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This is a place for us to discuss openly and honestly the literature we are reading. Here we are all just communicating our thoughts on what we are reading. There are no right and wrong answers. However, you are expected to be polite, mature, and on topic.
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During our study of the Anglo-Saxons, there have been different aspects of their society that have surpised me. One thing that I found interesting was the fact that women had as many rights has they did. When I think about older societies, I have always imagined that women were thought of more as objects than equals to men. The second thing I found to be interesting is that the Anglo-Saxons believed so strongly in immortality. It is very different from culture today that they believe that poets simply telling of their good deeds could lead to immortality.
One thing that I found interesting is how we got the words Wednesday and Thursday. This interests me because these are words that are used weekly and personally, I have never thought about where they were derived from. To know they are named because of Anglo- Saxon gods fascinates me. Another thing I found interesting about the Anglo- Saxons was how important poetry was to them. To say that "poetry was as important to them as fighting, hunting, farming, or loving" (page 13), is very extreme. We see, however, that poetry was, indeed, that important to the Anglo-Saxons. I find this interesting because loving something that much is incredible.
There are multiple things that I have found interesting, about the Anglo-Saxons. One of which, is the regard with which they held their poets and bards. I thought it was quite odd, how a poet could be seen so highly as a great warrior, all because that poet had the ability to "immortalize" the warrior. Another thing that I found interesting was how much power and rights women had. In times like that the Anglo-Saxons were in, I would imagine women and merely mules for the men, but no, the women had nearly as much power that the women of today have. Anglo-Saxon women could own land and even become female priests, per say, when Christianity was shown to them. Although much more of the Anglo-Saxon world is fascinating, the two things that I listed, are the most interesting to me.
There are many things we have spoken about of the Anglo-Saxon period that have fascinated me, however, two certain ones have stood out. The fact that women had as much freedom as they did. In history, women were usually looked down on by society. It surprised me by how equal they were to women today. Another thing was how honored the bards were. Anglo-Saxon society looked up to these men and women as a way to let their stories be told and to receive immortality. Unlike storytellers today, they were admired for their great powers. Although I only listed two things, I find the Anglo-Saxon world very intriguing and I cannot wait to read Beowulf!
The fact that women were held in such high honor and were equal to men in social status is a very intriguing custom of the Anglo-Saxon era. This is interesting to me because later in life women were degraded and treated as if they were inferior to men. It makes me wonder why things changed and why society started treating women as inferior memebers of society. Another interesting aspect of the Anglo-Saxon era was how intelligent they were. They built a wall so many centuries ago that still stands today. This is interesting because it was so long ago, yet, they were so intelligent and talented artisans.
I found it interesting that the Anglo-Saxons believed that bards could create immorality. It is strange how highly honored bards were held. It's hard to believe that a group of people believed in such an unrealistic theory. It is impossible to be immortal, yet they believed that through good deeds they could receive it. I also found it very interesting that women have such freedom. Normally, women would not have been able to own land or participate in the religious community.
I liked that the Anglo-Saxon's had their stories sang instead of told because I believe that the stories would have been better to listen to and made the experience more enjoyable. I also liked that they allowed the women to own land and money and do pretty much anything except be a solider. In most circumstances women are expected to serve the men and not have a life themselves. It was interesting to discover that one passed society gave women rights.
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