Textuality » 3A Interacting
BDelSal - Society in "Beowulf"
by - (2009-03-03)
Up to Beowulf . Epic Poetry
Reading Beowulf you can find some pieces of information of Anglo - Saxon society.
The population was formed by warriors and seamen/sailors.
Their society was a hierarchy: there was at first the king, after that the thanes (very important royal vassals) and at last the population. Old people had an important role because of his experience of work and life. The warriors were important for the people because they were like heroes. They faced difficult situations and adventurous voyages.
Anglo - Saxon society was based on a code of values like generosity, loyalty, fidelity and courage.
You can understand from this epic poem that they were pagans because they inspected omens and their creed was founded on the supernatural.