Medieval Literature

Abstract:

Beowulf is read here in relation to the Christian values that are discussed in the text, and the ways these are incorporated into the character of the epic hero in medieval literature. Themes of heroism are indentified in ways that complement the Christian ideals of virtue. These themes are relied upon for elaborating on Beowulf as a struggle between belief and action, where what a man believes in turn predicts how he will act. For a hero, beliefs are often conflicts of extremes and so Beowulf is an example of how the hero must find balance in his role as a hero and his life as a man.

Heroism and Virtue in Beowulf

Introduction

Throughout the story of Beowulf, there are many elements of Christian philosophy; that man survives only through the protection of God, that all earthly gifts flow from God, and that the virtues of man are tempered with an ability to be humble and unselfish. There is also an emphasis on Beowulf’s heroic pride, and this is at times in conflict with these Christian values. These appear in conflicts between pride and humility, or sacrifice and selfishness.

Heroism and Virtue in Beowulf

 As an epic hero, Beowulf possesses the qualities of valor, military prowess, loyalty, generosity, and honor. He is a man who fights because he must, for the survival of his tribe or nation. Although the hero is constantly aware of his own mortality, he never shirks "from threat or peril .... It is a hero's duty to preserve his life by valor" (Jones. p.43). It is in battle that the mettle of the epic hero is tested.

The hero lives in a "shame culture", or an honor/shame society, where a man's 'good name' is his most prized possession (Jones, 57). The society is "hierarchical, that is, controlled by a military aristocracy whose highest good is in the warrior's code" (Jones, 50). It is partly for this reason that Beowulf needs to kill the dragon. Beowulf does not expect to return from his fight with the dragon. Nonetheless, he enters the battle. It is such courage and loyalty to his people that will cause songs to be composed and sung about him. Being commemorated in song contains the only immortality a warrior from Beowulf's pagan society could attain.

The Grace of God

In "Further Celebration at Heorot,” Hrothgar reminds Beowulf of the lessons of the Greek tragedies. Pride, untempered by humility, will result in the tragic fall. This is very similar to the lessons of humility that Gawain must learn in Gawain and the Green Knight; however, Hrothgar also teaches Boewulf that wealth, accumulated through the grace of God, is to be shared unselfishly.

The grace of God is a repeated theme in Beowulf, and the hero frequently acknowledges God as his protector. When Beowulf relates his battle with Grendel's mother, he states that "The fight would have ended straightaway if God had not guarded me" (1.4). There is a powerful theme of protection throughout all of Beowulf's actions, however, there is also a strong sense that God's protection must be earned. As Jones (1972) argues, a warrior must first be true to his values, courage, honesty, pride, and humility and only then will he earn God's protection (23).

There is also the sense that all earthly good, be it success or wealth, derives from God. For example, when about to fight Grendel's mother in her cave, Beowulf sees a great weapon hanging on the wall. This perception is given over to the grace of God: "But the Wielder of Men granted me that I should see hanging on the wall a fair, ancient great-sword" (1.5). And later in the passage, Hrothgar tells Beowulf that even the status of king is achieved through the grace of God. When telling of Heremod, a king who falls victim to pride and selfishness, Hrothgar tells Beowulf "he turned away from the joys of men, alone, notorious king, although mighty God had raised him in power, in the joys of strength, had set him up over all men" (4.4). In other words, a king's earthly power is only an illusion. The true power lies with God. Any "delight" that a man enjoys here on earth is achieved only through the grace of God.

There are also conflicted values between pride and humility. Beowulf is a man who boasts, yet he also has wisdom and humility. On the one hand Beowulf is reminded that pride will bring destruction: "…until his portion of pride increases and flourishes within him; then the watcher sleeps, the souls guardian; that sleep is too sound, bound in its own cares" (5.9). Yet it is that very pride and boastfulness that help make Beowulf a heroic warrior capable of achieving the greatest of deeds.

Bloomfield (1975) discusses how it is not until well into the medieval period that Christianity reached “…full bloom and the quality of heroic arrogance falls into disrepute.” (92) According to Bloomfield, it is Augustine's ideas that are seen in Beowulf, values that work to temper the heroic arrogance of the great warrior (94). The contradiction of pride and humility is a necessary qualifier for human virtue, one that Beowulf appears to achieve as a difficult balance, but an essential one nevertheless. This is the central lesson for Gawain in the tale of the Green Knight, where it is Gawain’s own struggles with human morality and ideal virtue that force him to find a balance between the two conflicting qualities. In the end it is Gawain’s humility and respect for the Green Knight that enable him to experience the full impact of his lesson.

At the end of “Further Celebration at Heorot,” Beowulf returns the sword which turned out to be useless in his battle with Grendel's mother. But instead of taunting Unferth, Beowulf praises the sword: "...in his words he found no fault at all with the sword's edge; he was a thoughtful man" (11.3).

Conclusion

Beowulf is a mix of two ideals: the heroic warrior of the pagans and the humble selfless servant of the Christians. In both roles Beowulf possesses the kinds of virtue that appeal to both pagan and Christian ideals. In Gawain and the Green Knight, the Christian ideals are subjected to tests of temptation, thus challenging the knight’s morality. In Beowulf, however, the hero is challenged on his capacity to remain balanced between pride and humility, and his ability to respond to the risks that come with excessive pride, versus the shame that accompanies cowardice. Interpreting these qualities of virtue require more than understanding them, but being to act in ways that make virtue the quality of human more than hero. In this way heroes are humanized in both the tales of Gawain, and of Beowulf.

Works Cited (3)

Jones, Gwyn. Kings, Beasts and Heroes. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.

Bloomfield, Morton W. "The Concept of the Hero in the Early Middle Ages," Concepts of the Hero in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Eds. Norman T. Burns & Christopher J. Reagan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975.

Beowul f , trans.