Charismatic Leadership In Beowulf

In the epic poem of Beowulf, many leadership skills and attributes are demonstrated. Beowulf, as the leader of his band of warriors, makes the evidence of excellent leadership skills clear. He sets an example for his band by being a protector of his people in which, he came to them in a time of need (McArthur). He also upholds the standards of truth and justice by taking the life of Grendel (McArthur). Beowulf also leads his band by having an inspirational vision through his behavior and actions (Loughman). His confidence in his abilities is another factor that plays into his role as a leader (Loughman).

Beowulf is a model of leadership for our own times because he is very courageous and his strength is super human like. His skills and traits would not be good in our times though because a leader of a nation in our time doesn’t need to be very courageous and very strong to fight off people or go to war.

Beowulf son of the famous soldier Edegtho, comes to the rescue of Hrothgar. Hrothgar king of the Danes, which his land is being attacked by a treacherous monster named Grendel. Beowulf is described as a vigorous, fearless man of the Anglo Saxon times. Beowulf comes from a past generation of tenacious warriors. Like Beowulf’s dad, a famous soldier known far, and leader of many men. The Danes now see why Beowulf is such a fearless warrior. In Beowulf, the hero decides to fight without a weapon for three reasons he wants to be glorious, he is fearless, wanted to help the people of noble place and he wants to honor his people. Beowulf faces many conflicts fighting these dangerous monsters, but manages to defeat Grendel and his mother.

Beowulf’s strength is beyond any of human comparison and has allowed him to accomplish tasks that would have obliterated lesser men and gain renown throughout the world. Beowulf’s boasts of his strength are not to be received as prideful or egotistical but rather as a true representation of his power as Beowulf always fulfils his boasts. When Beowulf pledges to vanquish Grendel, he does not take it lightly and tells Hrothgar and his wife, Wealhtheow, that “..I shall fulfil that purpose, prove myself with a proud victory or meet my death here in the mead-hall.”(636-638), showing that he is prepared to die, if needed, to defeat this hellish creature. Later that night, in his battle with Grendel, Beowulf showed his strength. “The Captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth… in all his days, he had never been clamped or cornered like this”(749-752,755-756). Beowulf’s strength surpassed that of even supernatural beings and allowed his to go on the offensive against a foe that had ravaged Heorot for years and thus allowed him to fulfill his boast. Beowulf power is brought out in his recitation of his deeds and again later actions against the mother of Grendel and a fire breathing dragon that threatens his home. In all of this fights, Beowulf is not seeking glory for himself, but

Beowulf, the defender of Hrothgar and Heorot, exhibits far more complicated (and less sincere) shades of revenge than the Grendel’s mother. At the end of the day, Beowulf’s goal is to become the preeminent warrior in all the land. In his society, the only way to gain such widespread celebrity is through courageous and self-endangering acts. Beowulf masks these deeds with a façade of seeking revenge; he supposedly comes to Heorot to save the Danes from Grendel’s terror, but his true motives lie in becoming a hero. His reward is not the pride of doing a good deed; Beowulf is rewarded with lavish and expensive gifts.

In the fantasy world found within the story of Beowulf; Hrothgar, the wise king of the Danes, offers Beowulf some important lessons of leadership. Hrothgar, recognizing Beowulf’s nobility and strength, talks to him about how he should act to be a good ruler when he becomes king. The characteristics of good leadership that Hrothgar mentions still hold true today, through people like politicians, and business executives. Hrothgar’s sermon not only provides an insight into what leaders like these should do, it aims to bring to light what leaders should not do.

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,

Beowulf is a very brave and noble prince. He proves this statement in the way he humbly boasts about his ability to complete quests, fighting monstrous creates continuously, and going into each battle or challenge by his lonesome. “Hail! King Hrothgar! I am Hygelac’s thane, Hygelac’s kinsman. Many a deed Of honor and daring I’ve done in my youth… The best of my people, prudent and brave, Urged

A great leader is able to recognize his limitations and how to overcome them. In the case of Beowulf, King Hrothgar foreshadows what is to come for Beowulf if he continues down the same path a previous king had gone. In his sermon, Hrothgar informs Beowulf of Heremod, a “pariah king who cut himself off from his own kind” (McArthur). Hrothgar says that God “allows the mind of a man of distinguished birth to follow its bent,” and because of this, cruel and greedy Heremod “forgets that it will ever end for him,” and “he ignores the shape of things to come” (McArthur). Warning Beowulf not to become like Heremod, Hrothgar advises him to “not give way to pride,” and that “for a brief while your strength is in bloom

Beowulf’s most seen quality in this epic is his confidence. The scene that most directly shows his confidence is his famous boast. “So, every elder and experienced councilman/ among my people supported my resolve/ to come here to you, King Hrothgar, / because all knew of my awesome strength. / They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies/ when I battled and bound five beasts, / raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea/ slaughtered sea-brutes…” (Heaney lines 415-422). Beowulf’s boast is said publically, which shows an inspirational sense of confidence to defeat Grendel. The boast also demonstrates Beowulf’s courage and brave characteristics that makes him appear very heroic. Furthermore, Beowulf’s promise to kill Grendel to the Danes is a confident and risky thing to do, but Beowulf is able to pull it off. In Forbes article, it states that good leaders need to “deliver on [their] promises. Which our hero does that very night, killing the beast by ripping him apart ‘The monster’s whole/ body was in pain, a tremendous wound/ appeared on his shoulder’” (Forbes).

One important thing a leader in this society should do is inspire courage in his followers, even in the face of great adversity. Loughman notes that after the Geats arrive in Heorot and learn that the threat of Grendel is real, “[Beowulf’s] comrades willingly go with him because of their confidence in his ability to lead them and to achieve their objectives” (Loughman). This shows that Beowulf has the ability to inspire great courage in his fellow men, despite Grendel being known for carrying thirty Danes at once and ruling uncontested for years. Any less of a leader could not have incited such devotion in his companions, but Beowulf does. This idea is also reinforced by the charismatic leader model outlined by Tom Loughman and John Finley in their “Beowulf and the Teaching of Leadership.” In it, they summarize that “managers” who lead by performing exemplary actions will be more successful, stating that “[t]hrough these

In Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, courage is undoubtedly the most important trait a man could have. The Geats thrived for 50 years under the powerful and courageous reign of King Beowulf. However, the Danes suffered through twelve winters under Grendel because of King Hrothgar’s fear. The strength and bravery of a strong leader and warrior can lead many countries to peace and power. Throughout Beowulf, many characters exhibit courage, which increases their morale on the battlefield and leads to victory.

Coming to The Danes in promises to protect Hrothgar and his men is an example of good leadership. Beowulf brings his band of warriors with him to The Danes to help bring revenge on Grendel, something they needed help doing, and have needed it for a long time. (Post) On the first night the monster came to Heorot, he seized 30 of Hrothgar’s men and swiftly carried them away, bringing terror to The Danes every night for 12 years. (McDowell) Beowulf heard about the fright, and made it a quest to go out and find this mighty Grendel, and put the terror to rest.

A characteristic of Beowulf is courageous. Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. Beowulf wasn’t necessarily frightened, but he did do something that frightened the men of Hrothgar. Beowulf does many things to show his courage to the people of Hrothgar. One way he shows his courage is when he fights Grendel, the monster who was killing and eating the men of Hrothgar, without any

After defeating Grendel Beowulf enjoys the celebration and rewards that Hrothgar has treated him to. Beowulf earns the respect of the whole kingdom of Heorot. A few nights later Grendel’s mother learns that her son was killed by a human. She comes angrily back to the mead hall where she will take vengeance for her son. “But now his mother had sallied forth on a savage journey, grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge” (pg. 89). Grendel’s mother is another stage in Beowulf’s step toward an older warrior. Before the great battle with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf was a little bit more mature and was not as confident. “Beowulf got ready, donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail would soon meet with the menace underwater.” (pg. 101) He needed armor because he feels that it wasn’t the kind of battle he would face without his necessity to survive. After a long fight Beowulf finds the strength in him to grab the weapon that would kill Grendel’s mother. Once again good has defeated evil. Beowulf comes through as a hero one more time before his departure from Heorot.