The Wanderer: Christianity for a Pagan World
The introduction of Christianity and its culture to the Anglo-Saxon culture brought about an intriguing blend of these two often opposing sets of beliefs. In literature this blend frequently manifests itself as an overlay--Christianity is simply imposed in short spurts upon preexisting works. The demonstration of this practice is not difficult to find in Anglo-Saxon literature. Scanning a section of Anglo-Saxon works from nearly any literature anthology will most likely uncover several such overlays per page. These overlays, however, are not the focus of this essay. This essay will focus on one work that does more with Christian culture. Rather than presenting Christianity through overlay, the Anglo-Saxon poem, "The Wanderer," addresses directly the issues of Christianity. A traditional reading of "The Wanderer" claims that it is a poem about a thane who has lost his liege-lord and about the torment this thane experiences while in search of a new lord and mead-hall. This reading is not incorrect, but a new reading will show that it is incomplete. In the new and more complete reading, the wanderings of the thane become an extended metaphor for the pagan society's members' search for a valid opinion about the fate of traditional Anglo-Saxon culture, brought about by the introduction of Christian culture.
Not only is this new reading available, but it actually becomes necessary when the text is examined carefully. For example, the function of the narrator is unclear in the traditional reading. The narrator's appearance is very brief. He is present for one sentence in the opening of the poem, to introduce the main character and to present him as a respectable figure...
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... Christian beliefs, as The Wanderer demonstrates. Should we discount the possibility that other authors of the time could have worked in the same way as the author of this poem? We should look in other works for the presentation of respectable or heroic main characters as examples and teachers of Christian ideals, where these main character's pagan customs serve as lures to bring the contemporary audience close, and as familiar handles to which the audience can cling while being taken on their permanent journey into the Christian culture.
Works Cited and Consulted
Baswell and Schotter: "The Middle Ages," pp. 1-26; The Dream of the Rood, The Wanderer, (700/900), Five Old English Riddles (pp. 150-51), translated from Old English
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Hitler had a hatred for Jewish people, the roots of his anti Semitism are unclear. When Hitler came to power he almost immediately began to strip Jewish people of any kind of rights.
Paul wanted everyone to think he was better than they were. Not only did he try to dress as if he were rich and important, his very actions displayed a great amount of disdain for everyone around him.
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The first part of this paper will explore the mystery-religions, the reasons behind their popularity, and the Hellenistic world in which they grew that began with Alexander the Great. Next, their characteristics and connections first with Judaism and later with Christianity will be more deeply discussed. In the second part it will be shown that the mystery-religions helped to clear the pathway for the Christianization of the Greco-Roman world by men such as Paul the Apostle. Finally, the Emperor Constantine’s role in this story will be mentioned, during whose reign the mystery-religions declined and Christianity became the major religion of Europe and the near east. The paper will conclude with a brief speculation about the significance of these ideas to modern Christianity.
Toni Morrison has been called America's national author and is often compared with great dominant culture authors such as William Faulkner. Morrison's fiction is valued not only for its entertainment, but through her works, she has presented African-Americans a literature in which their own heritage and history a...
First we need to clarify what is Anti-Semitism, a term that references the prejudice or hostility against the Jews. Known as the persecution of Jews, Anti-Semitism did not only happen in Germany, it had long been part of the history and tradition of other countries including the United States. However, the level of persecution in Germany changed dramatically after Hitler came to power in 1933.
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Throughout history many groups of people have been ostracized for their appearance, religion, cultural, and social traits. Beginning in ¬¬¬pre-Christian society people of the Jewish faith have been blamed and alienated from society. Anti-Semitism, or hostility or prejudice against Jews was a distorted belief that changed course over history. Although in pre-Nazi Germany anti-Semitism was apparent, Hitler used propaganda to change anti-Semitism from some people having prejudice towards Jews to eventually the dehumanization and genocide of Jewish people.
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