Gold In Beowulf Essay

This quote is a great example of Beowulf being hired as a mercenary he clearly states that he is going to fight for gold the currency of the time. Beowulf also states boldly that he win the fight with his courage, and if his courage is not enough then he will fight until he dies. Another great example of his thirst for money and partying is found in (Beers, 2009 P.30) “make this best of all mead-halls yours , and then keep it free of evil, fight with glory in your heart! Purge Herot and your ship with sail home with its treasure-holds full.” once again Beowulf is proving that he fights for money and he likes to live the life of the party. All of this partying and fighting for money and glory makes Beowulf an Anti-hero.

Beowulf was presented “with a gold standard as a victory gift, an embroidered banner; also breast-mail and a helmet; and a sword” (1020-1030) and the other Geats were rewarded “some treasured possession” as well. King Hrothgar also adopts Beowulf in his heart “as a dear son” (946) This shows that Beowulf and the other men received rewards as a token of honor for risking their lives fighting a battle with Grendel. Before Beowulf goes on his quest to attack Grendel’s mother, he reminds Hrothgar “to send Hygelac the treasures [he] received” if he will die in battle, which again portrays the idea of treasure symbolizing generosity and gratitude (1483). When Beowulf returns home from a victory battling Grendel’s mother and brings back “[Grendel’s] head and the inlaid hilt embossed with jewels”, he receives praise as well as treasure and receives a “promise of friendship” with Hrothgar (1614-1615;1707-1708). As Beowulf prepares to depart and return back to Hygelac, “the earls’ defender furnished the hero with twelve treasure” to ensure that he will be safe on the way home (1866). This exhibits the Geats’ gratefulness for Beowulf’s courage in fighting Grendel and his

While today revenge is regarded as an impolite and impractical practice, in times past it was normalized, even celebrated. Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant and the acclaimed Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf describe vengeance as a ceremonious cornerstone of British, Saxon, Geat, and Danish society. In these societies partaking in revenge was widely regarded as noble and morally upright, though from a modern perspective these acts of vengeance would be regarded a petty and unjust. While characters in both The Buried Giant and Beowulf liberally practice and celebrate revenge, Ishiguro and Beowulf’s Anglo-Saxon author seem to critique the medium which their characters observe.

Not only the king would do this everybody would have a status of how they lived with their wealth. The king would reward his servants and warriors loyalty with a gift of treasure, which can ensure the trust of the king. In Beowulf, most women would wear tons jewelry and nice pieces of clothing, and men would wear armour. This representation of riches raises their position of how people look at

Life in Herot is very different from the real world comparison explained in Life in 999. Life in Herot golden, and gilded whereas in the real world equivalent it would have been more dull, and less shiny. The life people lived in 999 was very different than the one depicted Beowulf. Beowulf in his own story seems to be this shiny hero come to take the riches and fame that come along with monster slaying. Beowulf takes pride in his riches, well in those times gold was a very rare commodity showing the wealth of someone who owned gold was very important, and having lots of gold meant you had a lot of money to spare, which in those times riches were only spared so that you could fight for that person. Beowulf has lots of gold and his men are well equipped when this battle with Grendel begins. Most soldiers of the time could look upon them as being some great warriors to follow such a man into battle. Beowulf could keep his country fed, unlike most kings at the time really could.

One of the people’s traits affected by human nature in many stories is greed. As shown throughout, greed is an evil sin. This

Throughout the epic poem Beowulf, there are countless mentions of gold, jewels, swords and other treasures. The role of wealth, treasure and gold all lead to glory and honor and being able to settle scores. Gold acted as a score settler because the characters could avoid problems or other altercations by paying wergild or "manprice". During this time period kings gave treasures and gold to their followers as a reward of their glory and honor earned as well as their loyalty to their king. The idea that the role of wealth, treasure and gold is a symbol of glory and honor and is used to “pay debts” is absolutely true in this poem.

Wanton destruction goes against the ideals that governed the Anglo-Saxon culture. The warrior kings had duties to uphold. We see that they revered kings who would bring protection and give freely to the young and old and not cause harm. One good illustration of this is the nature in which King Hrothgar dispensed his wealth, he dispensed it to the needy and he didn’t give away “the common land or the people’s lives” (71-73).

In the Anglo-Saxon period that Beowulf was written in, the reader can clearly see that greed is not connected to money. In the modern use of the word greed it generally relates to a person who posses excessive amounts of money, however in this story having money was connected to generosity: “a young man ought by his good deeds, by giving splendid gifts...to later make sure [his]...beloved companions will stand by him” (Beowulf 1). Since he is a “brave... man known in battles, of good deeds” he would be viewed as selfish and filled with avarice to deny his talents (Beowulf 38). Due to these beliefs of the time periods it can be expected that Beowulf fulfills the hero’s paradox, since a hero he is expected to fight until the very end. Unless Beowulf is killed in battle he would not be seen as a true hero: “So it is fitting that man honor [Beowulf]...with words, love him in heart...and lamented the death” (Beowulf 55).

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.

Throughout the epic poem, the possession of wealth and treasure represents a reputation of honor, status, and skill, but were also used to solidify bonds and ensure loyalty. Every king along the lineage of royalty had a duty to spread his riches, a responsibility indicated by the frequent use of “ring-givers” that would even provide, “far-fetched treasures… and precious gear” (36-37). Wealth, a vastly important role in Beowulf, enables the king to manifest his generosity upon society. This act was not only a practice, but also a representation of honor as it was a way to exhibit benevolence to others as well as rewarding their loyal followers. An example would be during the time Beowulf saves the hall of Hereot from the terror and destruction of Grendel. As a result of Beowulf’s heroic acts, Hrothgar showers treasure on him and his men in order to show his thankfulness and goodness. The poet asserts how this giving of gifts signifies the manifestation of Hrothgar’s honor as king.

During the time period where Beowulf takes place, owning property was limited to very few people in society; often only the king and a few of his close advisors could own land. Furthermore, land ownership was a status symbol and kings wanted to own a lot of land in order to solidify their reputations and strengthen their names. Kings would gain land by either taking it by force or taking land surrendered by its people. As a result, kings would protect their people and the people would pay tribute in return. This quote also explores the concept of a good king as someone who is not greedy and shares his land and riches with his warriors and people.

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

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

While both blood feuds and wergild deal with murder, a blood feud requires a death for a death, while wergild uses gold to make amends. When looking at this in a biblical perspective, it is important to understand how these relate to justice. Biblical justice is a far cry from revenge. Vengeance, however, takes the shape of both blood feuds and wergild, and while blood feuds are fueled by revenge, wergild is important to bring justice in Beowulf’s society. Vengeance in Beowulf takes two main forms: the blood feuds, such as that of Grendel’s mother, and the concept of wergild; only wergild, however, conforms to the biblical definition of justice.