Who is Your Hero?

St. Francis of Assisi

Wainwright House   Rye, New York

October  2010

Psalms 84:11 NIV
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."

My seniors and I discussed the concept of honor today as it applied to Anglo-Saxon society.  The comitatus structure was centered around a lord and his thanes who went to battle for him. After victory, the lord would distribute the pillaged gold, silver and jewels to the thanes; thus ensuring their loyalty to him and causing them to honor him for upholding his duties to them.

The students learned how the pagan Anglo-Saxons believed their immortality came through glory in battle.  The goal of the warriors was to be included in the songs of the poets who would sing of their brave and heroic deeds on the battlefield. This fame in battle, even if they were killed, is how the Anglo-Saxon would achieve immortality. If his name were remembered, he would remain alive.

St. Augustine and other monks arrived in England from Rome to show the pagans a new way to consider the afterlife. 

The great epic poem, Beowulf, is peppered with the Christian monk's influence as he recorded the poem on parchment. Prior to this, the story had been told in an oral form by the 
poet.

The hero, Beowulf, and Christ, share many similar traits. The monk clearly links the most famous superhero in Anglo-Saxon times to the Savior of the world. 

However, the monk also clearly shows God aiding Beowulf in his battles with Grendel and his mother through the prayers of his friends or through other means such as the protection of his clothing. The monk shows the Anglo-Saxon warriors through their own story that no matter how great a hero Beowulf is, Christ is better.

Those early monks were clever and used images the warriors could relate to as they were taught the Christ story.  (One poet even wrote the story of Crucifixion from the perspective of the Cross.)

The Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity and gave up their pagan ways. Honor continued to play a central role in their culture.

My students thought it was "cool" that honor was so admired back then.  The general consensus today was we don't seem to have such an honorable society as the ancient world.

Maybe these kids will make a difference in our age as we discuss these ancient concepts and try to connect them to their lives.
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Dear Lord, help me to lead by example for my students. Let me lead a life of honor.