Comparing Wealth In Beowulf And The Song Of Roland

Beowulf proclaims “In the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together” (liens 156-160). Beowulf claims that he must go to defeat Grendel, as it was his errand, or his duty, and his fate. This speech he makes to King Hrothgar reinforces his true reason to come to the King, not for any pride. Another vow Beowulf makes is when he says “That this is one favor you should not refuse me—That I, alone and with the help of my men, many purge all evil form this hall” (lines 163-166). In this line, Beowulf is pleading for the King to do one thing, which is to give him the permission for him and his men to go and fight Grendel, what Beowulf had arrived for. The fact that Beowulf asks the king for only one thing, which is to fight Grendel, shows Beowulf’s selflessness and concern for the safety of others. At no part does he ask for a reward, but even says that if fate is in favor of Grendel to give his armor back to his family. These words help paint the image of Beowulf being concerned for others, not for his

Beowulf accomplished what may be the most difficult of all challenges in today’s times, he was able to aid other countries in times of need and respectfully communicate with them as well. After hearing word of Grendel’s attack, Beowulf decided to sail to Denmark and help defend Hrothgar’s people. In doing so, Hrothgar praised Beowulf and vowed to him that there was to always be an alliance between the Geats and the Danes from that day, forward. Beowulf was also idolized for the great amount of riches he brought to his people. After defeating Grendel, Hrothgar indulged Beowulf in a tremendous amount of riches. Instead of keeping the generous reward for himself, he took the riches home and gave them over to his king, Higlac, in hopes that the gifts would benefit his people. Beowulf was designated the king of the Geats for 50 winters, and always went to great lengths to protect his people. When dangerous situations arose, he stepped up to the plate and defended his people, no matter what the cost. In his old age, Beowulf made the ultimate sacrifice. He battled the dragon, and eventually met face-to-face with death. As a leader, Beowulf sacrificed his life in protection of his people; his heroic sacrifice is the ultimate demonstration of how an epic hero defends their people and serves as a positive influence in their culture.

The epics of Beowulf and The Song of Roland were written down within a few hundred years of one another, however, their subject matter and scope differ vastly. Beowulf, set in Scandinavia, contains the exploits of the hero Beowulf and his life as he grows from a thane of Geatland to a king of his people. The events of Beowulf span many years and entail his fighting of several different creatures. Throughout the epic, Beowulf and many of the characters around him exhibit a heroic code that details the standard of behavior and thoughts one should have in order to be a hero in that world. Similarly, The Song of Roland, which is set in the late 700s, revolves around another exemplary hero in Count Roland, a great knight of Emperor Charles, who is fighting in Spain for the seventh year with the rest of Charlemagne’s army. As with Beowulf, The Song of Roland expresses ideas pertaining to the concepts of a heroic code and what it means to be and become a great warrior and king. While both epics were written fairly close to one another in history, the origins of the pair are vastly different and both concern themselves with similar themes and features, but do so in wholly different ways.

In the Anglo Saxon period, if you were a wealthy king or wealthy person, you are powerful. "Beowulf had brought his king, horses and treasure-as a man must, not weaving nets of malice for his comrades, preparing their death in the dark, with secret, cunning tricks."(Beowulf 91). This quote is saying Beowulf won all those battles so he gave all his treasures to his king, like he is suppose to do. He also he gave some treasures to his fellow comrades, or the men that helped him during his battle. This quote shows that Beowulf is very powerful because he had all the treasure he won and also made his king powerful now since he got most of the treasure, and the goods. They stretched their beloved lord in his boat, laid out by the mast, amidships the great ring-giver. “Far-fetched treasures were piled upon him, and precious gear. I never heard before of a ship so well furbished with battle tackle, bladed weapons and coats of mail. The

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.

When Beowulf is helping Hrothgar get his vengeance, he attacks Grendel, “saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws, Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at his hands.” (Beowulf, page 36). Beowulf fights Grendel with his hands because he promised Hrothgar that he would help him obtain his vengeance. Beowulf gets his fame, wealth and glory for his victory over Grendel which was achievable through Hrothgar’s desire for vengeance against the monster. After the battle with Grendel, Hrothgar spoke to Beowulf, “Glory is now yours, Forever and ever; your courage has earned it, And your strength.” (Beowulf, page 42). Hrothgar praises Beowulf for granting his desire of vengeance on Grendel and awards him. He tells Beowulf that he has earned glory and wealth by helping him in destroying Grendel.

The first major battle that Beowulf fights in is against Grendel. Beowulf’s motive for this particular fight is to get revenge for what Grendel did to the Danes. Grendel raided the Danes for a total of twelve years. As we learned throughout the book Beowulf was very selfless and was always willing to help out other people. When Grendel comes to Heorot, he devours and kills a Geatish warrior all while Beowulf watches very closely. After this, Grendel tries to reach out and get Beowulf, but is surprised to find his arm gripped with the great strength of Beowulf. Grendel tries to run back to his home in the swamplands because he knows that he will not be able to compete with the mighty Beowulf. At the end of the battle Beowulf summons great strength and rips Grendel’s arm off his body. Grendel, now fatally wounded, goes back to his home and eventually dies. Beowulf holds up the bloody arm of Grendel like a trophy and hangs it on the wall in Heorot as proof that he defeated Grendel. Around the

In Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, treasure and weaponry were of great importance to the people of that time. During the Anglo-Saxon period (410 to 1066 A.D.), gold treasures and swords were distributed to show loyalty and trust among a kingdom’s great warriors (“Beowulf Project - Archeology” 1). For biblical figures, such as Jesus and his disciples, treasure represented wealth and weaponry showed the ability to fight against Satan (“What Does the Bible Say about GOLD?” 1). In today’s society, treasure represents the success and riches one possesses while weaponry can be seen as strength or even arrogance. No matter what period in history, treasure and weaponry play a role and its importance is ever changing.

As proof of his victory, Beowulf brings back the sword that he killed Grendel’s mother with, and Grendel’s head. The poem states, “The monsters’ hall was full of rich treasures, but all that Beowulf took was Grendel’s head and the hilt of the giants’ jeweled sword…” (Lines 267-269). This quotes shows that out of all the valuables he could have taken back to show the Danes, he took two that displayed his victory the best and that the warriors would all be proud of. Beowulf swam up to land full of pride with all his armor and these two objects in hand. The first thing he did upon his journey back was go to salute Hrothgar and show him the objects he has brought back.

The first battle was his hand to hand battle with Grendel at the Mead Hall after playing the music to lour grendel to where he would kill him. This is where intelligence and supernatural strength comes into play. Beowulf knew the only way to get Grendel to attack was to play loud music. He was a fair warrior and decided to not use a weapon when he became aware that gGrendel didn't have a weapon, so that the fight would be fair and even match. Beowulf was the only man on the island that had the will strength and will to fight grendel with his bare hands. When gGrendel arrived, Beowulf watched one of his men die. After seeing this Beowulf attacked gGrendel and with his super strength he managed to rip off grendel’s arm and use it as a trophy to be be honored for his bravery and success. A trophy was very important in the Anglo-Saxon period, it was something that was taken during war and kept as a momento. When gGrendel is killed, gGrendel’s mother comes for revenge for her son’s killing and killed more of the king’s people over night. Beowulf keeps his word about protecting the people as a true hero would and swims through the lake to gGrendel’s mother's underwater lair and evades her home with intentions of killing her with a sword. For in return of Beowulf’s sacrifice and bravery he is given the king’s position of the island and is honored for years by his people. Only a true Anglo-saxon hero would

In terms of tangible riches, Beowulf was never lacking in gold or armor after defeating Grendel. For example, once he had killed Grendel, “Halfdane’s son presented Beowulf with a gold standard as a victory gift, an embroidered banner; also breast-mail and a helmet; and a sword carried high, that was both precious and a token of honor.” (Lines 1019-1023) Then Beowulf was given, “An embossed ridge, a band lapped with wire arched over the helmet: head protection to keep the keen-cutting edge from damaging it when danger threatened and the man was battling behind his shield. Next the king ordered eight horses with gold bridles to be brought through the yard into the hall.” (Lines 1029-1036)

He chopped off Grendel’s head and took it with him to Herot to give to Hrothgar for proof. 50 Years later Beowulf Is an old men! He and elven warriors go to a final battle, where he must fight an angry dragon because someone stole its jeweled cup. He would be paid great for his victory. Beowulf went there and started to fight the dragon, his shield melted, his sword cracked when he attacked the dragon.

While he is already considered a hero among his people, he desires to prove himself and gain more glory and respect. Beowulf is a already respected among his own people, but to Hrothgar and the Danes he is unknown. Before he enters the hall where he seeks audience with the king he demonstrates respect by leaving all his weapons behind. He talks highly of himself and his abilities. This is to give Hrothgar a sense of who Beowulf is and what he can do. The reason Beowulf does this is because he wants more glory. While he is considered a hero, he wants to be an even greater hero. He desires the respect of his people and those of surrounding cultures. By defeating Grendel, who is a descendent of Cain, he would gain a lot of glory, but he decides to risk his life for a greater amount of glory by deciding to not use any weapons. If he is to win the battle, he will win the ultimate respect among the Danes. Beowulf defeats Grendel and is highly honored. However, the next day it is discovered that the best warrior of the Danes had been killed in the night by Grendel's mother. Beowulf decides to go after her as well and has to search the swamp lands for her underwater lair where he fights her and then finds Grendel's dead body. He takes the head as a trophy and the Danes reward him with riches and celebrate with a feast in his honor. Through his acts of bravery he has gained glory and

In the Germanic warrior culture the possession of wealth signifies that you are a tremendous warrior, in particular if you were rewarded with gold. Gold was only given to warriors in the poem if they achieved something glorious or if they have done noble acts. For example, Beowulf is rewarded with a gold standard and horses with golden equipment for killing Grendel “Then Halfdane’s son presented Beowulf/ with a gold standard as a victory gift.” (1020-1021), “Next the king ordered eight horses/ with gold bridles…” (1034-1035). Death is also rewarded with gold, as a recognition for paying the ultimate price towards a cause “And compensation, a price of gold, was settled for the Geat/ Grendel had cruelly

As for research paper topic, I choice the Beowulf and Song of Roland to compare the a few similarity between the two different work from different time periods. Both poems share a few common thread such as the pride of the hero which lead the down fall of the hero, both of the main character from poems dead in the combat and both characters from the poems served their kings and gave their life for their country. I will like to tie these two epic poems by the theme of father and sons relationship between the heroes and their kings. In Beowulf, the relationship between Beowulf and king Hrothgar take on all the characteristics of father and son relationship even though they are not blood relative. As well as in Song of Roland, the king