Beowulf (hero)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beowulf fights the dragon

Beowulf (pronouned "bay ah wolf) is the legendary hero and king of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem of the same name. He was the son of Ecgþeow, a banished warrior of the apparently Swedish Wægmundings. Ecgþeow had slain Heaðolaf, a man from another clan named the Wulfings (according to Scandinavian sources, they were the ruling dynasty of the Geatish petty kingdom of Östergötland). Apparently, because the victim was from a prominent family the weregild was set too high, and so Ecgþeow was banished and had to seek refuge among the Danes. The Danish king Hroðgar generously paid the weregild, and had Ecgþeow swear an oath.

Ecgþeow was in the service of the Geatish king Hreðel, whose daughter he married. They had Beowulf, who grew up with the Geats. Beowulf's childhood friend was Breca of the Brondings "supposed to be the inhabitants of the island Brännö, lying off the coast of West Gothland in the Cattegat" [1]). This would be a realistic location for a childhood friend of Beowulf, and the poem describes a swimming contest between them.

[edit] Legendary Life

When king Hroðgar, his wife Wealhþeow, and his court were terrorized by the monstrous Grendel, Beowulf left Geatland (West Götaland) and sailed to Zealand with twelve warriors in order to pay his father's debt. During the night, Grendel arrived to attack the sleeping men. Beowulf attacked him without his sword and tore the arm off the beast. Grendel returned to the bog and his arm was attached to the wall of Heorot. The next day, Beowulf was lauded and a skald (scop) sang and compared Beowulf with the hero Sigmund.

An approximation of the central regions of the tribes mentioned in Beowulf. The red area is Västergötland (the core region of Geatland), the yellow area is the territory ruled by the Wulfings, the pink area is the Danish territory. The green area is the land of the Swedes. The blue territory belongs to the Jutes and the orange to the Frisians. For a more detailed discussion on the fragmented political situation of Scandinavia during the 6th century, see Scandza

However, during the following night Grendel's Mother arrived to avenge the death of Grendel and collect weregild. As Beowulf slept in a different building he could not stop her. He resolved to descend into the bog in order to kill her. They fought beside Grendel's corpse, and Beowulf finally won with the aid of an enchanted giant sword stolen from the lair's plunder. Beowulf was recompensed with gold and horses by queen Wealhþeow, and they returned to Geatland.

Having returned, Beowulf took part in a historic raid against the Franks with his king Hygelac. Hygelac died during the raid, and Beowulf swam home in full armour. Back in Geatland, queen Hygd offered Beowulf the throne but Beowulf declined in favour of the young prince Heardred. However, Heardred received two Swedish princes, Eadgils and Eanmund who reported that they had fled their uncle Onela who had usurped the Swedish throne. This led to a Swedish invasion in which Heardred was killed. Beowulf was proclaimed king and decided to avenge Heardred and to help Eadgils become king of Sweden.

The event when Onela was slain was probably a historic event. Even though it is only briefly mentioned in Beowulf, it occurs extensively in several Scandinavian sources where it is called the Battle on the Ice. For example, Snorri Sturluson wrote: Onela rode Raven, as they rode to the ice, but a second one, a grey one, hastened, wounded by spears, eastwards under Eadgils. [...] In this fight Onela died and a great many of his people. Then king Eadgils took from him his helmet Battle-boar and his horse Raven (although, in Snorri's text the names are in their corresponding Old Norse forms).

Beowulf ruled the Geats for 50 years, until his realm was terrorized by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacked the dragon with his thegns, but they did not succeed. Beowulf decided to follow the dragon into its lair, at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dared join him. Beowulf finally slew the dragon but was mortally wounded and was carried out by Wiglaf. He died after prophesying that the Swedes would attack the Geats once again. He was buried in a barrow by the sea. The Swedish scholar Birger Nerman has proposed Skalunda Hög (58°33′N 12°59′E) in Västergötland (West Geatland) to be Beowulf's mound.

[edit] As Legend

In Scandinavian sources, Beowulf corresponds in several ways to Bödvar Bjarki. However, since centuries of oral traditions have modified a number of events and it is no longer possible to find 100% matches between Beowulf and Scandinavian sources, the Beowulf-Norse saga alignment is somewhat controversial.

[edit] As Mythological King

Beowulf is a mythological king and an epic hero, because he goes to fight "a strenuous battle against the disorganization of the universe." (McConnel 1979:59) He has three mythological battles, dying in the final battle against the dragon in the defense of his people. While some of the elements of the story and his life are probably based on real events and are legend, his adversaries (Grendel, Grendel's mother and the dragon) are mythological in description. The battle under the lake with Grendel's mother and the enchanted sword that Beowulf used to kill her is also in the realm of mythology.

[edit] Sources

• McConnell, Frank. Storytelling and Mythmaking. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979 ISBN 0-19-503210-1 (discusses Mythology Of Beowulf: Chapter 2, "The Epic World: Kings", pages 55-62, 66-67.)