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Is It Fate or Nah?
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Author Note
Poems from the Exeter
Is It Fate or Nah?
Before William the Conqueror established his rule on England in 1066, it was ruled by the Anglo-Saxons (450-1066 CE). In the 5th Century, these Germanic tribes conquered the British tribes and established a detailed poetry tradition that continues to this day. This tradition included poetry that reflects loss and pain as part of their fate. In their poems, you can often see themselves in sorrow and pain living through tragic times and bearing all the burden in the world. Let us take the example of three of these poems from the Exeter book to further elaborate how the Anglo-Saxons perceived themselves.
In the poem The Seafarer, the reader can clearly see that the poet is trying to reflect that it is the fate of an Anglo-Saxon to endure the hardships at sea and the sail long distances in ill-equipped boats so that their wife and children could be able to enjoy two square meals in a day. In lines 69-75 of the poem, it can be clearly read that the sailor cites the sorrow that it is his fate to fall to his death, be it from old-age, illness or the sword of his enemy. Therefore, he should make the best of it and reap as much profit as he possibly can.
In the poem The Wanderer, again the poet cites the same fate of pain and sorrow in the opening lines of the poem as he wanders the earth as a lonely traveler. He is “the wanderer” that have no one to call his own as all his fellows have been killed and wander the earth in exile [Lines 5-6]. The poet reflects on his ill-fate full of pain and sorrow as wanders the wanders the earth to find someone that he would call his own, someone who he would comfort him in these sad times as he wanders the frozen waves aimlessly in search of peace, a place and people to call his own [Lines 23-25].
In the poem The Wife’s Lament, the poet tries to show how the other side of the suffering of the Anglo-Saxon soldier, the wife that is waiting for his return from home. A wife of an Anglo-Saxon, who is on one of his travels, cites that it is her fate to be in an emotional exile due to her husband’s many hardships. She says that it is her fate “to divide us two/ so we most widely in the world’s kingdom” [Lines 12-13]. This also represents the recurring theme of ill-fate wrapped in the cloak of pain and suffering of an Average Anglo-Saxon tribe member.
To conclude the argument, we can often see that the Anglo-Saxons were not as stony as it is thought by most historians. They were people that had a strong belief that fate was the main driver of all walks of human life. In the first paragraph, we can clear that an Anglo-Saxon sailor clearly sees that it was fate that made sure that he ended up at sea, enduring the hardships that are the cost of being a seafarer. The story continues as he next finds himself in a barren wasteland when most of his fellow brother-in-arms is either killed or captured and he is “destined” to wander these unknown lands (Patrick, 2013). While in the third poem, his wife longs for her husband’s return and cites that it is the fate that separates the husband and wife. Clearly, we can see a kind of flow that connects the fate of Anglo-Saxon men with that of their women.
References
Patrick, W., C. (2013). The Exeter Book - Medieval Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo. Retrieved 21 January 2020, from https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396584/obo-9780195396584-0094.xml
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