Hrothgar's Influence On Beowulf

1) Describe how we find King Hrothgar and his response to learning that Beowulf has come to his kingdom.

Hrothgar’s courage and strength diminishes as he moves out of Heorot into huts sitting outside his grand hall. He no longer feels like the king he once was because he cannot protect his kingdom. Even Hrothgar’s men lose their courage and faith that Beowulf will triumph over Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s Mother, the Danes retreat in fear:

Hrothgar was the king of Herrot. He built a mess hall that was greater than any other at that time. Grendel was a monster who lived in the swamps of Herrot. Grendel was angry at the people of Herrot, so he came at night while they were sleeping and killed them. Beowulf was a Geatish warrior who lived across the ocean and he heard about Grendel and he and his men came to offer their assistance.

As we already know, King Hrothgar is Beowulf’s uncle. He had to call upon Beowulf since his ancestors have a military background. Beowulf has a great influence in the battlefield even though he is young. He is a great warrior with a lot of strength courage and wisdom. “The man whose name was known for courage, the Geat leader, resolute in his helmet, answered in return: “We are retainers from Hygelac’s band. Beowulf is my name. If your lord and master, the most renowned son of Halfdane, will hear me out And graciously allow me to greet him in person, I am ready and willing to report my errand ” (“Beowulf” 340-347). From this quote, the reader can understand that Beowulf stories about his battles have been told and heard because he “was known for courage”. Beowulf introduces himself and tells the guard about his reputation and the things that have happened to him in the past. Beowulf’s good reputation gives him more inspiration to keep fighting and sustains him physically and mentally. “Beowulf spoke, made a formal boast for the last time: “I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open”(“Beowulf” 2510-2515). Since King Hygelac and all of his sons died, they had no one to put as a king. Beowulf was the perfect candidate

Hrothgar is the respectable king of the Danes. He has a lot of power and he is a role model to many people. Hrothgar knows that Beowulf will someday become king, so he gives Beowulf some kingly advice. Hrothgar tells Beowulf a story about king Heremod, and then he tells Beowulf “so learn from this and understand true values. I who tell you have wintered into wisdom” (1723).

Grendel has been terrorizing Heorot Hall killing all the warriors and Hrothgar is in grief because he can do nothing about it. Hrothgar is an old king and does not have the physical strength necessary to defeat Grendel. Since Hrothgar did not have the physical strength to defeat Grendel “the time was long, / the space of twelve winters, that the Scylding king / endured in torment all possible cares, / the fullest agony (Beowulf 146-149).” Hrothgar did not have the required physical strength to defeat Grendel and because of that he was tormented by Grendel’s killings of his people for twelve years. Hrothgar’s feud with Grendel proves the author’s reasoning for alluding mortality because it shows the importance of physical strength in a leader during this time period and it shows that leaders will be tormented by the fact that they do not have the physical strength necessary to protect their

Hrothgar, King of the Danes, did not lead by example thus influencing his followers in a negative manner. His main characteristics include Cowardice, Godliness, and Sadness. When negative characteristics are displayed, those following or looking to the person in question have no choice but to doubt the abilities of those in leadership.

Beowulf also came from royal families. Hrethel is King of Geatland and Beowulf's mother's father, his maternal grandfather. Though Beowulf's mother is never named in the epic, we know she was Hrethel's daughter. Hrethel has four children, three sons Hygelac, Herebeald, and Haethycn and Beowulf's mother. His oldest son follows him as king. Hygelac is king of the Geats during Beowulf's time, and Beowulf's uncle. He is the oldest son of Hrethel. Hygelac married Hygd and they have a son named Heardred, who becomes king of Geatland when Hygelac dies. Though Hygd offers the crown to Beowulf, he declines to his cousin Heardred, saying the son of Hygelac should be king. Heardred took the throne that Beowulf refused. Unfortunately, he was killed in

Beowulf and Hrothgar are both great kings with responsibility to take care their people. Beowulf is a great king because there has been peace and prosperity for fifty years in his village when he became king. Hrothgar is a good king because he created the mead-hall and became successful, also implying that he had wealth. They both have experiences in combat. Hrothgar has responsibility for his people, while beowulf just worried about the glory and fame.

He explains how he ended up coming to the aid of Hrothgar after hearing of all the disaster and terror Grendel had wrought upon the mead hall. Quickly at a feast to celebrate the arrival of Beowulf a dane, Unferth, immediately questions how worthy Beowulf’s credentials are and actually work. To which Beowulf exclaims, quite boastfully, all of his accomplishments and how they came to be the story of how he escaped several sea monsters. He is so prideful of his accomplishments that Hrothgar had to give him a couple of reminders “that pride, untempered by humility, will result in the tragic fall”. (Christian) Hrothgar also took the time to point out to Beowulf that even his status as King was achieved through the grace of God. And that all the success given by God should be handled with humility and a sense of sharing. (Christian) Since you can’t really accomplish anything by yourself especially in that time period. Hrothgar built his kingdom up by offering protection to others for a price that had to be paid or he would be attack that kingdom. And then he had a fight will Grendel which showed that Beowulf would willingly give up one of his crew just to stop him. He laid down pretending to be asleep so he could see the monsters tactics and the when he came to attack Beowulf that is when he struck. Beowulf sprung at him with Grendel unknowing that he was being watched was scared and was easily defeated by Beowulf who ripped his arm off and watched him walk away slowly dying. But the kept the arm that was ripped off as a trophy.

Hrothgar who is the king of the Danes. Hrothgar enjoys military success and prosperity until Grendel terrorizes his realm. A wise and aged ruler, Hrothgar represents a different kind of leadership from the youthful warrior Beowulf. He is a model for the kind of king that Beowulf becomes. He also has a scene within the first part of the story which represents the honor and power that these characters represented, “Then success in war was given to Hrothgar, honor in battle, so that his beloved kinsmen eagerly served him, until the young soldiers grew into a mighty troop of men. It came to his mind that he should order a hall-building, have men make a great mead house which the sons of men should remember forever and there inside he would share everything with young and old that God had given him, except for the common land and the lives of men.”(64-73). This is a great example of how the author is trying to express the idea of always being remembered and carrying on their legacies. Also the importance of success in war is what truly brought Hrothgar to power and the respect of his

The king of Danes, Hrothgar, accumulated his warriors in the hall on a frequent basis, which is how Beowulf starts off. Hrothgar calls on the heroic Beowulf and his men to try to kill the monstrous Grendel. The battle takes place in Heorot Hall between Beowulf and Grendel. After achieving victory, Beowulf is praised by Hrothgar, who promotes Beowulf to king, saying that he is like his

TV cameras have a knack for only picking up the good things world leaders do. These shots are meant to paint someone like the US President in a positive light. It turns out even epics from Anglo-Saxon times would do everything they could to make their kings seem great and generous, but as with everything else there is a side not seen by the public eye. In the epic of Beowulf a king named Hrothgar is seen on the outside as the greatest and most generous king the land had ever seen, but on the inside he is much more human. Hrothgar like all great leaders comes with many flaws. He is very similar to current and past world leaders and brings a new meaning to the word “great.” Despite being thought about in a positive light he certainly has his warts. These include his heavy drinking habit, a lack of self control, and no desire whatsoever to be king of the Danes.

Beowulf has come to Denmark, the kingdom of Hrothgar, the news that the monster Grendel is terrorizing the land. Seeking for adventure in which he can get honor, Beowulf leads a company of fourteen fellow Geats to fulfill the quest. Hrothgar, beset by the monster that had overtaken his royal hall of Heorot and killed his warriors, is grateful that so strong a champion came, a man he met in the Geat childhood, and his fame spread across the sea. In gratitude, Hrothgar yields his place as champion of his homeland Beowulf, giving him the hall of Heorot to defend and protect. Heorot is a symbol of his power, and so he cautiously giving it to Beowulf's control. Never before had he yielded any part of his power and authority to any person, nevertheless,

The first division of the story begins with peace or, more accurately, non-violence between Grendel and the Danes, until there is a precipitating event causing this equilibrium to be disrupted. This event is Hrothgar's construction of Heorot, because it is the mirth in this mead hall that causes Grendel to rise from the mere. The motion associated with this rising from the mere is upward, and, thus, the up/down balance is broken. The result is a twelve-year reign of terror during which Grendel viciously attacks the Danish people. Eventually, the hero Beowulf comes to the aid of the Danes and battles with Grendel. In the fight, the hero rips an arm from Grendel and the monster flees to his cave under the mere; the movement is downward here.