Essay On Beowulf And The Hrunting Sword

The first fight Beowulf takes on, is with grendel in which he uses hand-to-hand combat. With this technique he tore off grendel’s arm this shows some of beowulf’s strength. Grendel is a creature believed to be ascended from hell, he is a demon who has killed many people. The people that tried to kill Grendel wore armor and used weapons but, beowulf did not he wanted to prove he

and one of his main qualities is his strength. He uses his superhuman power to defeat any monster that stands in his way. Beowulf?s strength is shown, ?Then he saw a blade that boded well, a sword in her armory, an ancient heirloom form the days of the giants, an ideal weapon, one that any warrior would envy, but so huge and heavy of itself only Beowulf could wield it in a battle? (l.1557-1562). Beowulf used his mighty arms to lift the sword that hung on the wall and stabbed it deep into the neck of Grendel?s mother. Being able to use a sword that no ordinary man was able to carry shows the great mass of strength behind Beowulf. This type of strength caused Beowulf to stand out from all other men and proves his heroism.

          "....He meant to kill this monster himself, our mighty king, fight this battle alone               and unaided, as in the days when his strength and daring dazzled men's eyes. But               those days are over and gone and our lord must lean on younger arms. And we               must go to him, while angry flames burn at his flesh, help our glorious king! By               almighty God I'd rather burn myself than see flames swirling around my lord.               And who are we to carry home our shields before we've slain his enemy and ours,               to run back to our homes with Beowulf so hard pressed here? I swear that                    nothing he ever did deserved an end like this, dying miserable and alone,                    butchered by this savage beast: we swore that these swords and armor were each               for us all!..."

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.

They praise sir Beowulf, thanking him greatly. Yet little did this town or Beowulf know the agony yet to come. Grendel was indeed a monster, but a monster who was the spawn of a cruel creature. The slain monster’s mother, a she-wolf would be the hero’s next challenge. He would travel to the home of the monster’s mother, to yet again engage in the act of battle. They shall meet in the deep depths of the marshy hell. Beowulf would try to defeat the she-wolf with his sword but would not be enough. As he begins to become beaten, and weak, he sees a sword that may be to his advantage. “A heavy sword, hammered by giants, strong and blessed by their magic, the best of all weapons but so massive that no ordinary man could lift its carved and decorated length” (page 54 line 530-535) He raised thy mighty sword and struck the devil in the neck, cutting the entire head off. Hrothgar’s men watch the monster’s lake filled with blood. Thinking all hope and gone and mighty Beowulf had been killed. Yet as the old men begin to whisper the mighty hero rises from the lake, only holding the she-wolfs head and the giant’s sword. The Beowulf would return with the head and place the monsters head in front of the

Many readers of the poem Beowulf may find it difficult to distinguish the 'good' kings from the rest – indeed, almost every man who holds a throne in the epic is named at one point or another to be 'good'. By examining the ideals of the time period as identified by the 'heroic code', it becomes clearer that a truly 'good' king is one who generously distributes treasure and weaponry to deserving retainers to honour courage and strength displayed in battle and to encourage the defense of the kingdom (Intro). When Beowulf ascends the throne of the Geats, the heroic traits of courage and strength for which he was so highly praised as a warrior do not serve well in making him a good king. Indeed, by exhibiting the traits of a thane, that is, by

Beowulf is an epic poem that was written in Old English in between the 8th and 11th century. King Hrothgar who rules the Danes, is being tormented by this beast called, Grendel. For some time now, Grendel has been attacking Heorot Hall, a mead-hall, and has been killing off many of the Danish soldiers and sometimes even devouring some. The king didn’t seem able to protect the people in his village from this great demon. Until, one day, Beowulf shows up and actually offers to help King Hrothgar by volunteering to find and kill this dreaded monster.

Beowulf is an epic poem being cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem. The poem is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf, a hero of Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Herot has been under attack by a monster named Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory. Beowulf is clearly a hero because of his brave deeds, he is a strong and responsible leader, and his courage. Beowulf is a hero because of his brave deeds. Throughout Beowulf, Beowulf does many deeds which are considered to be brave during the Anglo-Saxon period.“Grendel is no braver, no stronger/Than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not,Easy as it would be. This fiend is a bold And famous fighter, but his claws and teeth.../ Beating at my sword blade, would be helpless. I will meet him With my hands empty-unless his heart /Fails him, seeing a soldier waiting /Weaponless, unafraid. Let God in His wisdom /Extend His hand where He wills, reward /Whom he chooses!”. In his first battle, Beowulf fights Grendel. He fights without any armor. Also, Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother. He then

We learn in the the story more about Beowulf’s great strength and killed Grendel with his hands. We learn even more about his strength where it says how he killed Grendel’s mother with a massive sword. It elaborates even more about the sword in the story, as it says no ordinary man would

Beowulf is entering his journey to visit Grendel’s mother. He is being guided by the fate of God and if he is to be killed he will be famed after death. To ensure his death will not be without a fight, Beowulf if preparing his armor. He wears the woven mail over his chest, which is like a protective vest. He also wears Hrothgar's helmet. The description of some of the swords he carries is, “a fine, hilted sword named Hrunting, it had an iron blade, etched and shining and hardened with blood.” (Lines 110-111). Beowulf had armor and weapons with him. None of the weapons he carried could kill Grendel’s mother, so he tried to use his hands but that too failed. The weapon that killed her was one of her own that was on her wall. This sword is described when it says, “Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy sword, hammered by giants, strong and blessed with their magic, but so massive that no ordinary man could lift it's carved and decorated length.” (Lines 210-214). With this same exact sword that was pierced into Grendel’s mother, Beowulf also chopped off Grendel’s

Beowulf is an interesting, old English epic poem. Often referred to as one the most important works of Old English Literature. The author of the poem is unknown, but the date the poem was made into a manuscript is c. 975 – 1010 CE. Although, the manuscript was damaged from a fire in 1731. The poem of Beowulf is set in Scandinavia c. 700 – 1000 CE. It starts with Hrothgar, king of Danes building a mead hall for his loyal followers. Then Grendel, the monster hears everyone’s joyfulness and is over come with jealousy. The over jealous Grendel decides to attack the men in their sleep. No one is brave nor strong enough to stand up to Grendel either. This goes on for 12 years until a young warrior by the name of Beowulf over hears of Hrothgar’s troubles.

Beowulf immediately sets out to track the “she-wolf”, as she is referred to in the poem (574), while the other warriors show cowardice. Beowulf shows great courage and dares to face the evil that no man has ever faced before. During the battle with the ferocious mother, conventional tactics prove to be useless. Beowulf’s sword hrunting could not pierce her skin. On the contrary, Beowulf seems to be relying more on equipment than previously as shown in the epic, “She welcomed him with her claws, clutched at him savagely but could not harm him, tried to work her fingers through the tight ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore and scratched in vain.” (578-582). This shows that Beowulf is growing more towards the old and wise king that he later becomes. The battle concludes when Higlac’s follower uses a magic sword that “appeared” on the wall to defeat Grendel’s mother. His trophy here is Grendel’s head, of which he brings back to the king to show the people that the battle has been

These acknowledgements develop the complex relationship between desiring a safe future for oneself but also the desire to provide a safe future for others. Beowulf begins the passage “indifferent to death,” focused on achieving his task of killing Grendel’s Mother (1442). This indifference, attributed to the story’s most well-loved character, implies that warriors should focus on the tasks ahead of them rather than the distant future. However, when considering the fight’s impact on the future, Beowulf equally wishes to protect himself and those around him. He specifically wears his helmet to “guard his head” during the fight, protecting and emphasizing the most important aspect of his body (1448). Beowulf for the first time acknowledges that he has become more than a warrior. He symbolizes his motivation to protect his thoughts and essence and takes action to prepare for the tumultuous future dependent on not just his strength, but his being.Contrasting Beowulf’s regard for the future is Unferth’s lack of forethought when he “was not man enough” to “risk .. his life” (1467-1468). Because Unferth places more value in his own life than his legacy, he is seen as lesser than Beowulf. This explains Unferth earlier in the story, as his ignorance again causes him to resemble an enemy when he allows himself to become jealous and enraged at Beowulf. In addition to implying that risking one’s life is positive, this acknowledgement of risk foreshadows future risks in the story and provides reason for each one: to form a better future. The relationship between protection of self and legacy throughout the novel is further complicated when Beowulf states that he “shall gain glory or die” fighting Grendel’s Mother (1491). By offering two options, Beowulf begins to prove that he is a flawed character and further states his insecurity. both his future legacy and his present

Strength is without a doubt one of the most important traits which a hero should possess and the Anglo-Saxon’s felt the same way. Beowulf’s strength can be compared to that of the American comic book heroes, Superman and Batman, for he is deemed the “strongest and greatest of the Geats”. The first time that his strength is witnessed, not just spoken of, is when he kills Grendel by ripping the monstrous villain’s arm off. But his most notable display of strength occurs when he enters into combat with Grendel’s mother. When everything seems to be going all wrong for Beowulf, he spies a “heavy” sword hanging on the wall of her lair. With all his power and might, Beowulf drew the sword, “hammered by giants...and….so massive that no ordinary man could life it”, from its scabbard. He “lifts it high over his head”, the sword clasped

Before Beowulf goes into the sea, Unferth offers him his sword, Hrunting. During the ensuing battle Grendel's mother carries Beowulf to her underwater home. After a terrible fight, Beowulf kills the monster with a magical sword, probably put there by the Al-Weilder, that he finds on the wall of her home. He also finds Grendel's dead body, cuts off the head, and returns to