How Does Beowulf Show Loyalty

From his astonishing strength, to his unmatched courage, Beowulf is the perfect embodiment of the Anglo-Saxon concept of a hero. Throughout his tail, Beowulf consistently shows his immense strength. For instance, when he decides to fight Grendel without a sword, and wins. In addition, a hero must show unwavering courage, especially in the face of danger. Beowulf displays his courage multiple times throughout his journey, but specifically in the cave when fighting Grendel's mother.

When we read the Beowulf poem we have the figure of a strong, protective hero who has no fear of adversity. These qualities are the ones that a hero should have in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian society in medieval times. These qualities can be seen in Beowulf, main character of the literary work that bears his name. Beowulf arrives in the presence of King Hrothgar, who needs help with a monster named Grendel whom devouring men overnight in the Hall Heorot. This terrifying fact needs a hero who has the courage, the strength to fight the monster and Beowulf thinks he has all those attributes to be able to finish with Grendel. When Beowulf comes before King Hrothgar, he explains who he is. He tells about his lineage

Beowulf displays pride in himself and through his battles. We quickly learn this when he first enters the epic reciting his kenning, “. . . They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains.” (Carol Jago, Deborah Appleman, Kylene Beers et al.) However, before he leaves for his homeland to fight the dragon, Hrothgar foreshadows that Beowulf entering the dangers that are involved with hubris. Beowulf ignorantly does not take Hrothgar's advice into account and eventually dies for fame and fortune, the main things in his life. From an Anglo-Saxon standpoint Beowulf’s downfall is seen as an heroic and loyal act to the Anglo-Saxons because of his ultimate sacrifice. During the greatest challenge in Beowulf’s life, that being his fight with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf and his ego are blown up tremendously. This is because he is faced with his toughest opponent that could not be killed with bare hands, instead he had to use a specialized sword to slay the she-demon. This shows that Anglo-Saxon culture valued bravery and loyalty as having utmost importance. Through the epic you find that the morals of the people in Anglo-Saxon society was not only to help themselves but also to help others through anything they were to

Beowulf was deemed as a loyal hero for not only saving the men of Hrothgar from Grendel but defeating the monster as well. That being said, he showed great loyalty to the men of Hrothgar. Through Beowulf's actions, he showed

The oldest recorded english text, Beowulf, is an epic Anglo-Saxon tale of a man named Beowulf who was greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in the world. Throughout this tale the key virtues of Anglo-Saxon life: bravery, loyalty, generosity, and friendship are shown. These virtues are illustrated through the following evidence from the tale.

In the epic poem Beowulf, the values of bravery, loyalty, and leadership are essential to Beowulf's success in the face of many obstacles and foes. Beowulf's dedication to helping King Hrothgar of the Danes vanquish the terrifying Grendel is the first example of his undying allegiance. Given that Beowulf is willing to put his life in danger to ensure the prosperity of a foreign realm, this allegiance is more than just a duty; it is a reflection of his noble attributes. Perhaps Beowulf's greatest quality is his bravery.

Beowulf’s embodiment of both warrior-like and king-like heroic traits is the predominant reason he is so successful in Anglo-Saxon society; however, it is also the cause of his demise. As stated previously, Beowulf’s loyalty towards his people drives many decisions he makes, and when faced with the impeding threat of the dragon, Beowulf’s loyalty drives his decision to personally fight it. Although this action directly complies with the values of loyalty and protectionism associated with the heroic code of kings, it is directly contradicted by the ideal of political skills, that is kings making decisions with the best interest of their people in mind. Although at the time, fending off the dragon seems to Beowulf like the proper course of action

The character Beowulf represents honor, bravery, faith and loyalty, which all contribute to the strength of the community. Beowulf, the story’s hero, hears of the creature and its destructive powers so he volunteers

Loyalty is important in the theme Beowulf loyalty to the lord is important element for the society. Warriors were expected to provide services for their lord often by fighting on the battle field and the lord was expected to pay back this loyalty by providing hid warriors with gifts such as ring, armor, weapons etc.

The epic poem Beowulf established a moral code for the English speaking hundreds or yeas ago, and those codes still resonate with modern English and American ideals. The Anglo-Saxon classic Beowulf encompasses the motivations of respect, heroism, and fame in their epic hero Beowulf. Beowulf’s first and foremost concern is earning the respect of his people. This text establishes the thought that respect is a virtue that is earned rather than given.

The story of Beowulf contains several Anglo-Saxon values. At the time, society valued warriors who were strong and brave, capable of defending their people from threats, and showed unwavering loyalty to their King. The rewards of fame and fortune were alluring to warriors and used as motivation to participate in battle. To give one's life in a battle is viewed as a noble way to die. The importance of bravery, loyalty, and leadership is evident throughout the poem and demonstrated by certain characters.

He is a kind and generous king for 50 years when a thief wakes up a seeping dragon by taking a gem studded trophy. The dragon destroys Geatland. At this point of the poem Beowulf blames himself for this tragedy, thinking he must have somehow broken God’s law. The hero’s final encounter with the dragon evokes a heroic approach to fate. Though he recognizes his time is finished and he will not make it through the battle with the dragon, he courageously embraces his duty to protect the kingdom, sacrificing his life to save them.

The loyalty of the characters in the epic poem Beowulf, translated by , exerted towards Beowulf through his battles that shows how his men look up to him as a sentiment of man who passes traited a heroic figure. Beowulf came to what we now know as Denmark, but was know as Herot, looking for eternal life in fighting the monster heard around the different kingdoms as Grendel, but will change his life and the way he is perceived forever. Anglo Saxon heroes would search in other countries to find monsters that would give them eternal life. “We are geats” Beowulf comes to the shores of the Kingdom known as Herot and was greeted by the men watching the Danes under the King known as Hrothgar, who wants to know the reason he has come to his kingdom.

Humbleness was also key for an Anglo-Saxon hero as it proved respectability and honor towards the hero. Anglo-Saxons wanted their hero to prove their strength and courage, however, they did not want the hero to become a dictator of any kind. Strong friendships were known as the most trustable alliances an Anglo-Saxon hero could form for battles (Trekker2392). It was key for an Anglo-Saxon hero to have the ability to create strong friendships around him. Beowulf perfectly identifies to all five of these main characteristics throughout the epic poem.

Loyalty, defined as support and allegiance to someone or a country, demonstrated through various aspects of the human condition can be seen through aspects of the epic. Therefore, in the text, when Beowulf went to Herot to help the king Hrothgar it was discovered that he felt loyalty to this king. King Hrothgar after gaining the crown was faced with a conflict. This feud that Hrothgar got involved in saved Beowulf and his father. (ll. 191-207, Burton Raffel). This loyalty relates to the aspirations and growth in characters. This loyalty demonstrated through the Anglo-Saxons text leads to the ideas of the human condition today. That loyalty is an essential part of being human. All beings feel a sense of loyalty to someone or something. Beowulf, for example, felt loyalty to the king because he had helped Beowulf and his family. Later in the text, Wiglaf demonstrate loyalty to a dying Beowulf, when all of the valiant warriors abandoned their loyalty to their leader and king. Wiglaf demonstrates to the reader that he too was loyal to the king due to the wonderful gifts that Beowulf had bestowed upon them, but most of all him. (ll. 754-790, Burton Raffel). Therefore, loyalty played a large role in the Anglo-Saxon time, but not only that, but it still plays a huge role today. Loyalty today demonstrated through patriotism, love for one’s country and the ability to care for one another based on prior experiences. Moreover, the Anglo-Saxon value of loyalty demonstrates the importance of allegiance to leaders and families but creates an illustration of what loyalty today looks