August Mawn, Daniel Pon, Zachary Gershman, Tom Allen
The Anglo-Saxon culture was one that was split between its pagan past that was rooted in a type of Germanic paganism called Wodenism (named after their prime deity, Woden), and its primarily Christian future that was being carried to England by monks spreading Christianity from southern Europe. The two extremely different kinds of traditions were creating a clash in Anglo-Saxon culture (which was mainly Christians attacking the ancient pagan values of the Anglo-Saxons), one that we can examine by looking at a piece of Anglo-Saxon poetry from the Exeter book (960 A.D.) called The Seafarer.
The Seafarer is a poem that is written from the perspective of a former sailor who is looking back on the hardships he faced in his past and is now thinking of his future, which to him is hopefully in Heaven. This poem is laced with Christian with references such as this one to the glory of “That Architect who’s awesome might moves the world,” clear evidence of its Christian influence. This strong Christian influence was brought to England by the well educated Monks, who had beliefs based in Christian theology and the philosophical tradition of education that was influenced by the classical Greek Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, whose treatises on science influenced catholic thought for hundreds of years. The Seafarer also attacks the classic pagan values of the Anglo-Saxons Ancestor’s by demonstrating the “hearsay” of their ritualistic burial (which often involved thorough cremation and burial alongside worldly treasures) when it describes the faults of the man whose “sinful soul, quaking before his god call(s) hoarded gold or glory to his aid.” In examining the meanings of The Seafarer, we are truly able to see how Christianity had permeated the Anglo-Saxon culture, and how it truly set to change everything about them from their burial practices to what they held most dear.
Melody Sue
ReplyDeleteTiffany Chen
Lucy Zhao
We also saw the mixture of Christianity and Germanic paganism in the Anglo-Saxon literature too! However, Anglo-Saxon religion emphasizes the glory of one’s moral life rather than the glory of Christianity-based afterlife. We think this is the greatest difference between the other two religions. Also, as you have said, their traditions and practices are greatly reflected in their writings. We also agree with your examples with their burials. Instead of the poem The Seafarer, however, we based discussed the aspects of Beowulf. For example, the Anglo-Saxon religion was reflected in their cultural values when they stressed the burial rituals. They believed that the traditions that they followed with their burials would immortalize the human being beyond death. In Beowulf, they bury him with all the treasures the dragon had guarded and this reinforces your argument about the burial practices. Good job on your synthesis! We came up with a lot of the same conclusions about their culture.