Essay on The Moral Codes of Comitatus and Chivalry

By the end of his life, Beowulf has beaten Brecca in a swimming race, killed Grendel, killed

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.

In the battle between Grendel and Beowulf, Beowulf shows a deed of great strength and courage as he travels to Heorot and joins the Danes to defeat Grendel. “Now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come. Grant me, then, lord and the protector of this noble place, a single request! I have come so far, oh shelter of warriors and your people’s loved friend, that this one favor you should not refuse me-..” (Raffel 28). Beowulf has heard of the wrong doings of Grendel killing Heorot’s men. He sets

Beowulf’s wrath is swift and justified. He plays no games with his opponents. Beowulf even shows respect to his foe and honorably faces them with no undue advantage. A classic example of the honor usually associated with heroes lies in Beowulf’s decision to use neither sword nor armor when facing the monster Grendel in Heorot. Beowulf instead opted, in the name of fair play, to fight the monster on it’s own terms. Unsurprisingly Beowulf conquered his foe in true idolic form, tearing Grendel’s arm from his torso with only the strength of his grip and the power of his arms. This is what we cheer for in such stories, this is the satisfying victory over evil by the true embodiment of good: the hero.

Fame after death is looked at as the ultimate goal for individuals of this time period. Beowulf acted out of this lust for remembrance when defeating all of the monsters. “And if death does take me, send the hammered Mail of my armor to Higlac, return The inheritance I had from Hrethel, and he From Wayland. Fate will unwind as it must!” From these lines it is shown that fate will be the deciding force in his final battle against the dragon.

Beowulf and Gilgamesh must both fight a monster as a testament to their nobility, yet Beowulf does it for the greater good, too. Beowulf initially takes on the task of slaying Grendel due to the “[c]easeles[s] sorrow[ing] [of] the son of Healfdene” (Beowulf line 2), who is upset because Grendel “afflicted the people / [w]ith wrongs unnumbered” (Beowulf lines 4-5). Beowulf’s tribe, the Geats, has historically allied with the Danes, who are the target of Grendel’s misanthropy. Beowulf feels the need to help them out to continue this alliance. However, after Beowulf’s arrival, Hrothgar mentions that he “shall offer [Beowulf] gold for his gallant spirit” (Beowulf line 15), indicating that there is a physical reward for successfully defeating Grendel.

Stories often teach values within societies. They use the heroes and protagonists to exhibit respectable social behavior, and villains and antagonists as a way to clearly mark certain behaviors as poor social etiquette. Through the use of extreme behavior that identifies a character as immoral, other behaviors that are exhibited are reinforced as distasteful and frowned upon by the society and culture. Without explicitly stating the rules, people are shown the correct and incorrect behaviors. Within The Odyssey and Beowulf, two characters clearly violate social norms by invading spaces that no one invited them into. The suitors and Grendel both demonstrate what each society considers poor social behavior and highlights the importance of

In the epic poem Beowulf, the warrior hero Beowulf chooses to confront the tyrannical monster Grendel in his own domain, the hijacked mead hall of Heorot. A battle of brute strength ensues, in which Grendel, unable to escape his opponent’s awesome armgrip, rips away from his own arm and flees, dying soon after from bloodloss. Beowulf’s victory, though relatively early in the story, is a pivotal moment that signifies the defeat of discord and the return of civilization. Due to the stark differences in their appearances, lineages, and tactics of warfare, Grendel and Beowulf in battle symbolize the recurring conflict between chaos and order.

The Knight’s code of chivalry was the bible of the Middle Ages. The code of chivalry was a noblest path that knights swore to live and die by. We all have our own code we live by weather you've thought about it or not. Me? I believe in being nice to people, making friends with dogs, and keeping my positivity amped up around those I interact with in the hopes that I can brighten their day. I know what it's like to be sad and talk to yourself all day and have nothing seem positive.. I want to bring a little light in people's lives if I can. Though, I am also a firm believer in the justice of karma for the wrong doers, even though everyone does deserve to be surrounded by positivity, there must be a balance. It is just miserable to live and function regularly when everything happening around & to you seems so negative. I will force my positivity for the wellbeing of others because it is too often then not that I am affected heavily by emotions in a negative way, I don't want to radiate that unto others. It makes me feel good when I radiate positivity because people receive that positivity and the positivity bounces off of them onto the next, and onto the next, and so on. It’s very important to keep the peace and stay positive.

The code of chivalry was created to make warfare among European knights more pleasant. They would give each other time to prepare for fights and treated knights they captured as guests that had to pay a ransom rather than prisoners. Following these rules gave knights more honor, which they held in very high esteem. This code included different values that should characterize a honorable knight. Another way to achieve this honor was by dedicating themselves to a noble lady who they would serve with faithful adoration. This concept was the subject of Marie de France’s courtly love poetry.

I have found that if someone was to ask a person about a certain thing that had gone missing, say some chocolate or some money most people would say something stupid like “I didn’t take it, or I don’t have it” which is lying which is a code of chivalry for me. I find the part of people lying to be stupid is it could be over small things like food or a penny or gum, then that unravels to make a bigger hole for someone to have to dig themselves out of which shouldn’t have even happened in the first place if they would have just used my code of chivalry about always being honest and never lie right to someone’s face.

Having traveled for the entirety of my life has given me the title of an international student. Thriough this I have come to see the different ways the 'code of chivalry' is respected and followed in certain countries depending on their religious beliefs and ideals. There are many factors that remain the same. I beleive that I follow a mixture of conducts that all fit into one. I don't particularly see my self as Mexican or any other nationality because I dont like the idea of labeling myself to once specif ethnicity with specific morals. I see myself as more of a third culture kid, no labels or definements. Through this I am able to follow and experiment with different code of conducts. Through out my life I have seen that respect and individuality

Most people would admit to being dishonest at some point in their lives; but in some

After reading some traditional Medieval literature in class, one specific theme has come across many times. This theme would be the chivalric code throughout the stories. The chivalric code is mocked or satirized throughout the film we watch. Throughout this essay this theme will be analyzed in three different ways, through the text we read, the films watched, and the notes and discussions during class.

Beowulf; the ultimate man and fighter of his era. During this time him and his men had to adhere to the code of comitatus and were expected to follow it exactly. The code was one of importance during this period because it allowed the ring givers to have men fight for them and in return the men would be rewarded with a place to eat, drink, and sleep. When Beowulf was getting ready to fight Grendel, his men were ready to fight with him and assist in his battle, “All of Beowulf’s/ Band has jumped from their beds, ancestral/ Swords raised and ready/determined to protect their prince if they could” (794-797). During this first fight the men were ready to step in, no matter the cost, in order to help. This was due to the code of comitatus, even if they could lose