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Julian Moreno

Ms. Figueroa

Senior English

10 December, 2018

Anglo-Saxon Values Relating to Beowulf

What is an Anglo-Saxon? The Anglo-Saxon civilization dates back into the 15th century.

It relates and or denotes the Germanic inhabitants of England. The Anglo-Saxons social structure

consist of tribe units lead by chieftains, meaning kings or lords. Theoretically, they earn respect

from there warriors. This is where Beowulf steps into the spotlight. Beowulf, an epic poem

created by Anglo-Saxon, describes Beowulf with very much detail. In the Beowulf story,

Beowulf takes it upon himself to extinguish and slaughter all the unimaginable monsters that lurk

in Scandinavian territory. Throughout Beowulf’s conquest to make Scandinavia a safe

inhabitance, Beowulf shows many Anglo-Saxon traits but the most that standout the most are

honor, loyalty, courage and or bravery.

Beowulf is an outstanding character who is honorable to himself and holds massive

amount of resect towards his image. He wants people to know how honorable he truly is and has

shown it in his behavior. For example, instead of eliminating potential threats against the Danes,

Beowulf asked the King of Danes, Hrothgar, for permission to kill the threat, in this case the

savage beast Grendel. Beowulf states, “This is one favor you should not refuse of me – That I,

alone and with the help of my men, may purge the evil from this hall” (Beowulf 164-166).

Beowulf understands that a person’s image is important. He asked permission from the King

Hrothgar in order to maintain his image. If there was no permission present, the King’s political

position would potentially be at risk. That was not the only time Beowulf showed honor. He also
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showed honor bravely when he announced that he would fight and slay the devil like beast

Grendel without weapons. He proclaims, “That monster scorn of men is so great that he needs no

weapons and fears none. Nor will l” (Beowulf 167-169). Beowulf knows that the beast Grendel

has killed many Danes without the use of weapons and knows that Grendel will not use any

weapons against him. All Beowulf wants is a fair battle, therefore he declares that he will not use

weapons; an honorable way to declare a battle. Beowulf has shown that he is extremely

honorable in more than one way. He has so far shown Anglo-Saxon Traits.

Although Beowulf has tremendous amount of respect towards his loyalty, Anglo-Saxon

traits are not just shined upon Beowulf. In the story Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon traits are shown

within every individual introduced within the story; even evil can astonishingly be loyal. For

example, Grendel’s mother seeks vengeance for her son who was killed by Beowulf. Grendel’s

mother did not want her son’s death to go silent. Grendel’s mother had the audacity to leave her

uncharted territory and traveled to Herot to kill Hrothgar’s, King of the Danes, best man. The

story states “So she reached Herot… took a single victim… She’d taken Hrothgar’s closest

friend” (Beowulf 397-416). Grendel’s mother was extremely sad. She showed value towards her

family and demonstrated loyalty by murdering Hrothgar’s best man to avenge her son. Wiglaf,

Beowulf’s best friend, was not only brave but was also a loyal companion. Wiglaf was brave

enough to volunteer and help Beowulf fight a dangerous battle. Wiglaf knew Beowulf was going

to need support and tried to create a convoy in order to assist Beowulf. Wiglaf said, “And now

our lords must lean on younger arms, and we must go to him, where angry flames burn at his

flesh, help our glorious king” (Beowulf 722-725). Wiglaf managed to convince others to join the

treacherous battle, unfortunately the others realized how dangerous the battle actually was and

they fled. Wiglaf was the only one to stay and help his companion. That act alone showed a great
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amount of loyalty. Loyalty was not shown within the heroes of the story, but was also displayed

within others.

Anglo-Saxons are valued upon many traits. Honor and loyalty are just the tip of the

iceberg, but more are included and presented throughout the story. Bravery, and or courage are

validated through the acts performed by Beowulf himself. Grendel’s mother sought her

opportunity for vengeance on her son by killing Hrothgar’s best man, she fled to uncharted

territory, never explored by man. The zone she considers her home is full of unhuman-like

fictional beast. The poem exemplified, “They live in a secret place… No one knows its bottom,

no wisdom reaches such depths… Grendel’s mother lives in a terrible home, in a place you have

never seen” (Beowulf 425-445). Beowulf was furious and feared nothing under his abrupt anger

and had such fearlessness to fight Grendel’s mother in her home. The battle was a challenging

success. After this courageous act, many considered Beowulf a hero due to his bravery. After the

elimination of Grendel and his mother, many of the Danes have thought they were no longer in

danger, but sadly they thought wrong. There was one more predator, a dragon, which has

attacked another colony, Beowulf’s colony. When Beowulf heard about such horrible attacks he

said “I am old now, but will fight again, seek fame still… Like Grendel, Gripped by my hands

and torn limb by limb… I fear no shame!” (Beowulf 609-618). Beowulf understood that he did

not have to fight the dragon, but he sought fame. His cocky acted of bravery lead to his ultimate

doom. Surprisingly though undefeated, the battle against the dragon was his last act of conflict.

Sadly Beowulf has suffered many gory injuries that lead to his miserable death.

Beowulf was full of Anglo-Saxon such as honor, loyalty, bravery and or courage. These

characteristics were values that he upheld to everyday and astonishingly his bravery was the

leading cause of his death. Traits provided by the Anglo-Saxons are the many reasons why
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cavitation was able to stay afloat. Honor was shown when The Danes and the Geats had pride

towards their image. Both societies managed demonstrate these individualities in their day-to-

day lives. Loyalty is shown though the whole story of Beowulf. Beowulf himself was loyal to

both the Danes and the Geats. Beowulf was a one man army for both societies. When help was

needed, Beowulf was there to eradicate the potential problem. The eradication of problems was

happening frequently during the 15th century. Many territories and empires were being concurred

and without bravery and or courage, the Great Danes and Geats would have not lasted during this

treacherous timeline. Not only was the story of Beowulf entertaining, but it was also educational.

A reader would be able to capture important life lessons such as becoming to confident is not

always an upright thing or even becoming too brave, which can lead to atrocious consequential

problems. Overall Beowulf is a very inspirational story that embodies all values that a hero

should hold.
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Works Cited

Beowulf. McDougal Littell and Related Readings. 2000.

Delahyde, Michael. “Anglo-Saxon Culture.” Washington State University.