Honor In Beowulf

Honor, something powerful enough to sculpt the world’s oldest and most powerful empires. Throughout history great empires such as China, Japan, and the Anglo-Saxons have fought and died in the hunt for honor and fame; bringing life to many great and powerful heroes. Beowulf, one such hero, who fought many great battle in the name of honor and fame; putting his all into each battle he encountered. In the epic Beowulf, Beowulf decides to help Hrothgar with the dreaded monster Grendel and then battling him bare handed. Throughout the epic of Beowulf, Beowulf is mainly concerned about honor and fame, in his hunt for honor he agrees to help Hrothgar and fight the monster, Grendel, bare handed; but why?

Along with being honorable, a hero must also seem intimidating to his enemies and opponents. Though a hero must be approachable, if not friendly, to his peers and allies, he needs to be able intimidate others. The Anglo-Saxons believed this because in order to uphold one's reputation of a warrior, he or she had to be able to seem threatening to all

One example of Beowulf’s strengths was no other man could do the same tasks, and fight the battles he fought. Beowulf goes into many battles throughout his lifetime. Also, the quote in line 505-506 “If weapons were useless he’d use his hands, the strength in his fingers”. Beowulf also lifts the giant forged sword from the wall and swings it hard enough to cut of Grendel’s mothers head. A sword that is described as “so massive that no ordinary man could lift its carved and decorated lengths.

Courage, bravery, and strength are three heroic Anglo-Saxon characteristics that tie together perfectly. Without courage, you will not have strength and bravery. Without strength and bravery, you will not have the courage to face your challenges. Anglo-Saxons believed three of these characteristics were perfectly interwoven in the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero (Garcia). Beowulf identifies to three of these Anglo-Saxon characteristics flawlessly as he fights the monstrous Grendel. Courage means fighting even if it means death; it means challenging your fate and being brave no matter the circumstance (Cascio). Beowulf shows special strength and bravery when he has the courage to renounce his use of weapons and protection when battling Grendel. “No weapons, therefore, for either this night: unarmed he [Grendel] shall face me if face

This shows Beowulf’s strength, courage and fearlessness. Through this it is evident that he possess courageous traits.

The storyline of Beowulf illustrates the epic battle between good and evil, and demonstrates to the readers that external war is not the only conflict hero’s face. Beowulf struggles a lot with his pride. Beowulf’s biggest internal battle was experienced when he was preparing to fight the dragon. He decided to go into battle, ignoring the fact that he had aged, but his pride, and warrior code wouldn’t let him run. What makes matters worse, he decided to go into the battle alone. His hero pride overcame the actions a normal king would’ve taken. The hero ideology at the time was strictly against a warrior running from a battle, and if Beowulf had done so, he would’ve been persecuted by society, as well as his own conscience.

Beowulf is humbled after fighting Grendel. Before fighting Grendel Beowulf was over confident and cocky. He believed that he was the greatest and did not realize the extent of the challenge of fighting Grendel. Although Beowulf won the battle he did not kill him in the mead hall as he had intended. Before Beowulf fought Grendel he thought that he could “alone… purge all evil from [the] hall… /[and is so great that he needed] no weapons and [feared] none.” (431-434). During the fight no matter how “hard… [Beowulf] held him he still pulled free” (928). “Grendel escaped,/ But wounded as he was he could flee to his den” (819-820). Beowulf did not have the skill set to kill Grendel as he first predicted, he seriously injured him but did not kill him in the mead hall. Beowulf learned that not everything is as easy as it may seem. The result of the fight humbled Beowulf. Fighting Grendel gave Beowulf perspective and taught him not to act egotistical, and to never underestimate your opponent. The lesson Beowulf learns is reflected in his actions throughout the rest of the story. When praised for his accomplishments, Beowulf did not boast or act superior, he accepted his loses and celebrated his wins among the rest of the Danes.

To begin, a cultural truth admired by the Anglo-Saxon is courage in battle because it is a trait of a good warrior in the eyes of Anglo-Saxon people. Courage in battle is the ability to not be afraid of the enemy, be strong, and brave. Beowulf shows his above average strength and courage in battle when he is going to battle Grendel: “When it comes to battle, I count myself/ as dangerous any day as Grendel,/ … No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me/ if face me he dares” (Beowulf 677-685). In this quote Beowulf states and declares his abandonment of weapons, as well as his belief that he is as strong as Grendel, so he will fight him without a weapon. This shows Beowulf’s courage in battle because it displays his tremendous strength and boldness by going to fight a monster with no weapons, which demonstrates that he is not

Some of the most common values during the Anglo-Saxon period include courage, loyalty and generosity. The Anglo-Saxon era was almost always in the state of war which is why it is a time when fighting is valued more than working things out. This meant that heroes of this period fought for fame, glory, and pride. Heroes were expected to boast. Beowulf, the best symbol for Anglo-Saxon heroes, proves this by volunteering to fight the monster just because he was bored and wanted to do something he can brag about. In the story, Beowulf boasts of his bravery by talking about his past battles and victories. Beowulf basically acts more for his own glory than for the general well-being to his people. While in our modern period,

Beowulf in Beowulf and King Arthur in The Once and Future King both exhibit their courageousness. Arthur shows his courage when he fights the army of King Lot. “In the morning, almost before they were formed, Arthur was on them. In conformity with his own tactics, he sent only a small troop of forty spears to start the work.” The excerpt shows Arthur decides to still go to battle despite Lot’s army being vaster than his own. Beowulf shows his courageousness when he fights Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. “‘I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought/In endless battles. I am old, now,/But I will fight again,seek fame still,” This extract shows Beowulf’s courage before he goes into battle. Beowulf tells

Beowulf showed his honor as he traveled from his homeland to battle the vicious monster Grendel, who was terrorizing the Danes. Grendel “Raided and ravaged” the mead hall, showing no honor by killing intoxicated men in their sleep. Beowulf knows that there is a chance that he may die in his great battle against Grendel when he says, “If death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac…”, yet he is still willing to attempt to defeat Grendel. A hero in the Anglo-Saxon time is always very confident, as well he should be. It would serve no purpose to face battle with doubt of ones ability to do so, and with fear of all that awaits him. Beowulf’s morality came also in the form of loyalty to people and his word. Promises by Beowulf were kept . Acceptance of death, and care for the welfare of his people were Beowulf’s greatest virtues. His

The Anglo-Saxons were a people who lived in England during the fifth century. They strongly believed in fate and valued traits such as courage, generosity, faithfulness and, most importantly, strength. This is shown through the many epic poems that were composed and performed by the Anglo-Saxons during this time period. One of the most well known epics Beowulf, celebrates the deeds of the legendary and heroic Geat warrior named Beowulf. In Beowulf, physical strength is the defining factor of a warrior’s worth.

This shows his strength, his courage, and his lasting capabilities which start his life as a hero. Beowulf is extremely courageous more than your average warrior at this time. Once in Herot he offers to fight the monster Grendel with only the help of his men. As quoted in the following sentences “that i, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall.”

Courage is certainly a trait which every hero must possess, particularly because no one wants a hero who is a coward. Thankfully, Beowulf is no coward. When Beowulf hears of Grendel’s exploits in Denmark, he travels to the “distant” land, without hesitation, to rid the Danes of that “demon…conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God”. Beowulf’s courage is displayed even more when he chooses not to fight with weapons, despite knowing

The Anglo-Saxon people were known in their time as fearless warriors. They yearned for battle as an opportunity to prove themselves. In the poem Beowulf this is shown to great effect. The entire work revolves around Beowulf’s quest to defeat a monster in battle, to show his strength. Beowulf brags about his feats in battle, saying “no man swims in the sea/ As I can, no strength is a match for mine” ( “Beowulf” lines 254-255). To the Anglo-Saxon warriors described in this poem, there was no higher honor than that of the battlefield. After winning the battle with Grendel “... Beowulf/ Had been granted new glory…” ( “Beowulf” lines 470-471). This idea was so prevalent in