he epic poem of "Beowulf"
presents the characteristics of two heroes, Beowulf
and
Hrothgar. During this Anglo-Saxon time
period, Hrothgar rules as the king of his
Danish
lands. However, this king faces many problems
due to the disturbances of a
monster known as
Grendel. As an Anglo-Saxon warrior of
the time, Beowulf hears of
this creature and
journeys through the hero's path to kill Grendel. Through this journey,
Hrothgar and
Beowulf reconstruct the code of conduct of an ideal Anglo-Saxon king and
warrior.
The Danish lands of the time are ruled by
Hrothgar, a respected and generous
king. These qualities of character were admired by
the people of his time and place. All
people of
Hrothgar's kingdom respected this king,
and they all accepted his "very word
far and wide as a
command." The people also give him
great titles such as the "Lord of
the Mighty
Danes," "guardian of the Scyldings," and "protector of
warriors." Much of
these people's
respect come in response to Hrothgar's generosity to everyone. This
generosity can be
seen towards Beowulf, when the king gives his thanks for the heroic
deeds of the
warrior. Hrothgar rewards Beowulf with
priceless material as he says to the
warrior,
"You shall lack no earthly riches I can offer you." The people of the land also
trust their king,
who holds a strong belief in God. In the
scene where Hrothgar celebrates
Grendel's death,
he holds the monsters hand as he says, "Let us give thanks at once to
God Almighty for
this sight." The followers of the
king both respect and trust their ruler,
and through his
generosity and strong trust in good, Hrothgar displays the ideal code of
conduct for an
Anglo-Saxon king.
Mano 2
Another epic hero that has qualities that
follow the Anglo-Saxon code of conduct
is Beowulf. This warrior, known to be the "strongest
man alive," leaves for a heroic
journey when he
hears of the evil Grendel. He first
shows his strength and bravery when
he sets sail to
assist Hrothgar in defeating Grendel after hearing news of the creature in
his own
land. Beowulf is constantly referred to
as brave, such as when he defeats
Grendel, and
Hrothgar must reward him for his heroics.
As the "brave man moved
forward until he
stood immediately before the Danish lord,"
Hrothgar says, "I will
reward this brave
man with treasures." The unbeatable
strength of Beowulf shows during
his confrontation
with Grendel, when the monster instantly realizes that "never had he
met any man in
the regions of earth, in the whole world, with so strong a grip." The
enormous
creature, for the first time, meets his match and cannot help but to feel
terror
and "eager
to escape to his lair." To further
understand Beowulf's power, the author
describes of an
"immense invincible sword wrought by the giants" that no other human
but Beowulf could
handle it during battle. Through his
bravery to confront the evil
creature and his
strength to defeat Grendel, Beowulf creates himself as the bold and
powerful warrior
that represents that ideal code of conduct for an Anglo-Saxon warrior.
Through the hero's journey in
"Beowulf," characteristics of both Hrothgar and
Beowulf can be
seen. Hrothgar plays his role as a
respected and generous king, while
Beowulf is the
strong and brave warrior. In displaying
these characteristics, both
Hrothgar and
Beowulf reconstruct the ideal code of conduct for an Anglo-Saxon king and
warrior.
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