A_Glance_Into_Germanic_Society

A Glance Into Germanic Society A Glance into Germanic Culture Though it is often viewed both as an exemplary Anglo-Saxon epic and as a foundation of contemporary literature, Beowulf has an unusual account that obscures both its historical and its orthodox position in English writing. Beowulf displays the importance of one’s lineage, the “heroic code” of the Germanic society, and elements of the Christian versus pagan beliefs throughout the epic poem. In early Germanic culture, a man’s family lineage was among the most respected and valuable aspects of one’s life. “Who you are” was vital in this male-dominated warrior culture. The poem began with a tribute to the ancestry of King Hrothgar. This tribute displayed patriarchal lineage as being an extremely significant piece of one's character. For example, Beowulf’s own lineage was spoken of “Beowulf, son of Scyld” in the very beginning of the epic, and again throughout the story as “Beowulf of the Geats” . Several times in the story, Grendel’s relation to Cain was mentioned, presenting the beasts to have a lineage of their own. One main difference in the lineage of Grendel was that the mother figure was dominant, which was against the beliefs of beowulf, lineage, germanic, culture, treasures, society, pagan, code, beliefs, warrior, story, life, hrothgar, heroic, glory, epic, earthly, death, dear, christian, throughout, shall, poem, people, pass, one’s, old, king, end, come, beowulf’s, ancestry, among, afterlife, after