I'm not sure exactly how kosher this topic is considering it isn't about a specific character or literary device, but in this blog post I would like to talk about what Beowulf tells us about Anglo-Saxon culture and vice versa; how our knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons informs our understanding of Beowulf. Like most long lasting societies, Anglo-Saxons created heroic myths that tended to typify the values of the culture at that time. Beowulf, however, is unique in that it was primarily transmitted by storytellers over hundreds of years, constantly changing, and thus containing the ideas and unique cultural mutations that occurred over that period of time.
As the culture shifted from primarily honor and duty based pagan system to one based on piety and Christian morality, so did the personality and general attitude of their legendary characters. The poem, often reeking of the stereotypical boastful, pride-filled alpha male, seems to jump almost randomly into humble, Christian dialogue and back again with very little warning. These transitions come at very strange times and can only be explained by the fact that Beowulf spent most of its early days as a very fluid story. For example, in the final celebration at Heorot (P. 76, ln 1651-1658), it seems like Beowulf is about to launch into a huge, self-congratulatory victory speech, but it peters out before it can even begin. While the thanking of the Lord of the land was likely at the time, it is almost impossible that a man of Beowulf's time and stature would have then thanked any diety, Christian or otherwise.
I like your mentioning of the story mutating over time as the culture changes because I think it is something one should keep in mind while reading Beowulf. In class we talked about wether the christian values were actually part of the original story or if the were placed on top years later, and in my opinion, it's a little of both where it was slowly woven in to the story over time, which, to me is why the mention of God appears to be essential to the story in some places, and simply an addition to the end of a phrase in others.
ReplyDeleteThese are some interesting points Dean, but I am not sure exactly what you are pointing to in the text that support your conclusions. Certainly Christianity was very present, even during the time in which Beowulf takes place (the 5th and 6th centuries). It is possible that the Anglo-Saxon culture was aware of Christianity and maybe had even been "converted" to a certain extent. Remember that I am looking for specificity in these posts and analyzing specific passages, and this particular post is teetering on the edge of that (plus there are not discussion questions at the end). Still, certainly interesting thoughts and would definitely contribute to our ongoing discussion.
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