Iron to Incense: Evidence for Persistent Warrior Culture after the Conversion to Christianity in Early Medieval England
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2021-06-30
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en
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Cynewulf and Cynehard and The Battle of Maldon are two Old English texts narrating events of conflict from the Anglo-Saxon period. Although both written after the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, both texts still display many Germanic warrior tropes upon analysis. It is safe to assume that the conversion of the Christian faith was not a one-on-one religious replacement and that the Anglo-Saxon Christian culture should be understood as being an amalgamated culture featuring many influences of the old warrior culture. Comparing cultural elements from either text we can see that, although the influence of Christian culture has increased, there is still a strong presence of Germanic warrior culture in the early medieval period of England. The effective use of both cultural elements in the texts suggest that the Christian scribes had an active awareness of the dualistic nature of their culture when narrating the events.
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