Beowulf
In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, there are battles between Beowulf himself and several different monsters. Any time I think of a battle, there are three words that comes to mind. These three words are Fate, Loyalty, and Glory; all of these arepresent in each of Beowulf's battles and these were also important to the Anglo-Saxon. These values are important to them because they wanted be known as the most courageous and powerful warriors. The episodes of fury are when Beowulf fights Grendel, Grendel's mother, and then a dragon fifty years after his battle with Grendel's mother. All of this fighting is started by Hrothgar, the king of the danes, when he builds a mead hall in appreciation of his warrior's loyalty. The first battle is between our hero Beowulf, a Geatish warrior and Grendel, a demon descended from Cain who preys on Hrothgar's warriors in the mead hall of
Whether it may be fighting a common problem or fighting the common problems mother, the swamp-hag. So Beowulf goes on to defeat the horrible monster unarmed, eventually ripping the creatures arm off when it's trying to flee in fear of it's life. The last and final battle for Beowulf is fifty years later when he is confronted by a dragon, an ancient and powerful serpent who guards a horde of treasure in a hidden barrow. And then of course Glory comes into the picture when Beowulf celebrates his victory over the creature that has plagued the mead hall. As fate would have it, the previously victorious Beowulf is put to the test one more time. This story was written because of values that were important to people at this time. Loyalty is present when Beowulf chooses to fight the monster for king Hrothgar who had done Ecgtheow, Beowulf's father, a great favor. ause a great warrior is needed to defeat the monster and it just so happens that Beowulf is the best in all the lands. And thus, Beowulf tries to be loyal to his reputation, even though his men were disloyal by being afraid to fight, slay the dragon, and be triumphant. Loyalty comes about this time because the mother of Grendel is going to fight Beowulf and try to avenge the death of her son. Fate comes into play here when Beowulf defeats and unknowingly kills her son. However, the glory of this battle is not belonging to Grendel's mother. Unfortunately for them, their great king, who was also a great warrior, died because of the soldier's eventual show of cowardness. The glory is still in the hands of Beowulf even though he himself has been killed, because he was a bolder and greater warrior than any of the other Geats.
Common topics in this essay:
Beowulf Grendel's,
Ecgtheow Beowulf's,
Grendel Grendel's,
Glory Beowulf's,
Beowulf Geatish,
,
Heorot Fate,
Loyalty Beowulf,
grendel's mother,
mead hall,
beowulf defeats,
fighting common,
loyalty glory,
fate loyalty,
geats fate,
fate loyalty glory,
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