Wylie Anglo-Saxon period 5 team 3

While the ancient Greeks had moira, the belief that one was born into his or her place and should not aspire to a better position in life, the Anglo-Saxons had a similar concept: wyrd. One’s wyrd portrayed his or her destiny –one’s fortune or doom- and there was no escaping it. While moira and wyrd seem quite similar, wyrd was skewed in a different direction when Christianity replaced some of the pagan traditions. Some lyrical poems illustrate this change: they will have a Christian-resonant moral tacked onto the end, to balance out the original “heathen” characteristics. Likewise, in “The Seafarer,” there is little to no evidence of Christianity until near the end, when the poem is wrapped up with a thanks to God and ended like a prayer (amen). The latter half of this poem is fully stocked with phrases one might hear in a church, such as “Blissful the man that meekly lives.” One such line even provides directions for the faithful to follow, expressing the necessity for man to “steer a steadfast course” with “constant, clean and just” judgment. This Christian part of the poem is, ultimately, repeating one core lesson: Live as you are supposed to and do not try to improve your situation. However, unlike with moira, Christians are expected to live a quiet life without material comfort or luxury; their faith does not allow man to be king, for there is only one king: God. Greek literature, allows mortal kings, average citizens, and slaves to live in their “rightful places,” does not follow this rule as Anglo-Saxon literature does. By Karen Cao, Paulina Alvarez, Emily Teraoka, Angela Oh