Beowulf chooses to put aside his weapons when battling Grendel. I couldn’t help but be impressed and at the same time somewhat incredulous when I read this. Of course, Beowulf is meant to be a story of mythical proportions, but is this really necessary? At first, it almost seemed to me as if Beowulf was a bit of a showoff. After all, there are many other mythical heroes whose fame has certainly not been diminished by their use of weapons. King Arthur, for instance, can hardly be thought of without his trusty sword Excalibur and (in a more recent myth created by Tolkien) Gandalf is admired all the more for wielding Glamdring, another magical sword.
I got to thinking that there must be something unique, not just about Beowulf’s abilities, but about his motivations that give him the ability to tear monsters limb from limb with his bare hands. More importantly than how he could possibly defeat Grendel without weapons, is why Beowulf would have the initial suicidal inclination to try in the first place. We get a clue the first time he speaks of discarding his weapons before his battle with Grendel.
“I have heard moreover that the monster scorns
in his reckless way to use weapons;
therefore, to heighten Hygelac’s fame
and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce
sword and the shelter of the broad shield,
the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand
is how it shall be, a life-and-death
fight with the fiend. Whichever one death fells
must deem it a just judgment of God.” (lines 433-431)
Firstly, Beowulf continually seeks to add to the fame of his uncle, King Hygelac. In Beowulf’s culture, the prowess and fame gained by one person also belongs to his family line. Ancestry and family ties are very important in this story. Throughout Beowulf, he is repeatedly referred to, not by his proper name, but as “Hygelac’s kinsman” and other such ancestral terms. During his battle with Grendel’s mother the text says, “Hygelac’s kinsman kept thinking about/his name and fame: he never lost heart” (lines 1529-1530). The syntax here allows us to make no distinction between King Hygelac and his nephew Beowulf. The “name and fame” could rightly belong to either or both.
Secondly, Beowulf puts himself in the hands of God. With God on his side, Beowulf realizes that it doesn’t matter whether he uses weapons or not. Here, I can’t help but draw connections to some biblical stories from the Old Testament. The story of David and Goliath came to my mind almost immediately when I read the lines posted above. Sure, David could have gone out and trusted in God to help him wield a big sword, but he chose to use a sling instead to show that God was ultimately the one in control. Beowulf declares in a most David-like manner “…And may the Divine Lord/in His wisdom grant the glory of victory/to whichever side He sees fit” (lines 685-687).
In renouncing his weapons, Beowulf also renounces both his fear of death and his pride in his own abilities. Fear and pride are two things that often stand in the way of truly heroic deeds. The underlying Christian message here is that in order to attain to one’s full potential, one must hand everything over to God. By not using weapons against Grendel, Beowulf serves as a model of this Christian virtue.
I found this portion of text interesting as well! I side more with the part of your rumination that argues that Beowulf chooses to fight without weapons to gain honor, pride, and fame. If successful, this story would serve as another tale of his immense strength and bravery to be told not only in the mead hall, but in nations beyond that the one that Grendel terrorizes. Additionally, the way that he fights with bare hands attempts to equalize Beowulf with Grendel in how they are seen by others. Grendel appears inhuman - almost animalistic - in his textual description. Similarly, Beowulf is made inhuman - godlike - through his own dialogue about himself as well as the textual description of his body and actions.
ReplyDeleteThis is what intrigued me the most about this story. At first, I found Beowulf's faith exceedingly great especially through his battles until the battle with the dragon. He talks about how he was confused that God didn't let him have victory in the beginning and his faith completely dropped. I feel like this story could be not only a story about nobility and courage, but of faith.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Jessica said about Beowulf becoming somehow "inhuman" by fighting Grendel on equal terms. However, I would argue the point slightly differently. Only through choosing to fight Grendel in a way that gives him no unnatural advantage (the noble and fair way even against an evil monster), can Beowulf become the complete opposite of Grendel.
ReplyDeleteBeowulf remains a model of the ideal warrior even when battling a beast who doesn't play by the rules. Fighting "fair" against evil has got to be one if the hardest things to do. I respect Beowulf more for that than I do for his actual defeat of Grendel. He not only destroys an evil being, but refuses to be tainted by that evil being in the process. Cleanses the world and himself from the threat of evil simultaneously.
To be honest, I did not think of Beowulf fighting without weapons in terms of God or religion. The connection that you made between the lack of weapons and putting everything at the hands of God makes a lot of sense to me and definitely follows the theme and importance of religion/Christianity through the story. I do think he wanted to fight without weapons because he has a conceded, arrogant way about himself and a reputation to uphold; however, this link made me think that Beowulf's character has more depth than I had initially thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both arguments being made. Beowulf's renunciation of weapons certainly has positive connotations for his character. But, Beowulf is also a show off. When he is challenged in the Mead Hall regarding his swimming contest he brags at length about the experience. The swimming contest itself really seems like an exercise merely to show off his great ability and strength.
ReplyDeleteWell:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, really nice rumination. I'd like to first, though, address the above comment, if that's cool. Okay, so: I viewed Beowulf's recounting of the swimming contest to be totally justified and satisfying. The fact that the guy who prompted the story (whose name escapes me at the moment) would try to shame a guy who is going out of his way to enter a potential suicide pack with a raving beast that's terrorizing a town he doesn't even live in (and that his challenger does!) is absurd; he should've kept his mouth shut.
That said, that's about the only moment in the story that I felt Beowulf's hubris was justified. Not that he's not a really strong and heroic-type guy; it's just that his motivations seemed a little...off. And this is where I get to responding to the rumination.
I can definitely see the "he wanted to add to his uncle's glory" angle, but a lot of the time it seemed Beowulf was trying to preserve his own legacy. Our few glimpes into Beowulf's psyche provided nothing along the lines of "I'm going to kill this monster because he is killing lots of innocent people!" and plenty alone the lines of "I'm going to kill this monster so people will respect me! Let the legacy live on!"
Of course, one could argue that motivation doesn't really matter when you can get the job done (which Beowulf does, admirably).
*pact
ReplyDeleteThis is the first rumination that I actually read and I'm thoroughly intrigued by it. I had some of these same thoughts while reading, and paid special attention to the fact that Beowulf was so trusting of God and his will. Even though he was regaled as a great warrior and hero, I was a little appalled when he chose to use no weapon and fight Grendel with the idea that God would let the better man win, in simple terms. I'm a strong believer in the whole "everything happens for a reason" belief, yet there's no chance that I would fight a demonic creature without any other form of hope and protection than a mystical power that we call God.
ReplyDeleteLike many of you have already mentioned, this is one aspect of the story that I always wonder about. Why would someone be willing to fight, an incredible beast, like Grendel with no weapons at all? This detail tells us a lot about the character of Beowulf. Like you mentioned in your posting, Beowulf's faith in God is one aspect that continuously helps him in achieving success in one battle after another. Faith itself was not the primary factor. Beowulf had to work hard and kill creature after creature to get the title of a hero. He has proved himself, but I find it boggling that without even meeting Grendel, he would jump to conclusions and eliminate all weapons. When Beowulf announced he was fighting with his bare hands, I thought that he was cocky and conceited. The combination of his hard work, and faith in God has allowed him so many victories. So, I guess if I was like Beowulf I would boast too.
ReplyDeleteAs Steve's rumination pointed out, the Pagan roots of the story, characters, and audience all certainly put an emphasis on the shock and awe of physical strength. But, the Christian themes that are mixed in seem conflicting in that they also speak about a strong faith in God as a protector of sorts. Beowulf and the religious warriors in this poem are all somewhat a culmination in the mixing of Pagan and Christian cultures. As their Pagan ancestors, these characters place great value on impressive feats, hard-fought victories, and displays of natural strength. However, it isn't for any superficial reasons. Beowulf's displays of extraordinary physical strength inspire awe in these Christian characters because they're also displays of God's work. Any fame or appraisal that they boast of about themselves and their kin is also just a demonstration of God's own glory and their favor upon them.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion they're still just showoffs, but I think that the religious element is actually also a really important part of their motives for gaining honor.
I agree with you completely, Albert. Beowulf's physical strength most certainly comes from God and stands as a testament to his fellows of God's power.
ReplyDeleteAnother way of seeing it as well could be to interpret Beowulf's heroic actions and physical strength as a metaphor for a kind of "spiritual warfare". A true Christian is always at war with evil forces assalting him from without and within through temptations to err from the ways and commandments of God.
You've got a great conversation going here, Joanna. Excellent work!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm really enjoying this blogg thing. The beauty of this class format is that everyone gets to say what they want to say. No interruptions and plenty of time to think things through. I hope everyone takes advantage of that.
ReplyDeleteThis rumination is really insightful, and the conversation that has taken place because of it provides almost too much to discuss! I guess I'll focus my comment on what I found most intriguing, which is the point found in the conclusion of Joanna's rumination. She writes, "The underlying Christian message here is that in order to attain to one’s full potential, one must hand everything over to God." I could not agree more with this statement in the context of Beowulf, and I feel like Joanna supports it beautifully by first discussing biblical tales like David and Goliath. I always perceived Beowulf as kind of a cocky character, throwing down his weapons to prove he can do something extraordinary with absolutely no handicaps whatsoever, much like the frat boy doing clap push-ups until he passes out at the gym. Reading this work, Beowulf reminded me of just that, a typical guy hell-bent on proving his masculinity. After reading this rumination, however, I've begun to think of Beowulf in a different light - perhaps he threw his weapons aside, as Joanna implies, because he was in a battle of faith, one where God would surely help him prevail for being so trusting in his existence. This whole conversation gets me back to another rumination I read about the presence of Christianity throughout the story, and it shocks me that the first time I read through Beowulf, I did not even notice the overt religious references. If Joanna's interpretation of Beowulf's actions is correct, it plays in wonderfully with the idea that Beowulf is a Christian tale told during Pagan times.
ReplyDeleteJoanna -- great commentary on Beowulf. I especially enjoyed your observation that Beowulf fights without weapons in order to bring fame and dignity to his uncle and family name. Although I didn't write a rumination on this assignment, you got me wishing I did! Your insight brought to mind some interesting conclusions: By giving himself the additional challenge of not only trying to defeat Grendel, but trying to defeat him without a weapon, Beowulf displays, as you put it -- suicidal inclinations. His desire to risk his life even further just to gain notoriety is a perfect, or even archetypal, example of hubris. Beowulf is an original tragic hero. His excessive pride foreshadows his eventual demise -- perhaps if Beowulf had fought with a sword and the motivation of keeping the town safe, he would not have died at the mouth of another monster.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading Beowulf, I had the same though process that you all did - how could he fight this demonic creature without any weapons?! I thought for sure that this would be the end of Beowulf's heroic actions and lead to his downfall. When reading through the fighting scene between Beowulf and Grendel, it seems that right away Beowulf has the upper hand. Even without any weapons, it says that Grendel was scared of Beowulf and wanted to retreat back to the swamp. Grendel saw something different in Beowulf. He knew that if this warrior was confident enough to attack him without any weapons, he likely did not need them. The text says that Grendel had never experienced such strength from a human before. This got me wondering if Beowulf was more than just human; or was it God on his side that made him so strong? Beowulf's confidence to go into battle without any weapons stemmed from his faith in God, but also from his confidence. As we read before this battle, Beowulf is known as a true hero. He has defeated many monsters before and he sees this as yet another opportunity to make an impact on the Danish people, save more lives, and create a story that would be told for years throughout the land. Since Beowulf has all of these past victories under his belt and the confidence of the people behind him, I think this supplies him with more strength, pride, and determination to rid the kingdom of Grendel. Of course, his faith in God plays an extreme role in his success with Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the many battles he encounters throughout his life. When it comes time for the battle that ends Beowulf's life he is still confident in slaying the dragon for his people's safety and yet is satisified knowing that this battle will lead to the end of his life. Beowulf did succeed in leaving a legacy behind him, which was something he had always strived to accomplish
ReplyDeleteThis rumination made me completely rethink the depth of Beowulf's character! Originally I thought that Beowulf's intentions in senselessly abandoning his weapons during a fight had more to do with his hubris than his faith in God. I'm not sure if your rumination has completely changed my viewpoint on the matter, but it's definitely inclined me to thing a little more. This is my second reading of Beowulf, and I've honestly never made the connection between the story of Beowulf and the story of David & Goliath as Joanna so clearly pointed out in her rumination. This is such a great textual connection that really helps me to see the argument that Beowulf surrendering his weapons is symbolic of Beowulf surrendering his fate to God, rather than my original interpretation that Beowulf is a foolish show-off whom is desperate to prove himself. However, I don’t think that the story of Beowulf is as clear cut as the story of David and Goliath. I think that there are other issues to consider aside from just faith, and I think that no matter what, pride hade something to do with Beowulf surrendering his weapons.
ReplyDeleteI have to side with the people saying Beowulf was just trying to show off by not using weapons. The main job of fighting Grendel was to PROTECT the people being attacked. His focus should have been fully concerned with getting rid of the threat, not adding to his glory. He already had demonstrated his glory with the
ReplyDeleteswimming contest story.
Joanna: You mention that you admire Beowulf for being able to "fight fair" against evil. It may be impressive, but I think it's irresponsible. If you know you are one of the only people who can kill an evil enemy, then you should make sure you get it done, instead of risking failure. If he had failed then so many more people would have lost their lives.
There are a lot of very interesting arguments floating around here - great Rumination, Joanna! Beowulf's choice to not use weapons against Grendel was something I found very interesting as well. My thoughts on the issue revolve around Honor and Faith.
ReplyDeleteMy initial thought while reading this was that Beowulf's actions were honorable. Because Grendel fought with no sword, no sheild, it would be unfair and dishonorable if Beowulf had either. While the issue of irresponsibility and impracticality comes up, I still find that it would be disgraceful if Beowulf had used his sword. Certainly, the struggle may have been a lot faster had Beowulf used weapons, but there is no honor in winning a battle you knew you would win. I would also venture to say that, had Beowulf used weapons against Grendel, he would have LOST respect from his peers.
As we see later, Beowulf does use a sword against Grendel's mother, but only after she uses a weapon against him. Beowulf uses a weapon again later on, against the dragon who, as it were, cannot weild a sword. Why would Beowulf then use weapons against another opponent that has none? I think this has something to do with the idea that Grendel was a descendant of the line of Cain- therefore, to some extent, also a descendant of Adam and Eve, an equal (of sorts) to us (rather, Beowulf).
This brings up a strong, Christian theme by having God as the decider of who would win the battle, and a test of the strength of one's faith. While I can't completely dismiss the idea that Beowulf's fight without weapons wasn't partly due to vanity, I find it was more on the side of honor and faith. Because his faith was strong, he believed that God would choose the rightful victor.
Although i didn't at first think about the connection between religion and the use of weapons this rumination did a great job at opening my eyes to a completely different view on Beowulf's actions. When first reading Beowulf i got the idea that the reason he chose not to use weapons was a pride thing and that he was so full of himself that he liked to prove to everyone that he could do anything with the strength of his own two hands and that weapons weren't necessary. But when bringing God into the picture i can completely see where you're coming from, in that it may be his faith that is giving him the confidence to fight without weapons. Great connection!
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