Cultural Context In Beowulf

Gregory Bateson said, “Without context, words and actions have no meaning at all” (Mind and Nature 15). That quote may seem melodramatic, but surely you acknowledge the axiomatic certainty of the foundational importance of context. The proper context is imperative to understanding the content, and context is fundamental to understanding Beowulf. Warren Christopher said, “It's very important to always put statements in their historical contexts. It teaches important lessons about the country in question.” To assimilate the historical context of Beowulf you must envisage the time period it is set in, the culture at the time, and the technology. I will aid you in your comprehension of the cultural context primarily. Beowulf was written
at the close of the first millennia, but it was set centuries before that. It is most likely that the writer was writing down a legend that had been warped and twisted while being passed down orally. Therefore, I will consider Beowulf as a window into the culture of the writer as opposed to the context of the legend, that was so adapted from the original event that the quiddity of it has been irreversibly changed.