Anglo Saxon Culture In Beowulf

Here, Wiglaf proves himself the better man because he has honor while the others, who willingly abandoned their King in battle, clearly do not. Lastly, Beowulf and Wiglaf both show outstanding loyalty throughout the piece. All of Beowulf’s actions are clearly motivated by loyalty, starting with his decision to help the Danes. Beowulf’s father once started a feud, which Hrothgar helped to end. Hrothgar recalls, “Ecgtheow acknowledged me with oaths of allegiance” (472).

Beowulf is a despicable leader that is able to lead his men to victory like the time they hunted and took down Grendel. Beowulf also displays great courage, for example, when he fought the dragon, he knew it was his last battle, but there was no hint of fear on his face and he fought like a warrior until the bitter end. These traits make someone a hero in today’s society. A hero that is willing to fight for what they believe in and lead people into the correct path. A hero that is willing to give their all and not give up when there is an immense obstacle up ahead.

In a society where heroism and bravery are honored as essential aspects of culture, the contrasting values of these characters, or foils, help define Beowulf as the model hero. He becomes often associated with the image of a perfect, almighty warrior, able to prove his fame in any situation. However, the foil characters can do more than purely illuminate his positive values. With the contrast they provide, Beowulf’s faults are revealed and criticized as well. Although foil characters often point out the greatness of Beowulf, they also serve to highlight Beowulf’s flaws, teach him lessons, and allow him to change, as seen in his interactions with Unferth, Hrothgar, and the dragon.

An Anglo-Saxon hero, a brave, courageous warrior, fearless enough to fight and risk one’s own life for others, represented by the character Beowulf in the epic poem Beowulf. Described as, “Follower and the strongest of the Geats--greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world…”(110-111). The Geats treat Beowulf with great respect and admiration due to his promise to protect them from the danger that oppresses

Though one real and one fiction, Beowulf and Alexander Hamilton both can be viewed as ‘heroes’ through their abilities to embody the values of their time, such as generosity, dedication, and bravery. Anglo-Saxon values varied widely, but Beowulf very clearly demonstrated generosity throughout the epic. He willingly goes to the Land of the Danes to fight the monster that plagued them, a very brave and generous action. When facing the potential for death before fighting Grendel’s mother, Beowulf asked that, “If the combat kills me, take care/of my young company; my comrade

Beowulf is characterized as an epic hero because of his glorious legacy. This epic hero was in constant danger from evil but always defeated it. He also had a moral code that separated him from mere mortals. The epic hero portrayed many traits that made him great. Although he died in battle, Beowulf’s leadership, bravery, and sense of morality made him an epic hero among men.

Being remembered, in death, is a very immense part of the Anglo-Saxon code, and with that, Beowulf seemed to believe that defeating Grendel’s mother would grant him more fame than he had previously received. As explicated in the epic, “So fame comes to the men who mean to win it and care about nothing else!” (Lines 507-509) Beowulf cared about his name, and with that, he knew it was in him to fight for that name and to make it heard through his life and generations afterward. After understanding what it means to be truly glorified, and what it means to be remembered, years after one’s death with fame, one can recognize the reasoning behind Beowulf’s actions. Beowulf embodied the ideals of the Vikings in the fact that he chose to fight for another kingdom, protect his sacred name, and fight for his glory and

Bravery is still evident now but only with some people and the definition of bravery changed from the man who will conquer all to the man that will do the right things. On Beowulf, if you fought a monster naked and head-on, and even won, you are brave. Nowadays, being brave can be seen in any manner not just by fighting others. Honor is of great importance and every man should dream of glory and victory. They are also expected to be loyal to their leader or to someone of importance to them.

Beowulf was a hero, not only because he was brave, but also he protected Danes, brought peace to them, because he was a good king, even when he was almost eighty years old, he was still brave to fight with the fire dragon, what a pity was that he died, with the fire dragon. He was a true hero who devoted his life to protect his people; he was the hero who held his sword and his shield to fight with the whole

It is this part in the poem that somewhat revealed the importance of his boastfulness in this poem. Other heroic tales have helped us form a set of characteristics that tend to describes heroes, one of those characteristics being humble. Humbleness is not only a heroic trait but that of a good person—which is why Beowulf’s bragging tends to throw the audience off. Beowulf builds himself up with his words. By this I mean he boasts about his previous ventures and his success to come because this helps the Danes and King Hrothgar gain confidence in him concerning the defeat of Grendel.