England was divided into kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Kent, Essex, Sussex, and Wessex. These kingdoms were united, because of Viking raids, the capital was Winchester. 2. THE CULTURE, INCLUDING THE LANGUAGE, AND CIVILISATION OF THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD a. The OE dialect became standardized with the Wessex dialect – King’s English.
This poem describes the hero Beowulf marching with his fourteen warriors when they arrive at the place of Heorot where Beowulf finds that the king of Heorot, Hrothgar, terrified by a monster called Grendel. Beowulf is able to kill Grendel and his monster-mother at his abode beneath a lake. After that he returns to his country and becomes the king there and rules his kingdom for fifty years. He dies of the wounds he got once during the combat fought with a dragon. An epic in definition is an extended narrative poem that reencounters actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes.
October 16th, 2012 The Contrast Between Issues and Historical Periods There are many works of literature, which date back to ancient historical periods that are seen as universal texts in today’s society. Oedipus Rex written by Sophocles, Everyman and Job are three examples which can be seen as universal texts. Job is a biblical text that dates back to ancient Israel, while Oedipus Rex is an example of Greek drama that dates back to ancient Greece. Everyman is a morality play that was written in the medieval catholic period. All texts come from ancient cultures that deal with issues that are rarely seen today.
(“Norse Mythology” Wikipedia) All the information we currently have on the beliefs of the Norse are based on collections of writings that date times after the Christianization of Scandinavia, the Middle Ages more precisely. (“Norse Mythology” Wikipedia, Osborne vi) These writings are the Icelandic Eddas: the Poetic or Elder Edda and the Prose or Younger Edda, compilations done by the historian Snorri Sturluson in the 13th Century, together with Heimskringla and the Danish Gesta Danorum by the medieval historian Saxo Grammaticus. (“Norse Mythology” Wikipedia, Osborne vi, “Norse Mythology” Encyclopedia Mythica) It is well known that the Norse had polytheistic religious beliefs. Among their gods were the wise Odin, who gave an eye for drinking from the well
The main characters in Henry IV are, King Henry, Prince Hal (King Henry’s son), Sir John Falstaff, who is like a father to Hal at the beginning of the play, the Earl of Worcester, who plots against King Henry, Hotspur (the Earl of Worcester’s nephew and a valiant warrior who fights against the king), the Earl of Douglas (a courageous Scotsman who sides with the rebellion), Owen Glendower (a Welshman who has defeated King Henry many times in battle), the Earl of March, also called Mortimer who is the rightful heir to the throne, and the Earl of Westmoreland, who is angry at King Henry for not helping him protect his lands. Honor and manhood are qualities that one obtains through achievements, actions and respect that separate how one lives one’s life. Shakespeare approaches honor and manhood, as two key themes in both plays, very differently in Henry IV as compared to Macbeth. In Macbeth Shakespeare presents honor
Specifics of migration of the first people, also known as Paleo-Indians are still under discussion, and research, since the exact date and routes taken cannot be proven using concrete evidence by archeologist and historians. The prefix "paleo" is derived from Greek adjective palaios, meaning "old", and the term Paleo-Indians applies specifically to the earliest period of human occupation in the Americas. The widely accepted, theory also known as the western theory, suggests that Paleo-Indians used the Beringia land bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around 40,000—16,500 years ago to migrate to Americas. At the time the sea levels were significantly lower due to Quaternary glaciation (Ice Age) and the migration of herds of now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna –the set of species of large animals that lived on earth from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago– resulted in diaspora of first people from Central Asia to Americas. Paleo-Indians traveled along ice-free corridors that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets, which covered a major part of North American continent, starting from northern Canada to central United states.
Just as different states in the US have cultural differences, the European nations each have a distinct cultural background, many of which are deeply rooted in the nations history. A history that is much older than that of the United States. Europeans have a much different perception of time. For example, a house in the United States that was built in the early 1800s would be considered ancient to most Americans. This belief comes from the fact that the United States has only been an independent nation since the latter part of the 1700s.
AVESTA The Scriptures of Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism, like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is a "religion of a book" or rather a religion of texts. From the beginning, Zarathushtra's prophecies were embodied in words, though they were not written down until more than a millennium later. Zoroastrians have three thousand years of words in their heritage. The Avesta is the analogue of the Bible for Zoroastrians. Like the Bible, it is a collection of many texts from many eras, in different languages.
Odin, his wife Freya (or Frigg), and the other major Norse divinities - Thor and Tyr -live in Asgard, near which is located Valhalla, where Odin was believed to feast with the spirits of slain warriors. At Ragnarok, the "twilight of the gods", Odin will lead his army against the giants led by Loki. Odin will be devoured by the wolf Fenrir but then be avenged by his son Vidar. Odin's sacred bird is the raven, and his principal weapon - in addition to his powerful runes and magical spells - is the spear. He is depicted as tall, bearded, and one-eyed, having exchanged his other eye for wisdom.
Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother in the epic poem but in the movie he makes a deal with demon leading to his downfall. In the epic poem, Beowulf returns to Geatland after he defeats Grendel’s mother where he eventually becomes king of the Geats. However, in the film they have King Hrothgar crowning Beowulf king and granting Beowulf his lovely wife, Welthow. King Hrothgar dies of old age in the epic poem but in the movie he kills himself. I believe in the movie Hrothgar knows Grendel’s mother will continue her terror upon the Danes and he does not want to be there when she does.