Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Oral Tradition Contributes To Anglo-Saxon Religion

            Anglo-Saxons officially became known around 449 A.D. The Angles, Jutes and Saxons were people of Germanic backgrounds. Around 440 A.D. they began to invade Great Britain and Denmark region to push the Celts out.  From this the Angles, Jutes and Saxons combined to be known as the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons like many before them believed strongly in oral tradition. The oral tradition was a way to tell of their life, beliefs, customs and what they valued. Beowulf the story was created from the oral tradition of the Anglo Saxon people. “…ultimately oral tradition that produced Beowulf” (Orchard 1). Originally written in vernacular Old English, Beowulf was later translated into modern English.Beowulf is the oldest poem we have in the vernacular Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon” (Holman 1).  Beowulf and The Exeter book, are examples of Anglo-Saxon oral tradition, and help us better understand not only their lives but also their beliefs. 
                Anglo-Saxons valued oral tradition greatly. This was a way to tell later generations of their history and to pass their views of religion on. Scops, Anglo-Saxon story tellers, are the key to passing oral tradition from generation to generation during those times. “Most literary historians believe the Beowulf poem was composed in the oral tradition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon Scop (story-singer) sometime around 700 A.D.” (Holman 1). The King would hire a Scop to keep him entertained, usually with a harp (Anglo Saxon Scops 1). A Scop was ranked very high among the society. “They sang then and played to please the hero/ harp tunes and tales of adventure” (Heaney 1062-4). In the story of Beowulf, the scop would tell or sing his stories usually during feasts and other festive activities at the Mead Hall. As shown in Beowulf the scop sings at the feast, “And the minstrel sang,/ filling Heorot with his head-clearing voice,/ gladdening that great rally of Geats and Danes” (Heaney 496-9). He would tell stories of all sorts of things including; religion, battles, life values, previous kings and queens, etc.  Like Beowulf, The Exeter Book is another example of Anglo-Saxon oral tradition, being passed one between the generations. The book is a collection of poems based on Anglo-Saxon religion.  The Exeter book is oral tradition finally written down by what is believed a Scop of the Anglo-Saxon people.
                Both in Beowulf and The Exeter Book, the oral tradition stories were re-written by monks. Anglo-Saxons were believed to be more pagans then Christians at the time.  Thus one of the biggest values expressed was, Christianity versus Paganism. Paganism is the belief in many gods and in fate. “The term, pagan, is derived from the Latin word, paganus, which means a country dweller. The pagan usually has a belief in many gods (polytheistic), but only one is chosen as the one to worship which represents the chief god and supreme godhead.” (Paganism – What is It 1). The Anglo-Saxons were people that lived in the country sideA, believing in many gods but referred to one God. An example of worship of one God, “Past and present, God’s will prevails” (Heaney 1057). Beowulf later shows his belief in paganism when he says before a fight, “what occurs…/between the two of us will turn out as fate” (Heaney 2525-6).  In The Exeter Book the poem “The Wife’s Lament” shows examples of belief in fate, “Woeful his fate” (Kennedy 57).  Both the books are believed to have Christianity added to them when they were translated by the monks.  But the Anglo-Saxons did not convert to Christianity until the invasion of the Normans (Holman 1). There are parts where you can tell the monks added Christianity to the story, but beneath that there still are examples of Paganism.  As an allusion to Cain and Abel, “In off the moors, down through the mist bands/God-cursed Grendal came greedily loping” (Heaney 710-11).  But is later contradicted with the idea of Paganism by saying, “but his fate that night/was due to change, his day of ravening/had to come to an end” (Heaney 733-5). Other examples of the monks trying to cover Paganism with Christianity are revealed in “The Seafarer”.  “… So graced by God,/that he feels no fear as the sails unfurl,/wondering what fate has willed and will do” (Raffel 41-3). “Under his lord. Fate is stronger” (Raffel 116). 
                From both Beowulf and The Exeter Book you can see the values of oral tradition in the Anglo Saxon Society.  You can infer some parts of their everyday lives as well.  Like how they valued their community and social life at the mead-halls. The mead-hall became the center of their lives to pass on the stories of oral tradition and to teach religion.  This continued throughout the many generations. The Anglo-Saxons had a hierarchy with Kings and Queens, and the Scop being ranked almost the same all taking part of the oral tradition.  With the scop being ranked as high as royalty he was the most important person to make sure the oral traditions continued.  Beowulf and The Exeter Book, are examples of oral tradition, from which we can learn more of the Anglo-Saxon lives and beliefs. 

8 comments:

  1. Wow this it great!!! I'm doing a project on this and this information helps so much Thank you so much

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  3. Hello! This is a real question from a History Student! You mentioned that the Anglo-Saxons didn't convert until the Norman invasion. Could you clarify, and what book are you referring to in the citation? Katherine Holman's Northern Conquest? Thank you. you can reach me at masmith07@live.com if you prefer.

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