NOTE: I have my quotes all pulled and ready, I just haven’t had time to put them in yet. Also this is an extremely rough assembly, certainly a far cry from any finished product. However I think you can see a clear thesis and the points that I am getting across. Thanks for reading if you decide to read it.
Thesis: In the Barbarian West, evil is that which doesn't fit into their society.
In the Barbarian West, evil was not defined as the manifestation of what was bad or malignant but rather as the unfamiliar or unchristian. Looking through The History of the Franks, The Life of Cuthbert, and Beowulf a pattern of evil emerges more like a social trend and less like some far reaching human concept.
NOTE: Rewrite thesis so the trends so evident in Gregory and Cuthbert lead up to how Beowulf uses these for heightened drama.
The concept of violence is reminiscent of how NBA General Managers used to deal with the Foreign Prospect. Given their basketball frame of reference, the multi-faceted game of the Europeans was not what they understood a good basketball player to be. This put an obstacle in the path of many NBA-bound players forcing them to work harder to find their place. It was not until increased Olympic success and the emergence of true foreign superstars that the NBA finally embraced the foreigner.
Begin this with the analogy that evil is not violence. That is of the utmost importance.
In these texts, a person’s deeds are partially defined by how they fit into the Author’s society. Through the venerated subjects of Gregory, he manages to describe the violent exploits of __________ with grace and no amounts of disgust. INSERT QUOTE* This description suggests that ______ is not acting on some violent urge but keeping the society in check. These additional outbursts seem excused by the lack of a governing force in the Frankish World. It is easy to imagine Gregory understanding the circumstances at work and excusing his violent subjects from damnation.
Though Gregory appears wont to excuse the occasional crime in the name of order or the lord (Lord-er?), he is quick to portray unfamiliar violence as the outbursts of barbarians. Nowhere is this clearer than in his depiction of the Arians. INSERT QUOTE AND ADDITIONAL INSIGHT. 2-3 sentences.
Also: Explain how murder seems excused when it is done for Political purposes.
Note: Explain how their understanding of violence allowed them to find a place for it in their society. Try to make the
ALSO: In previous two paragraphs, strengthen the argument of violence as a cultural institution. Cast it as say, I don’t know Ethnocentric.
OUTLINE:
The value of Chistianity from a broader perspective
Note how it is always explained when someone is unchristian.
The exploits and glorification of Cuthbert explained and compared to how Gregory treats the Imposters and the necromantic ways of others. Note how the only real difference how one is doing it for their own benefit and how the other is supposedly doing it for the glorification of god.
As Gregory begins The History with a staunch declaration of his faith, it should come as no surprise that he utilizes the concept of “evil” to protect his beliefs.
Desiderius “he set out to deceive them by the false art of Necromancy, rather than to cure them by God’s grace.” 483 A healer just like Cuthbert, however similar the methodology, the portrayals are quite different.
Beowulf is a perfect example of what is considered acceptable. Thing beyond the norm enters and causes a disturbance, serving an analogous purpose in the process, of course it must be killed.
Beowulf Quote: Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better
to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.
