How, in detail did the epic poem beowulf describe anglo-saxon society?
This may help get you started. Gift-giving: gift-giving may have played an important role in Anglo-Saxon society. Gift-giving demonstrated the wealth of the lord and his generosity, and also secured the loyalty of his men. Hrothgar bestowed gifts to Beowulf and his men when they killed Grendel and his mother; and Beowulf had given his men gifts, but this fails to win their loyalty as all but one desert him when he fights the dragon. Blood feuds: quite a bit of Beowulf is given over to detailing blood feuds. There is a feud between Grendel and Hrothgar, which Beowulf settles by killing Grendel; but that feud doesn’t end, it only continues as Grendel’s mother takes vengeance for the death of her son, which Beowulf ends by killing her. Also, between the Grendel encounter and the final scene with the dragon, there is a long and detailed history of blood feuds between the Shylfings, the Spear-Danes, and others. This may reflect Anglo-Saxon society’s acceptance of blood feuds, or possibly wa
