Asher.P4.T8.Anglo-Saxon

The Anglo-Saxon culture was characterized by two distinct religious ideas that seemed completely at odds with one another—the pagan religion that first took root among them, or the Greek-influenced Christianity that arrived with the monk Augustine. The conflict between the two manifested itself in ways ranging from the traditions surrounded funerary rituals to the methods of education used in monasteries after the Greek pattern. But perhaps where the distinction is the clearest is in literature and poetry. While few examples of Anglo-Saxon literature survive in good condition, the works that do nearly all demonstrate religious undertones, and often even multiple religious concepts that clash within the work. Fewer examples still survive of overtly pagan literature, as the oral tradition in pre-Christian culture was far stronger than the written tradition, but anthologies like The Exeter Book contain valuable clues to the contrast between religious principles. The Exeter Book contains both poems detailing battles in which a premium was placed on qualities such as honor, bravery, and strength—vital virtues in the pagan ideal—and poems with distinctly Christian qualities. “The Battle of Brunanburh,” in particular, refers to “eternal glory” and “noble descent”, to “glorious warriors” and “proud war-smiths” who return home with fame and material wealth. The value placed upon warriors is clear, and contrast with the repeated references in other Exeter poems to the “good deeds” required by the clearly Christian “Lord”, “Prince of glory”, or “Father”. “Judgment Day I” even warns that “hardhearted men who hoard ostentatiously” are destined for the “fire, torment in obscurity”—obviously the hell of the Christian Bible.

The Christianity of the Greeks manifested itself in various other aspects of life, most evidently in martial behavior, architecture, art, and education. Under Christian principles, wars generally occurred under the guise of “holy wars”, expressly, at least in theory, for the purpose of converting foreigners to Christian beliefs. Yet the Anglo-Saxon literature glorifies war, lionizing heroes like Beowulf and the kings of the Exeter Book. The Greeks prized science, critical thought, and educated participation in government. Yet the Anglo-Saxons were governed by kings, referred to as “Lord of the warriors”—the capitalization is of note—and elevated to near god-like status, and their science remained elementary at best. The Greeks utilized principles of physics and materials science in their elaborate religious constructions, many of which survive to this day. Yet the “wall’d places” of the Saxon kings, strongholds and fortresses in times of war as described in “The Wanderer”, have largely long since crumbled away. The evidence continues to emerge. From the large collections of surviving Greek literature, thanks to the Greek value on written tradition, contrasted with the dearth of comprehensible Anglo-Saxon writings, to the largely educated population of Greeks, contrasted with the overwhelmingly uneducated population of Anglo-Saxons, the cultural, religious, and ideological differences between the cultures are strikingly demonstrated.

- Team Dragon (Alex, Clair, Laurel, Yee-Lum, Jodi)