Examples Of Christ In Beowulf

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Christ and Beowulf: How They Portrayed the Anglo-Saxon Hero In both the Anglo-Saxon culture and the literature writings, to be considered and known as a hero meant being a warrior. They were known as strong, intelligent, and brave, always prepared to face any and all challenges that came their way, and fight for both the glory and their people, even if it cost them their life. He is able to represent these traits while remaining both humble and generous. In a literature aspect, both the portrayal of Christ in "The Dream of The Rood" and the character of Beowulf in Beowulf, which is possibly the best example of the two, are some of the best works to show what was to be an Anglo-Saxon hero. In the epic work of Beowulf, the characteristics of…show more content…
In Beowulf, when he first reaches the Danish shore, the coastguard looks at him and says, "Never before has a force under arms / disembarked so openly…Nor have I seen / a mightier man-at-arms on this earth / than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken, / he is truly noble. This is no mere / hanger-on in a hero’s armor" (lines 244-245, 247-251). This is obviously a key characteristic to have when describing heroes in Anglo-Saxon culture, but strength alone is not the only thing that’s needed. Beowulf also illustrates that all heroes must also be courageous. While arguing with Unferth, Beowulf says, "Often, for undaunted courage, / fate spares the man it has not already marked" (lines 572-573). This quote showed how important courage was in their culture because fate, an unchangeable force, appeared to bend for heroes who held enough courage within them. Beowulf then goes on to proudly proclaim to Hrothgar and the other Danes that he would be the one to kill Grendel, not with his sword but by his own strength, displaying both the courage and honor he held to them and gives an inspiring speech to the thanes in

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