Anglo-Saxon Culture in Beowulf

            The Dark Ages was a time of immense violence and corruption, but it is also a time that very little is known. It started around the time of the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. and lasted until about 1000 A.D. During these five hundred years, very little information was written down which makes it hard for historians to conclude anything about this time period. However the few pieces of literature that made it out of the Dark Ages provide a more insightful understanding as to what this murky gap in history was really like-one of these pieces is the heroic epic of "Beowulf". Throughout "Beowulf" the reader is given a more in depth view into what life was like back then, especially life for the Anglo-Saxons. Even though it is a work of fiction, the role of women, warriors, and mead halls in Anglo-Saxon culture is reflected in "Beowulf" through Wealhtheow, Beowulf, and Heorot.
             Despite the fact that "Beowulf" revolves around the accomplished male hero Beowulf, women actually were seen as almost equal to men in the extremely patriarchal Anglo-Saxon culture. Not only were they seen as equals, they also held very important "roles which, while far from the equality sought today, are invested with more importance and capability than more modern texts" (Harris). It is a common theme seen throughout literature that women are nothing more than pretty objects for men to acquire and possess-"Beowulf" and Anglo-Saxon society tell a different story, however. There are quite a few models of powerful women in this epic-Grendel's mother, for example-but none is more expressive of true Anglo-Saxon culture than Wealhtheow. One of the most common duties given to women was that of "peaceweaver". This is done "either biologically through her marital ties with foreign kings as a peace-pledge or mother of sons, or socially and psychologically as a cup-passing and peace-weaving queen within a hall" (Chance 108).