Hrafnkel Trial Paper

Beowulf, king of the Geats, engages in battles in order to protect his community from physical creatures while King Arthur’s knights engage in spiritual battles against evil temptation which lurks around every corner. Beowulf proudly displays his prowess before he must confront Grendel, the “God-cursed brute” when he declares with bold confidence that he “can calm the turmoil” (Heaney 11, 21). Beowulf boasts of his strength, pledging to kill Grendel with his bare hands. Grendel, the cursed descendant of Cain, enjoys death and destruction, ruining Hrothgar’s reputation with every attack on his kingdom. The monster kills one of his men, angering the Thanes and encouraging them to fight

He came to Hrothgar to offer his service because Hrothgar provided help to Beowulf's father. It is loyalty and appreciation that leads Beowulf to the Danish kingdom to help out. Hrothgar welcomes Beowulf, saying, "Beowulf, you've come to us in friendship, and because of the reception your father found at court" (Beowulf 39). Because of Hrothgar's intervention, there was peace between the Geats and the Danes, therefore ensuring the loyalty of Beowulf's family. Beowulf’s sense of loyalty is recognized when he speaks to Wealtheow, Hrothgar's queen, about his motives for coming to the court. “I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. As I sat in the boat with my band of men, I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend's clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead-hall” (Beowulf 632-638). Beowulf shows that his loyalty is with the king and the Danes, and he is willing to die in the process of trying to save them.

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.

I am a hard working Geat who is highly motivated to succeed, be the strongest, wisest of all around while holding to morals and becoming a great example to follow.

A. The king is sad and depressed that his kingdom has fallen into such a state of disrepair. He is overjoyed to learn that Beowulf, whom he knows from stories and his father, Ecgtheow, has come to fight Grendel. Hrothgar promises Beowulf treasure if he can defeat the monster.

Heardred’s mistake in offering hospitality to the sons of Ohthere results in him being “mortally rewarded with wounds from a sword” (2386). Onela’s treatment of Heardred’s hospitality as treachery results in a cruel parody of hospitable exchange: a fatal sequence of assault and revenge. The fate of Heardred also serves to reaffirm that hospitality in this poem can never wholly seal itself from treachery and peril. Later on, in his report to King Hygelac after returning to Geatland, Beowulf speaks of how Hrothgar attempts to make peace between the Danes and Heathobards by marrying his daughter Freawaru to Ingel. In spite of the feud between the two sides, the Heathobards are obliged to host and entertain the Danes since a Danish princess is marrying the Heathobard king. But as Beowulf mentions, “the spear / is prompt to retaliate when a prince is killed” (2029-30). Paradoxically, the system of reciprocity here becomes a source of both Heathobards’ hospitality (as host) as much as their desire to retaliate against the Danes. Ultimately, the force of grievances outweighs the bond established through the offering of the bride as a gift: a guest who wears the heirloom snatched from the host’s father has betrayed hospitality, which invites retaliation from the host. This suggests the limitations of hospitality as a principle of socio-economic

After the first victory, Beowulf’s “comrades willingly go with him because of their confidence in his ability to lead them and to achieve their objectives” (Loughman). Beowulf becomes a role model not only for his thanes, but for the Danes of Heorot as well. Following defeat of Grendel’s mother, Hrothgar gives a sermon before the celebration honoring Beowulf begins. Hrothgar says “Beowulf, my friend, your fame has gone far and wide, you are known everywhere….forever you will be your people’s mainstay and your own warriors’ helping hand” (McArthur). King Hrothgar informs Beowulf of his significance to the Danes and how he serves as the backbone of his group of warriors.

Hrothgar recognizes the evil in Hrothgar's kingdom. He discusses the problems of the government with an old man known as "Red Horse". The point made in the opening quote is that "Men's violence is chained to good (i.e., to the king): legitimate force that chops off the

Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, is a beloved king because he builds a strong army and is fair to his people, but his one downfall is his overconfidence that results in Grendel. The monster’s attacks resulted in Hrothgar’s withdrawal:

The failure to take revenge or to exact compensations was considered shameful.  Hence when Grendel attacks Heorot and slaughters thirty of Hrothgar's men, Hrothgar "sat stricken and helpless, humiliated by the loss of his guard, bewildered ... in deep distress," (L.130-133) not only for the loss of his man but also for the dishonour of his inability to kill Grendel or enforce the wergild.  For twelve years, Hrothgar suffers in shame because Grendel "would never parley or make peace with any Dane nor stop his death-dealing nor pay the death-price." (L. 154-156)

Bodvar avenges wrongs done to his family by killing the one who did the injustices; Beowulf avenges wrongs done to his family: “he avenged Heardred’s death,” “I repaid Hygelac … with my bright sword,” “I was the killer of Daghrefin.”

Even though the characters in the story mostly act unlike a normal Christian, the author makes sure to still make references to God and religion. When Beowulf and his crew arrived at Heorot, “they thanked God for that easy crossing on a calm sea” (17). This proves that Beowulf believed in God no matter what he acted liked or how he behaved. After this, the author makes another God reference when Hrothgar says that the “Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him here to the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel” (27). Hrothgar is saying that God has been god to Heorot and brought them Beowulf to defend them from an attack from Grendel.

With this passage, the reader is in the middle of the poem: Beowulf has just defeated Grendel’s mother and has become what he always wanted to be, namely a Knight in shining armour. It is a golden time for the protagonist, but someone warns him against pride and vainglory and this someone is Hrothgar,

Grendel, a monster who lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, is provoked by the singing and celebrating of Hrothgar's followers. He appears at the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years, the fear of Grendel's fury casts a shadow over the lives of the Danes. Hrothgar and his advisors can think of nothing to calm the monster's anger.

The narrator of “Beowulf” introduces us to the monster that is Grendel in the very first lines of the poem. The speaker describes “a fiend from hell” and speaks of “a cursed creature” whom God has condemned as he is “the kin of Cain”. Grendel’s description immediately aligns him with sin and the darkness of human nature found in the old biblical tale. As the poem goes on Grendel attacks Hrothgar’s hall because of the singing of praise to God. Grendel cannot bear to hear the praise as he is said to “live in the land of monsters since the Creator cast them out” (pg. 39).