Hero/Warrior Culturein Beowulf and Other Myths

David Tang and Peter Wilson

“Beowulf ... clearly belong[s] to a subset of the overall Indo-European sword-hero complex. Moreover, [he] also share[s] at least some elements in common with figures belonging to other subsets of that complex.”

- C. Scott Littleton

Premise

• Beowulf and his story largely follow common archetypes

•However, Beowulf’s Anglo-Saxon warrior culture is different from cultures seen in other myths.

• As a result, Beowulf is different from the warrior-heroes seen in other stories

Cultural Differences

• In many ways, Beowulf, along with the Anglo-saxon expectations of him, epitomizes the familiar hyper-masculine, brazen heroo Strength and ability in battleo Importance of boastingo Binarism “(I will do x or die)” (Morey 487).

After all, isn’t this what you think of when you picture Beowulf?

Cultural Differences

•However, Beowulf’s role in the community seems to be more complexo Acts as “peace-weaver” through his actions

to promote good relationship between tribes (Morey 486) “[F]ulfills his society’s idealized feminine role”

(Morey 486). Role as king includes great generosity, satisfying

his subjects (e.g.Hrothgar’s use of Heorot)

Cultural Differences

• Beowulf is, in many ways, a traditional “sword hero” of mythologyo “Beowulf [is] not only [a] refle[x] of a common Indo-

European sword-hero tradition, but also of a subset of that tradition that tells of a hero's descent to a netherworld to slay a non-draconic monster and/or its mother, one or both of whom are threatening the survival of the hero's community” (Littleton 6).

Individual Differences

• Botho Come from afar

Theseus from Troezen Beowulf of the Geats

o Enter dangerous and underground realms Theseus: most known for success in labyrinth Beowulf: Grendel’s mother’s cave and the dragon’s

lairo Slay ravenous monsters with magical swords

Theseus: the Minotaur Beowulf: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon

Similarity to Theseus

• Beowulf is an interesting combination of brutish and sensibleo Often acts more than cerebral heros like Theseuso Still acts with underestimated tact and shrewdnesso “The most accomplished binarist in the poem …

Beowulf is also aware of the often agonizing circumstances of coming to a decision” (Morey 487).

Individual Differences

Morey, Robert. “Beowulf’s Androgynous Heroism.” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 95:4 (Oct. 1996): 486-96. JSTOR. Database. 10 Oct. 2013.

Littleton, Scott. “Theseus as an Indo-European Sword Hero, with an Excursus on Some Parallels between the Athenian Monster-Slayer and Beowulf.” The Heroic Age1.11 (May 2008): Web. 10 Oct. 2013. <http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/11/littleton.php>

Sources