Theme: Germanic Heroic Code
Beowulf fighting Grendel's Mother
There are many themes in Beowulf, but i'll be talking about the Germanic Heroic code. The Germanic Code includes characteristics of a warrior such as strength courage, kinship, boasting, and loyalty. The three Germanic values i'll discuss are strength, courage and loyalty.
An important ability a warrior must have is strength, and this is portrayed in Beowulf through the three main battles. The first main battle is between Grendel, this beast who has terrorized the Danes for so many years, and Beowulf. Beowulf in this battle shows off his skills by defeating Grendel with just his fists! The second major battle is between Beowulf and Grendel's Mom, a nameless monster. Grendel's mother is out for revenge after her son has died in the hands of Beowulf, but Beowulf sets out to find her. When Beowulf has found Grendel's Mother, inside of a swamp, he immediately jumps into it in order to fight with the monster lurking in the swamp. Beowulf survives a stab to the chest and finds a sword from the ice giants, something a normal human being would never be able to wield. Beowulf proceeds to chop of Grendel's mothers head. That itself is impressive and when we add the fact that he was battling for 9 hours underwater, makes it even more impressive! The final major battle was between Beowulf, who at the time was around 70 years old and a dragon. Beowulf might be old but he still isn't weak, he manages to pull himself together and slice the dragon in half! With a dagger, not even a sword! Beowulf proves himself to be a warrior with an important element of the Germanic Heroic Code, strength.
An important ability a warrior must have is strength, and this is portrayed in Beowulf through the three main battles. The first main battle is between Grendel, this beast who has terrorized the Danes for so many years, and Beowulf. Beowulf in this battle shows off his skills by defeating Grendel with just his fists! The second major battle is between Beowulf and Grendel's Mom, a nameless monster. Grendel's mother is out for revenge after her son has died in the hands of Beowulf, but Beowulf sets out to find her. When Beowulf has found Grendel's Mother, inside of a swamp, he immediately jumps into it in order to fight with the monster lurking in the swamp. Beowulf survives a stab to the chest and finds a sword from the ice giants, something a normal human being would never be able to wield. Beowulf proceeds to chop of Grendel's mothers head. That itself is impressive and when we add the fact that he was battling for 9 hours underwater, makes it even more impressive! The final major battle was between Beowulf, who at the time was around 70 years old and a dragon. Beowulf might be old but he still isn't weak, he manages to pull himself together and slice the dragon in half! With a dagger, not even a sword! Beowulf proves himself to be a warrior with an important element of the Germanic Heroic Code, strength.
An epic hero isn't epic without courage, and luckily our hero Beowulf has got this. Courage is another element of the Germanic Heroic Code and is very well portrayed through out the story of Beowulf. When Beowulf was willing to help Hrothgar kill Grendel, he showed some serious guts. Then going into battle with Grendel and killing him with just his bare hands shows that he is EXTREMELY brave and worthy of a tittle as a warrior. The mere fact that Beowulf went in to fight a creature a whole nation couldn't fend off, showed Beowulf was truly fearless. An example which really showed Beowulf's determination was when he was going to fight the dragon. Beowulf at that time was old and weak, but he still is willing to go into battle with the dragon for the sake of his people. Beowulf also knows the fact that it'll be his last fight and that he'll die after this one last act, but Beowulf still goes into battle with an open heart. Beowulf portrays his courage and valor through his actions, showing he's got another aspect of the Germanic Heroic Code which is courage.
The last and one of the most component of the Germanic Heroic Code is loyalty. Loyalty is something that cannot be said through words, but only through actions. Beowulf for example shows his loyalty to the Danish king, Hrothgar. Beowulf shows this loyalty by fighting on side with Hrothgar regardless how dangerous and how impossible the fight might be. Beowulf always helped Hrothgar and never refused to help him.
An even better example of loyalty is of Wiglaf with Beowulf. In the last major battle Beowulf is injured while facing the dragon and when he asks for help, all of his comrades leave. Except for one. Wiglaf stays behind to help Beowulf when everyone else has left showing not only is Wiglaf very brave, but also very loyal. Wiglaf then goes onto to protecting Beowulf from the dragon's fire and carrying out Beowulf's final wishes. Wiglaf and Beowulf, both, show they are very loyal and have a very important characteristic, loyalty.
Beowulf is an all around warrior, he is strong, brave, and loyal making him a perfect warrior. Just like Beowulf, Wiglaf is also brave and loyal making him someone you can trust. Both of these warriors display the Germanic Heroic Code through their actions and portray characteristics like strength, courage and loyalty through out the story of Beowulf, making them epic heroes.