Beowulf: What Makes a Good Ruler?

Beowulf is one of the most eminent poems in Old English. The story revolves around three battles which Beowulf fights – the battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the Dragon. Beowulf is a warrior from the land of the Geats. He travels to the land of the Danes to save King Hrothgar and his community who are attacked by a supernatural being, Grendel. The poem points to morals in different events and characters, contrasting good versus evil, youth versus old age, public good versus private desire, Christian versus pre-Christian (called Pagan in the poem), and the value of goods. Throughout the poem, as Beowulf faces challenges he only shows acts of loyalty, strength, fortitude, and courage which defines him as a legendary figure, a hero. Beowulf embraces and lives by these valuable traits being an example of the heroic code, as he defeats the evil characters he meets with his superhuman strength, he represents the profile of a hero and a good king.

The first part of the poem presents Beowulf’s loyalty toward King Hrothgar. The brave Beowulf shows an act of loyalty by going to Heorot and offering his help to fight the monster Grendel, in attempt to free the Danes from the massacre the beast has inflicted on them. He comes to aid of King Hrothgar because he feels a great sense of loyalty to the king because of his father. King Hrothgar knew Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow as he recalled he had helped him in the past. Beowulf’s father needed assistance because of a feud, and Hrothgar had come to his aid. Moved by Beowulf’s courage and loyalty, King Hrothgar accepts Beowulf’s favor and invites him and his men to feast at Heorot. “Never, since my hand could hold a shield have I entrusted or given control of the Danes’ hall to anyone but you,” says King Hrothgar, giving full control to Beowulf as if he were one of his sons. (655-57)

Later in the first part of the poem, Beowulf’s physical and mental strength is represented. To prove his strength, Beowulf announces that he would fight Grendel bare-handed. “Now I mean to be a match for Grendel,” said Beowulf to King Hrothgar. (425) Unferth envies Beowulf’s strength and recounts the battle Beowulf had in the past with the sea monster with sarcasm. Beowulf replies with pride: “Time and again. Foul things attacked me, lurking and stalking, but I lashed out, gave as good as I got with my sword. My flesh was not for feasting on” (559-62)

As the night sets and the fear of the monster Grendel fills the Danes’ hearts, the feast comes to an end and Beowulf and his men are left to face Grendel. The monster finally comes to Heorot and faces Beowulf. Their confrontation displays the clash between the forces of good and evil. “The captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth.” (749-52)

Beowulf stands by his sword, he fights the monster “barehanded” and with a greater power he defeats Grendel. The king and queen gift Beowulf and his men to compensate them for their victory. The Danes celebrates the death of Grendel and their hero Beowulf with a pleasing feast and entertainment. Beowulf establishes honor among the Danes as he is esteemed by the king and his community for his accomplishment. He frees the Danes with his strength and defeats their great enemy by risking his own life. Beowulf is presented as the ultimate hero in this scene of the poem.

In the second part, the poem represents Beowulf’s fortitude. In the late night, another attack takes place at the gold hall killing everyone. It is Grendel’s mother that came for revenge. Beowulf learns about the tragedy and decides to stay and fight the demon that has caused horror and grief to King Hrothgar and the Danes.

“Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death” (1384-88) says Beowulf to King Hrothgar. There is a parallelism between Beowulf’s words and Grendel’s mother as he chose to react to her revenge the same way as she did for her son’s death. Beowulf is aware that the battle with Grendel’s mother could kill him, but he chose to stay and fight Grendel’s mother. Beowulf speak his wishes to King Hrothgar before his travel to fight Grendel’s mother. As he approaches the cave “the gallant man could see he had entered some hellish turn-hole and yet the water there did not work against him.” (1512-14)

Beowulf meets with the demon and despite Grendel’s mother’s superhuman power, Beowulf stands his ground and fights her with all his strength, eventually defeating her. Beowulf is presented as a true warrior and savior of the Danes’ land. He also gives a great example through his action and commitment. His promise to King Hrothgar engages him even more to aid the Danes and be a model of bravery.

The last part of the poem represents courage. In this part of the poem, Beowulf is living in his land, the land of the Geats where he reigned as a king for many years. He is in his seventies and has ruled his people with great ability, keeping them safe and satisfied, until the day a terrible threat came upon them. A dragon that was asleep for many years has awaked and sworn to destroy their city and everyone in it, because someone had stolen its valuable goblet. The dragon weapon is fire, a natural force. Beowulf doesn’t want to let any of his men risk their lives fighting the dragon. He commands his men to let him battle the dragon alone and commands the thanes that accompanied him to stay put. “This fight is not yours, nor it is up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth”. (2532-35)

Beowulf engages the dragon in a dangerous fight, with the help of Wiglaf, a young warrior, they defeat the dragon, but ultimately cost Beowulf’s life. Wiglaf was the only warrior that had stayed to help his king through the fight. During his last breath, Beowulf confesses with pride his achievement to young Wiglaf, as a king he had gained respect and love from his people. His pride of serving as a king and fighting great battles will make him remembered forever. The acts of courage Beowulf had shown throughout his life and upon his death are a model of a leader that he hopes to instill the hearts of the youth. As he spoke to Wiglaf, “To the everlasting Lord of all, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people so well-endowed on the day I die”. Beowulf was thankful for keeping his people safe and leaving them fortune before he died, which demonstrates the character of a good king.

Beowulf embraces and lives by these values traits and is an example of the heroic code. Beowulf defeats the evil characters he meets with his superhuman strength and represents the profile of a hero and a good king. Beowulf faces all this challenges with great strength and courage for a goal to serve others and be recognized for his bravery as one of the greatest kings that ever lived. Beowulf’s death is just as he would have wanted it to be: to die fighting for something greater than himself. He models the traits of a true warrior in all fights despite his old age in the third part of the poem when fighting with the dragon, Beowulf proves that he is still capable of fighting a battle even if it costs him his life.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" - Confucius

Beowulf. The Norton Anthology: Western Literature. Ed. Peter, Simon. New York: W.W Norton
& Company, Inc 2014. (425-2535)