Beowulf Essay: Loyalty In The Anglo-Saxon Culture

Beowulf, one of the first epic poems to be told across the Anglo-Saxon culture, tells the story of a brave warrior. Although this poem was told and eventually scribed many years ago, it still holds characteristics that humans today can relate to. Even though the poem was centered around Anglo-Saxon culture, readers can still relate their culture normalities to themselves through the human condition. Characteristics such as loyalty, bravery, and religion are all evident throughout Beowulf that are similar to the Anglo-Saxon culture as they are to the natural characteristics and nature of the human condition.

Loyalty in the Anglo-Saxon culture was a very important aspect for warriors, and even gave people their connection to the higher-power,

such as the king. In Beowulf, when Beowulf is in his final battle, he is helped by Wiglaf when all the other soldiers abandon him, “But within one heart sorrow welled up: in a man of worth the claims of kinship cannot be denied” (Raffael 22). This is an example of loyalty because the single soldier came to Beowulf in his time of need when no one else would. This shows the aspect of loyalty that Wiglaf had for Beowulf and how it connected them. The loyalty shown by Wiglaf to Beowulf, a higher power, is a common normality in Anglo-Saxon culture and was actually very encouraged. Although loyalty is a big part of Anglo-Saxon culture, it is also a part of our human condition as well. Loyalty can be described as emotionality in the human condition, as it works as a way to impress your peers to become closer to them. Humans are constantly doing this, whether its loyalty to another in a relationship or loyalty to a team. Humans are loyal to those whose opinion is important to us, and to who we want to impress or make happy.
Secondly, bravery is a prominent aspect of Anglo-Saxon culture as well, especially for warriors.

It gave them their ‘credentials’ and made them actually seem worthy of whatever task was at hand. In Beowulf, Beowulf addresses the king, Hrothgar, when he first arrives as a brave warrior whom has come to take down the monster that has been terrifying Hrothgar and his people, “My people have said, the wisest, most knowing And best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great King” (Raffael 6). Beowulf speaks of himself in an extremely high-light when speaking to the king and does this to make himself worthy of his mission. He wants to show and prove how brave he is to the king so that he will believe that he is able to succeed in his mission. Although this is a warrioristic culture from the Anglo-Saxons, this characteristic still exists in today’s culture because of the human condition. Bravery can connect to parts of the human condition, such as aspiration. Humans have aspiration in situations that may not seem very hopeful- we believe in the impossible, somewhat like Hrothgar did when believing in Beowulf and his efforts. We have aspiration as those fighting and those watching, to get our morals up and to have confidence in what’s at hand. Beowulf had aspiration when speaking of how brave he was because he believed in what he could do for the king. Humans naturally hope for the best when we are presented with something that may make change and benefit the situation at

hand.
Lastly, religion is a prominent aspect of Anglo-Saxon culture that we see in Beowulf.

Anglo-Saxons were pagan, therefor pagan aspects come through their stories and poems. In this poem, there are aspects of the plot and setting that refer and symbolize pagan characteristics. For example, Grendel’s mother lived in a lake that was like a “fiery flame” (Raffael 18). This represents paganistic characteristics because fire is a symbol for the devil. Because the Anglo-Saxons were pagan, they added aspects that recognize their religion and what they believe into what they told as stories. If a culture believes in one thing, they will add those beliefs and lifestyles into what they do and tell. Although the Anglo-Saxons did not write out Beowulf, they used familiar aspects of their own culture in their stories because it’s what they recognized and what they were used to. They were also more interested in these characteristics because they believed that they were true, therefore, creating a more believable story. Putting religion into cultural artwork wasn’t just done by Anglo-Saxons, but by people everywhere, and even people in today’s society. Because of the human condition, humans add their religion into their works because of their beliefs of mortality and how they will have an afterlife. All humans seek some type of answer to this question of religion, and so many end up believing in one religion or another. We make religion a large part of our lives and begin to insert the

beliefs and ideas of our religion into our everyday lives, just like the Anglo-Saxons did with paganism in this poem.
Although many may not believe that modern-day humans could be so similar to Anglo-Saxons, but examining their literature helps us to see that surprisingly, we are very similar. Humans from both cultures show aspects of loyalty, bravery, and religion in not only our literature but our everyday mindsets and actions. Human nature and the natural way we act and react to situations and feelings make up the human condition and are virtually the same for all of us. The Anglo-Saxon humans share these characteristics with modern day humans, mainly because the human condition never stops and humans truly never change.