 410 and the period lasted for 600 years. During this period there where many rises and falls of bishops and kings, as well as many important battles. The Anglo-Saxon warriors had a variety of weapons and armor to defend them. This includes spears, scramaseaxes, swords, shields, helmets, and body armor.

    Read More

  • The Roles of Anglo-Saxon Women

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    The roles Anglo-Saxon women played in their society depended on the status they had in their community. As in most cultures, the roles of women in Anglo-Saxon society included mother, wife, caregiver, and teacher. Because Anglo-Saxon women had many different roles, I will only focus here on marriage, divorce, and their daily life in their society.

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf as the Ideal Anglo-Saxon

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is a hero who embodies the ideal characteristics in the Anglo-Saxon culture; these characteristics all come together to make up an epic tale.  He possesses the virtues, traits and beliefs that were respected in the Anglo-Saxon culture.  Beowulf displays these virtues in his own actions and words during different circumstances throughout the tale.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of the Epic Poem, Beowulf - Fame, Kingship, Fate and God in Beowulf

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Anglo-Saxons were a people who lived in and ruled England from the fifth century AD until the Norman Conquest. They were a people who valued courage and leadership. They lived under kings who were "keepers of gold" and were guarded by their loyal thanes (knights). They were a Pagan culture until the Normandy conquistadors came. They believed in fate and believed the only way to live forever was if you had fame. In the Anglo-Saxon book, Beowulf, there was a combination of many different people. The characters in Beowulf are defined by their status. Their status was in form of their fame and accomplishments. Beowulf was a very famous warrior, who sails to the Danes to kill a monster who is murdering their people. Beowulf kills Grendal, Grendal's mother and a dragon throughout the entirety of the story. Every time he receives more fame and more glory. Beowulf became a king. He was a great king who received honor and loyalty from his men. Although, during the fight with the dragon Beowulf's men run away and as a result Beowulf dies. The book claims that Beowulf had fate against him in his last battle against the dragon, but also says that Beowulf had Christian morals. By having two conflicting religions (paganism and Christianity) it makes the story more interesting. This book is composed of four main characteristics: fame, kingship, fate, and God, which play very important roles throughout the book.

    Read More

  • Dbq The Dark Ages

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Dark ages is the time between the 500’s and 1400’s. The Dark ages was a time of civil wars, Death, diseases, invasions and thief. There was a lot of invasions and to protect them self from that communities made a code call The code of Chivalry as (Doc 5) states “Europe in the Middle Ages was a dangerous place. Invasions from Muslims, Mongols, Vikings, and other tribal groups were common. War between lords was also common. The value of protection and warriors created a social code called Chivalry. Knights fought for lords and ladies, and lived by a gentleman- warrior code of Chivalry.” And other big thing in The Dark Ages was Diseases. Diseases in the dark ages was deadly because there was not antidote and even Doctors were scared of

    Read More

  • The Anglo-Saxon Culture In Beowulf

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is an epic poem symbolizing and describing the Anglo-Saxon culture. Beowulf embodies the nobility of the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs. Beowulf impeccably symbolizes and describes the Anglo-Saxon culture and sets the stage for all poems after it in the area of Britain. Beowulf has many heroic traits such as strength and excellent leadership skills. Beowulf emerges as the Anglo-Saxon warrior who risks his life for the well being of others.The literary devices used throughout this poem are broad which makes the poem known as the “mother poem”. This poem is written by an anonymous author who was a Christian monk that refers to the Bible and many expressions of deep religious faith.The author of Beowulf uses several different types

    Read More

  • Beowulf: Reflecting Anglo-Saxon Values

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anglo-Saxons were known for their values in 525 years. The Anglo-Saxons took over most of britain when the Romans left; However, life for the Anglo-Saxons were insecure and uncertain. Beowulf is the oldest English story and it’s an epic poem, but in the epic poem Beowulf Anglo-Saxons values are mentioned courage and strength when he fights the monster called Grendel and before when Beowulf fights Grendel.

    Read More

  • Anglo Saxon Values In Beowulf

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine the distant future, where this world is in the past and the only objects people find is a book or a movie. How would society be portrayed? Researchers would make assumptions about today’s culture just from those artifacts. Today, that is how all researchers gain knowledge about past people and worlds. They analyze what they find, which leads to conclusions about who the people were, what they valued, and what they believed. This is how discoveries were made about Anglo-Saxon culture, their principles, and their values. Important evidence was found, including poems and armor, that contributed to the idea that the main values that Anglo-Saxons had were loyalty, warriors, and wealth.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Bede's Ecclesiastical History Of The English Nation

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Book II, Bede utilizes a combination of theology and history to narrate the events beginning with the death of Pope Gregory in 605 and ending with the death of King Edwin in 633. The most prominent events recorded by Bede usually involve the succession of bishops, or are centered on significant religious figures or events in the time period discussed. However other events such as kingship and lineage tracing are also prominent in the piece. Due to being a monk himself, Bede is primarily focused on religious issues and often records events with a bias favoring the Christian perspective. Bede scolds non-Christians (as is the case with Eadbald) and incorporates religious, non-provable statements as a means of furthering his Christian agenda (he states that Eadbald was possessed by demons and accuses his failures are the results of “Devine punishment”). This is a common theme throughout the piece. Furthermore, Bede’s style of writing varies depending on the topic and chapter. Some chapters, like the first one, are long and centered on religion, while others, like Chapter III are shorter and more factually based, incorporating dates, political leaders, and even geography. This shows how he prioritizes

    Read More

  • The Anglo-Saxon poems, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and The Wife’s Lament

    3461 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, era of England lasted from about 450-1066 A.D. The tribes from Germany that conquered Britain in the fifth century carried with them both the Old English language and a detailed poetic tradition. The tradition included alliteration, stressed and unstressed syllables, but more importantly, the poetry was usually mournful, reflecting on suffering and loss.1These sorrowful poems from the Anglo Saxon time period are mimetic to the Anglo-Saxons themselves; they reflect the often burdened and miserable lives and times of the people who created them. The Anglo-Saxon poems, “The Wanderer,” “The Seafarer,” and “The Wife’s Lament,” are three examples how literature is mimetic, for they capture the culture’s heroic beliefs of Fame and Fate, the culture’s societal structure, and religious struggle of the Old English time period: making the transition from paganism to Christianity.

    Read More

  • Beowulf as a Reflection of Anglo-Saxon Values

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    In history, evil men have reigned supreme across many cultures. Some people say that being evil is inherent in every human. If this is true, then writing may be the ultimate way of releasing hatred of the world without hurting anyone. In Beowulf, all of society's evil men can be personified within the demons of Cain. The main demon presented in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel personifies the exact opposite of what the Anglo-Saxons held dear. Beowulf, the story's hero, is the embodiment of what every Anglo-Saxon strove to become in their lifetime. Grendel is constantly angry, afraid and unsure of himself; while Beowulf is fearless and loyal to his king.

    Read More

  • Literary Characters In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

    2013 Words  | 5 Pages

    With the time period being Middle Ages, much of Chaucer 's work reflected on society during his time. This time period was the Middle Ages, better known as the “Dark Ages”. People were trying to recover from the collapse of the Roman Empire during this time. They experienced dramatic cultural stagflation (“Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia”) 25. Society then included knights, clergy, and commons; Much of what Chaucer 's work mentioned and dealt with. Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages started in about the fifth century and ended around the fifteenth century (“Middle Ages”)16. This time period is where the vikings came about (“Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia”) 26. The Crusades were also during this time, which were series of wars with christians against muslims. The Crusades lasted from 1095 to

    Read More

  • The Anglo-Saxons: Christianity And Paganism In Beowulf

    201 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anglo-Saxons, was known as the Dark Ages, In the Anglo- Saxon society there people cherished family and values. The Anglo-Saxon aspiration was to have power and honor the actions of a hero. Although there society got introduced to Christianity this did not stop their, beliefs they had about a historic hero and their epic values. The Anglo-Saxons was a blend of Christian like traditions and Paganism. In Beowulf the story consist of both views of both Christianity and Paganism all throughout, the poet shows us how he uses his Christian beliefs to make an allusion of the bible by referring to Grendel as a “ monster born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God”(21) the poet uses Christianity to describe Grendel as the devil in biblical terms.

    Read More

  • Beowulf's Superhuman Strength

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Anglo-Saxon time period, a world where dark violence spreads like a malignant cloud over civilization. The people look for a hero to save the day, and that one hero is Beowulf. A man with the love of battle, seeking for glory, and just showing his courageous superhuman strength.

    Read More

  • English Literature In British Literature

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some the major works in British Literature are well known for how well they are written and others are loved for their story and age. Beowulf is a superior example of a significant story and an old story from the Anglo-Saxon era. The poem is an epic poem and Beowulf is an epic hero. He fights several monsters that lead to his noble death. There are some themes in Beowulf that are important to discuss when learning about Anglo-Saxons. One of themes is Christianity versus Paganism. The Christian and pagan references change the poem. Without the references the poem would have been forgotten, because it would have never been as popular.

    Read More

More about Anglo Saxon Britain: The Dark Ages

Open Document