Beowulf: An Epic Hero In The Anglo-Saxon Period

Beowulf, king of the Geats, engages in battles in order to protect his community from physical creatures while King Arthur’s knights engage in spiritual battles against evil temptation which lurks around every corner. Beowulf proudly displays his prowess before he must confront Grendel, the “God-cursed brute” when he declares with bold confidence that he “can calm the turmoil” (Heaney 11, 21). Beowulf boasts of his strength, pledging to kill Grendel with his bare hands. Grendel, the cursed descendant of Cain, enjoys death and destruction, ruining Hrothgar’s reputation with every attack on his kingdom. The monster kills one of his men, angering the Thanes and encouraging them to fight

Christopher Reeve once said “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endures in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” In other words, a hero is a normal person who is able to be strong and persevere despite difficult obstacles preventing them. In the book, Beowulf, the the nephew of the king of the land of the geats, helps Hrothgar, another king, kill a series of monsters that threaten his kingdom. He helps Hrothgar kill Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and The Firedrake. Beowulf is a hero because he is just an ordinary person who finds the strength to persevere and endure despite the overwhelming obstacles preventing him from doing so. Beowulf embodies Christopher Reeve’s definition of a hero because he defeated the flesh-eating Grendel, who could not be stopped even by groups of elite soldiers. Beowulf also killed Grendel’s mother, a much eviler being who lived in a cave in an endless pool of blood that led to hell. Finally, he defeated The Firedrake, who swelled up and breathed fire when angry.

The character of Beowulf demonstrates several characteristics that make a great epic hero. Throughout his lifetime he displayed several characteristics such as honor, bravery, physical superiority, leadership, and glory. These characteristics all formed how the Anglo-Saxons believed one should live their life. Along with the valorous deeds that Beowulf accomplished he is considered to be a prime example of an epic hero. Beowulf would have even been considered a model human to the Anglo-Saxons due to how he consistently demonstrated these qualities.

The Anglo-Saxons’ cultures and traditions are rooted in their beliefs of the perfect hero. Their ideal hero has many key characteristics influenced by their culture including courage, strength, bravery, thick skin, loyalty, humbleness, and the ability to create strong trustworthy friendships. Beowulf is an epic poem that exhibits the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero. The Anglo-Saxon traditions illustrated in Beowulf accurately represent the Anglo-Saxon traditions of the time period. This is accomplished through the distinct correlation of heroic characteristics between Beowulf and the culture’s traditional depiction of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Being a hero can mean many different things. A modern day hero might be someone who has a strong moral code or someone that has extraordinary powers and abilities but, looking back in time the meaning of a hero has changed slightly. During Anglo-Saxon times, being a hero meant being loyal to their lord and god, having a sense of duty, being selfless, having honor, being intelligent, and boasting. It also meant being brave and having courage, having a sense of justice, and having larger than life strength. A great example of an Anglo-Saxon hero is Beowulf from “Beowulf,” written by an unknown author. In this poem, Beowulf exemplifies the characteristics of an Anglo-Saxon hero because he was brave and courageous, he had superhuman strength, and he had a unique sense of justice.

The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly invincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of an Anglo Saxon hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters many monsters and horrible beasts, but he never fears the threat of death. His leadership skills are outstanding and he is even able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf is the ultimate epic hero who risks his life countless times for glory which to him meant eternal life.

Beowulf is an epic hero from the Anglo-Saxon period, who takes on a great deal of challenges and adventures. The character Beowulf embodies the virtues of the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs. He incorporate the traits of Anglo-Saxon society with strength, bravery, honor, and the desire to help the helpless.

Beowulf’s first battle is against Grendel in an attempt to help King Hrothgar of Denmark and the Danes. The king builds a great mead-hall known as Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the bards. All the noise and commotion angers Grendel, who is a horrible demon that lives in the swamplands of the king’s kingdom. Grendel is an outcast who desperately wants to be a part of the Danes. He is bitter about being excluded from the mead-hall festivities. As a result of his jealousy and loneliness, Grendel terrorizes the Danes every night, killing them and defeating their efforts to fight back. The Danes live in fear, danger, and suffer death from Grendel for many, many years. Eventually, word of the kingdom’s suffering at the hands of Grendel reaches Beowulf. He feels inspired by the challenge of defeating the monster and decides to help the Danes. The king holds a big feast to celebrate Beowulf’s help,

This helps reassure Beowulf as an mighty, valiant hero rather than portraying him as a mediocre, ordinary mortal. The kingdom of Hrothgar is agitated and frightened by the attacks of the vile Grendel, who is unable to be defeated nonetheless harmed by a warrior's sword. “I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none”(Beowulf Poet 38). Grendel shrieks at the sound of jubilant music as well as the sounds of joy coming from Hrothgar’s mead hall. To compensate for this agonizing pain, Grendel decides he is going to kill some of Hrothgar’s men. Grendal murdering Hrothgar’s men reassures Grendel’s evil nature and his constant intent to carry out malice. Hrothgar looks far and wide for a brave, noble warrior who will help rid them of this behemoth. Beowulf accepts the strenuous task of obliterating the malevolent Grendel in order to retain the kingdom of Hrothgar and his people. Beowulf accepts Hrothgar’s task not for the wages he will receive, but for the bravery and honor that come with killing such a magnificent beast. The acceptance of this challenge bolsters the fact that Beowulf is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good of the people rather than a person of greed who is in it for their

Beowulf is one of the oldest surviving books and is one of the most important pieces of literature. Beowulf tells about king Hrothgar of Denmark, whose kingdom was attacked repeatedly by a demon named Grendel. Hearing about this, an illustrious warrior named Beowulf comes to the rescue. Overjoyed, king Hrothgar holds a grand feast in Beowulf’s honor. Beowulf loved this, but when an envious Dane questioned Beowulf’s reputation, Beowulf began to boast about his past victories. The feast lasted through the night, until Grendel attacked once more. While everyone in the hall was afraid of the monstrous demon, Beowulf attacked him with his bare hands, ripping his arm clean off. Grendel, realizing that he now had one less appendage, crawled back to his hollow to die. His severed arm was hung in king Hrothgar’s hall as a trophy. Seeing Grendel’s decimated corpse, Grendel’s mother later joined the fun by murdering Aeschere, one of Hrothgar’s most

An epic hero is a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. The epic hero of a story embarks on a quest in search of fame and glory, and encounters challenges throughout their journey. No matter the adversity, the epic hero maintains bravery and courage, never backing down. However, what the epic hero does not know is that the “real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster 3). In the epic Beowulf, Anonymous employes the affection of a king, bravery in battle, an eternal quest and a lasting legacy to show Beowulf as an epic hero.

However, their sleep did not last long. During the night, Grendel’s mother came to avenge her son’s death. She enters the hall and grabs Aeschere and her son’s arm. Beowulf goes to follow her and swims for an entire day in her pool before he sees the bottom of the mere. When Beowulf descends into Grendel’s mere, he loses ground as the fight progresses. It is then assumed that Beowulf is fighting desperately for his life. Then, the water closed over him. It was “the space of a day,” before he could see the bottom of the mere (Burlin 121). The hero’s physical powers grow far beyond human dimensions. Beowulf is about to attempt to use a weapon although they were useless against her; “then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy sword...but so massive that no ordinary man could life its carved and decorated length” (72). Once he is in Grendel’s mother’s mere, Beowulf remains underwater for more than a day (Burlin 120). Finally, Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother, and her blood melts his sword (Bloom 16).

Originating in the Anglo-Saxon period, the epic poem Beowulf portrays a legendary hero. Beowulf established the earlier form of heroism, and was then later introduced in to the English culture. Praised and admired by many people, Beowulf possesses several distinct traits that allow him to be defined perfectly as an ideal Anglo-Saxon hero; his eagerness to seek glory and fame, rather than richness and treasures, his loyalty and graceful attitude not only to his rulers but also to his followers, and his contradictory beliefs of faith and fate

Unknown to the warriors, however, Grendel's mother is plotting revenge (see "Grendel's Mother's Attack"). She arrives at the hall when all the warriors are sleeping and carries off Aeschere, Hrothgar's chief advisor along with her son's claw. (Click here to see the infamous claw!) Beowulf offers to dive to the bottom of the lake, find the monster and destroy her. He and his men follow the monster's tracks to the cliff overlooking the lake where Grendel's mother lives. They see Aeschere's bloody head sitting on the cliff. While preparing for battle, Beowulf asks Hrothgar to protect his warriors, and to send his treasures to his uncle, King Hygelac, if he doesn't return safely.

In the first of Beowulf’s three battles, he challenges Grendel, a disgusting monster who has been ruthlessly murdering the people of Heorot and turning them into