In the poem Beowulf, written sometime around the 9th century by an unknown author and
translated by Seamus Heaney, there is lots of fighting. This reflects the amount of fighting
done by the people around the time the poem was written, including the Anglo-Saxons.
Living in a time of “warrior culture,” these people were used to the fighting and death.
Fighting was a part of their lives, and one who could fight well was generally held in
higher esteem, as long as he displayed proper values such as friendship and loyalty.
However, as time went on and Christianity was introduced to them, this fighting was
becoming less popular to them. They began to become less barbaric and more civilized.
Beowulf displays this time of transition by including both Christian values and elements of
a “warrior culture.” The author of Beowulf seeks to defend the fighting ways of the
Anglo-Saxons by introducing monsters into the poem, giving the violence a new meaning
but still not fully justifying it.
The Anglo-Saxons did not always fight for just causes. The Germanic tribes they came
from, the Angles and Saxons, went to Britannia to save the Britons from the Romans.
Although they probably only went for the money or to prove themselves in battle, they still
were helping the Britons to defend themselves. However, after they kicked out the Romans
they turned on the Britons and forced them back into Wales. This was not an honorable
thing for them to do even though they benefited from it. Another example of unnecessary
