Beowulf Impact Of Fate On Culture Essay

The Impact Of Fate On Culture
Beowulf is an epic poem written during the Medieval times about an Anglo-Saxon warrior named Beowulf. The poem has an unknown author due to its age, but was translated into modern English by Seamus Heaney. In the poem, Beowulf goes on many adventures and multiple themes are exhibited throughout the story, including kinship and bravery in battle. The Last Kingdom is a modern novel written by Bernard Cornwell and is based around vikings who annex most of England for themselves in the Medieval times. Many themes appear throughout this novel, including the emergence of Christianity or the importance of land ownership. In both these work, fate is constantly present. The blind belief of fatalism in Anglo-Saxon culture tends to lean towards those in leadership roles rather than to commoners due to always needing a source of guidance beside themselves as displayed by both Uthred and

Beowulf’s experiences.
In Anglo-Saxon culture, commoners believe completely in their leaders, such as lords For example, Uthred, an Anglo-Saxon warrior who was once a commoner, believed blindly in king.

Uthred reminiscences about his childhood before the Danes began to attack his home and family. Looking back on his childhood, Uthred states, “He was my king and all that I have I owe to him. The food that I eat, the hall where I live and the swords of my men, all came from Alfred, my king, who hated me,” (Cornwell 1). Uthred believes that all he has belongs to his king and he put all his faith in his king to provide for him. Alfred, his king, is in the guiding role in Uthred’s life and Uthred believes blindly in Alfred. Anglo-Saxon commoners believing blindly in their leaders is a common attribute due to the fact that every necessity is provided by their leaders for them. In Anglo-Saxon culture, most, if not all, commoners believe that being wholeheartedly dedicated to their lord will, in return, bring them what they need, whether that be food, protection, or anything other

necessity.
In Anglo-Saxon culture, leaders must be incredibly fatalistic. Beowulf is about to go into battle and before this, he warns his followers, stating, “No need then to lament for long or lay out my body: if the battle takes me, send back this breast-webbing that Weland fashioned and Hrethel gave me, to Lord Hygelac. Fate goes ever as fate must,” (Heaney 31.450-455). Beowulf tells his followers that if he dies in battle, there is no need to mourn or dwell on his death because his death was destiny and could not be prevented. Beowulf, who is a leader, believes in destiny as there is no where else for him to turn to or believe in. In Anglo-Saxon culture, commoners could easily believe wholeheartedly in their lords, as their lords take care of their needs. On the other hand, those in leadership positions, such as lords or kings, have to find another source besides themselves to believe in and it is human nature to find aspect of life or individual to blame or believe in depending on the extremes of a situation. Due to the need for another entity to put the pressure of providing for others, Anglo-Saxon leaders believe in fate.
Fate is a recurring ideology in most cultures, especially in ancient or medieval cultures, as they were often not monotheistic and fate often went together with polytheistic faiths. For instance, fatalism is a major aspect in modern cultures, but not near as much as ancient or medieval cultures, as monotheistic faiths were not prominent in early civilization. Fate is an instance in which cultures are expressed the same ideas in contrastive ways. These difference are what create modern culture and without these, culture may be completely opposite to what is known today. For example, fatalism was prevalent in Anglo-Saxon culture, whether that be faith in a king, faith in a lord, or faith in fatalism itself.