Beowulf; the Myth, the Legend

Beowulf; the Myth, the Legend

Beowulf is a symbolic character of its Nordic-German roots, as a tale of a great Scandinavian warrior who projects all the qualities in which myths originate from; loyalty, strength, courage and honor. Beowulf is a heroic story that relates well to the time by having epic battles and defeats with treacherous monsters. Beowulf is an awe- inspiring story about a courageous leader who took down evil and brought peace to the people by remaining true to his word in order to obtain honor.  

One of the central themes of Beowulf, personified by his character, is loyalty; which continued to be a guiding virtue for him.  It was loyalty that drew Beowulf to the assistance of the Danes. Unquestionably Beowulf was interested in increasing his reputation and achieving greater honor, however he came to defeat Grendal as payment for his own king in Geatland. Hrothgar came to the assistance of Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow, years before.

“There was a feud one time, begun by your father.

With his own hands he had killed Heatholaf,

Who was a Wulfing; so war was looming

And his people, in fear of it, forced him to leave…..

Finally I healed the feud by paying:

I shipped a treasure-trove to the Wulfings

And Ecgtheow acknowledged me with oaths of allegiance. “

(Heaney p33 459-472)

The family ties goes back many years and Beowulf was proud to be able to lend his service to Hrothgar. Loyalty was a very important role in Anglo-Saxon culture and life. A person’s life was determined by their status. A person who was the loyalist of followers to the king received more generosity, which led to a high status in their life. Beowulf worked mostly out of loyalty which gave him quite a reputation with the Danes and the Geats.

Strength was a constant obsession in the world of warriors; warriors like Beowulf were willing to go to the extreme to find opportunities to demonstrate their physical abilities, even ridding to another country to face a demonic menace. Beowulf’s physical appearance displayed his physical capabilities, “In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful.” (Heaney p15 197-198) Through the illustration of Beowulf’s battling acts, his superhuman strength was expounded upon, speaking that no other single man could accomplish the task of defeating Grendal. When Beowulf and Grendal were fighting, Grendal found “himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth.” (Heaney p 51 749-752) The other Geats tried to assist Beowulf but their weapons weren’t able to “damage their demon opponent,” (Heaney p53 803) however Beowulf was still able to rip Grendal’s arm off at the shoulder by his bare hands with mere strength.

        Once inside the mead-hall in Heorot, Beowulf displayed his courage as he told Hrothgar about his past triumphs as younger man.

“The deep boiled up and its wallowing sent the sea-brutes wild. My armour helped me to hold out; my hard-ringed chain-mail, hand-forged and linked, a fine, close-fitting filigree of gold, kept me safe when some ocean creature pulled me to the bottom. Pinioned fast and swathed in its grip, I was granted one final chance; my sword plunged and the ordeal was over. Through my own hands, the fury of battle had finished off the sea-beast.” (Heaney p37-39 549-558)

Beowulf speaks that he heard of the Dane’s problem with Grendal and how he plans to be a match for the monster so that he could finally bring peace back to Heorot.

"Then news of Grendel, hard to ignore, reached me at home: sailors brought stories of the plight you suffer in this legendary hall, how it lies deserted, empty and useless once the evening light hides itself under heavens dome.”(Heaney p29 409-414)

“Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat." (Heaney p29 425-426)