Beowulf

The hatred of Germanic tribes by the Romans towards may also dispel the notion that the Geats were Christian. My father was a famous soldier, known far and wide as a leader of men. The other class was a mass peasantry, who may or may not have been slaves, but in any case were bound to the interests of the ruling elite. My people repaid them, death for death, battle for battle…when dawn came the slayer was slain, and Higlac’s soldiers avenged everything with the edge of their swords. Poverty and slavery are also an issue in the story of Beowulf. It is built around soldiers who will do anything for their homeland and travel far across the seas to spread their revenge and honor. This could be referring to Christianity but throughout the poem there is no reference to Christ or church, although he mentions his “Lord” often. Hrothgar earned his status among his people and foreigners by his generous giving of his riches and possessions. One class was the elite: the aristocratic group that controlled both rural and urban wealth and dominated.

Bibliography

Reuter, Timothy: Germany In the Early Middle Ages 800-1056. Although some of them had remained pagan, another part of them, not at the least, had become Christian. ” Jaques Le Goff explains these changes during the barbarian invasions; “The face of the barbarian invaders had been transformed by another crucial fact.