The Values Of Germanic, Pagan, And Christian Cultures Created Hero’S And Heroine's

For a person to live a virtuous life, he or she would have to live a life of moral excellence. Socrates best describes living a just life when he writes that every person can live an honorable life if they do their duties skillfully. The epic poem, Beowulf, is a myth about the heroic battles between Beowulf and his opponents. His virtuous life illustrates the values of his Pagan culture and is similar to that of Charlemagne’s life and his values in the Frankish culture. Einhard’s Life of Charles the Great depicts the life of the righteous Charlemagne. Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, and Beowulf both portray heroism through armed conflict, while in the story of St. Perpetua, Saints Perpetua and Felicitas are viewed as heroines through martyrdom. Their act of martyrdom shows the values of the Christian culture during the third century. Beowulf, Charlemagne, Perpetua and Felicitas all lived a virtuous life and their lives reflect the values of Pagan, Frankish, and Christian cultures, respectively.

Charles the Great’s life reflects the values of Frankish culture in three ways. He respects the honor of friendship, believes in leading his people in all aspects of their lives, and most importantly, credits the importance of family relationship. Einhard writes about Charlemagne with the utmost respect and says, “The care that King Charles bestowed upon me in my childhood, and my constant friendship with himself and his children after I took up my abode at court. In this way he strongly endeared me to himself, and made me greatly his debtor as well in death as in life” (Geary, p 282). Here Einhard states that Charlemagne was a close friend to him and for this he is in debt. Another passage that shows Charlemagne’s emphasis on friendship is when the Romans injured Pope Leo III and Charles the Great goes to consult them of the matter. It writes, “The Romans had inflicted many injuries upon the Pontiff Leo, tearing out his eyes and cutting out his tongue, so that he had been compelled to call upon the King for help. Charles accordingly went to Rome, to set in order the affairs of the Church, which were in great confusion, and passed the whole winter there” (Geary, p 293). Here it shows that Charles stayed for the whole winter in Rome to speak to the Romans about hurting Pope Leo. The acts of defending his friend and caring for Einhard are very honorable and show the important aspect of friendship in Frankish culture. Einhard goes on to speak about how Charlemagne led his warriors through battle and even religiously. In the Frankish culture, there is a huge emphasis on the ties between the warrior and the chief. This is portrayed through Charlemagne when Einhard states, “Hence, Italy suffered no great harm in his time at the hands of the Moors, nor Gaul and Germany from the Northmen” (Geary, p 289). Charlemagne made sure his kingdom was well defended and increased. He led battles against the Huns, Saxons, Germans, Frisians, etc. He was well respected by his warriors because through his 47 years of his reign he gained the most territory in Frankish history. The Frankish culture very much assimilated to the Roman culture in different ways. The most important factor in which Frankish culture conformed to Roman culture was through religion. In the same way, Charlemagne became engulfed in Christianity and believed that he had to lead his people in religion. An example of this is when Einhard writes, “Sacred edifices were the object of his care throughout his whole kingdom; and whenever he found them falling to ruin from age, he commanded the priests and fathers who had charge of them to repair them, and made sure by commissioners that his instructions were obeyed” (Geary, p 289). This shows that Charlemagne constantly put money into the church to keep the monasteries maintained in good condition. The most important aspect of the Frankish culture is the importance of family. Charlemagne was said to try to have a good relationship with his children and parents. Charlemagne eventually married a woman he did not want to marry because his mother urged him to. “Later he married a daughter of Desiderius, King of the Lombards, at the instance of his mother… and there was never any disagreement between them” (Geary, p 290). He never had a quarrel with his mother and tried to obey her. Another example of Charles the Great’s emphasis on the importance in family is when Einhard states, “He was so careful of the training of his sons and daughters that he never took his meals without them when he was at home, and never made a journey without them; his sons would ride at his side, and his daughters follow him… and he loved them very dearly” (Geary, p 290). Charlemagne was a very virtuous man because not only did he manage his kingdom well, he spent his time raising his children properly and led his people to prosperity. At his death, he demonstrated one of his greatest religious devotions when he writes in his will, “He first divided all his substance and movable goods. The first two lots have been thus subdivided into twenty one parts, and in order that each archbishopric may receive by way of alms, the archbishop who shall administer its affairs shall take the part given to it, and share the same with his suffragans in such manner that one third shall go to the Church, and the remaining two-thirds be divided among the suffragans” (Geary, p 295). Charlemagne divides his riches into twenty-one parts, which are how many cities there are in the kingdom. So each church in the city will receive riches. This shows on of his devotions to the church and demonstrates his value in religion.

Beowulf and Charlemagne are very similar in that they emphasized the importance of the same ideas due to the fact that both were of Germanic origin, but were essentially different because Beowulf, although Christian, practiced Pagan beliefs while Charlemagne practiced only Christianity. Beowulf was also engulfed in war, stressed importance of religion in his actions, and respected friendship and family ties. The Germanic culture is very much based around war and battles because war defines the prowess of every warrior. In Beowulf’s case, he defeated all his opponents, but in his last battle against the dragon, he was killed. “Old Beowulf’s sword, iron of edge, had already struck the creature who had been keeper of the treasures for so long an age, employing his fire-blast in the hoard’s defense, flinging out its heat in the depth of the nights; he died at last, violently” (Alexander, p 99). Beowulf dies in the end due to the dragons bite, but many factors led to this conclusion. Before, as a