Team 4: Cody Dunn, Carlton Lew, Stephen Hwang, Tyler Wong
The group decided that the most fitting work of Anglo-Saxon writing relating to Greek culture would be the poem entitled The Battle of Maldon, translated by Jonathan A. Glen. The poem celebrates the actual Battle of Maldon, which occurred around 991 A.D., in which the heroic Byrhtnoth attempts to defend England from a Viking invasion.
The poem relates to Greek culture in many ways. First of all, Byrhtnoth stands for a code of honor not different from that of great Greek warriors. He tries to create a fair battle when battling the Vikings, who wish to land on shore. Unlike most warriors, who would fight for any small advantage, Byrhtnoth declares, "Now you have room: come quickly to us, warriors to war. God alone knows who may master this battlefield." Later in the battle, when faced with a decision to surrender, Byrhtnoth still abides by the code of honor and fights to the death. Anglo-Saxon warriors followed the same code of ethics as the Greeks. Furthermore, Byrhtnoth represents a tragic hero like Oedipus. They both die due to their overconfidence. Byrntnoth dies because he is unwilling to give up; “There against anger Byrhtnoth stood ready, surrounded by warriors.”
However, although The Battle of Maldon is very similar to Greek literature, it also has a major difference, which represents a straying from the old culture. In Greek plays, the gruesome details were always described after they occurred. On the other hand, the authors of Anglo-Saxon works, describe all of the gory details first-hand. The author of The Battle of Maldon states, “He with spear stung the proud Viking who gave him the wound.” The Anglo-Saxon era tried to find a unique identity through literature.
Bryan, Brandon, Alan, Edwin Per. 5 Asher Per.3
ReplyDeleteThis is a great analysis on the question related about how Greeks and Anglo-Saxons have similar values in their separate culture. The team liked the example of Oedipus relating to Anglo-Saxon beliefs because everybody can generalize on the idea of the tragedy behind both epics. The analysis behind the fairness of both the Greeks and Anglo-Saxons really draws emphasis on the concept of not only how similar their way of culture is, but also by how they abide to the same ideals of warfare and strategy, and that is the same ideal that both the hero in the poem and Oedipus die. The differences mentioned between the Anglo-Saxons and the Greeks also demonstrate the cultural clash they have, yet it seems to be that there is more in common than they have in difference. The overall layout of the response was executed in a way that the reader could easily understand what was being said, yet also had a strong and consistent flow throughout the whole response that informed the reader of the similarities and the differences both time periods had. Great job on the analysis and describing what the two cultures had in total.