{"id":21126,"date":"2022-03-02T16:24:54","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T16:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ancient-literature.com\/?p=21126"},"modified":"2022-04-13T07:05:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T07:05:00","slug":"loyalty-in-beowulf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ancient-literature.com\/loyalty-in-beowulf\/","title":{"rendered":"Loyalty in Beowulf: How Does the Epic Warrior Hero Show Loyalty?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BeowulfLoyalty in Beowulf<\/strong> is an important theme, probably one of the key major themes<\/a> because of its importance to the culture during that period. Throughout the poem, Beowulf showed loyalty, and it is what drove him to be a hero.<\/p>\n

Together with this, there were other characters too who showed their loyalty to Beowulf. Read this to find out how Beowulf and the other characters showed loyalty.<\/p>\n

How Does Beowulf Show Loyalty?<\/h2>\n

Beowulf shows his loyalty by rushing to help the king of the Danes in their time of need, King Hrothgar<\/a><\/strong>. He arrived on the Danish shore, and he sent word to the king that he was ready to help him fight against the monster.<\/p>\n

The king remembers him, mentioning that Beowulf is \u201cHere to follow up an old friendship<\/em>,\u201d as quoted from the Seamus Heaney translation of the poem. Beowulf had some debt to repay to the king, due to his loyalty, he traveled across the sea, risking his life to help them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In this culture and time period, chivalry and the heroic code<\/a> were all important. Men needed to be strong, courageous, loyal, focused on honor, and fighting for what is right. Loyalty was one of the most important aspects of this code<\/strong>, and even if one wasn\u2019t blood-related to someone, they still should have been loyal. In this case, Beowulf came to help the Danes showing loyalty to their king King Hrothgar, however, even after fulfilling his duty, defeated Grendel\u2019s mother as well.<\/p>\n

Together with being loyal to the Danes, Beowulf kept his loyalty to the cause, which was to remove evil from the world. He insisted on helping the king so that they will, once again be free from a monster. However, achieving this loyalty brought him just what he wanted: honor and recognition for his achievements<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Beowulf Examples of Loyalty: Other Characters Are Also Loyal<\/h2>\n

Beowulf wasn\u2019t the only character in the poem who proved his loyalty<\/strong>; King Hrothgar is loyal as well as Grendel\u2019s mother, followed by Beowulf\u2019s soldier and kinsman, Wiglaf.<\/p>\n

King Hrothgar of the Danes is loyal because he was true to his word about rewarding Beowulf<\/strong> if Beowulf was successful. After Beowulf came to him with evidence of Grendel\u2019s death, the king granted him treasures to return to his own king. After a while, this king also gave parts of that treasure for Beowulf to keep.<\/p>\n

Another example of a loyal character is Grendel\u2019s mother. Even though she was an antagonist, illustrating her wild and dangerous side, she showed loyalty to her son by avenging his death<\/strong>. In Seamus Heaney\u2019s version of the poem, it says, \u201cBut now his mother Had sallied forth on a savage journey, Grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.\u201d She came to kill to avenge her son, but even so, she was sought out by Beowulf and killed.<\/p>\n

\"BeowulfFinally, one of the most loyal characters in the whole poem is <\/strong>Wiglaf<\/strong>, one of Beowulf\u2019s kinsmen<\/a> after he became king of his own land. At the end of his life, Beowulf came up against a dangerous dragon, and he told his men not to help.<\/p>\n

However, as his men saw that he was in need of their help, they fled in fear, but Wiglaf was the only one who stayed. He helped Beowulf defeat the dragon, watched his lord die, and got a crown as a reward<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Loyalty Quotes in Beowulf: Quoted Examples of Loyalty and Chivalry in Beowulf<\/h2>\n

Loyalty was part of the chivalric or heroic code<\/strong> in this period of time. It was so important that it is one of the major themes of Beowulf and comes up time and time again.<\/p>\n

Take a look at the following loyalty quotes in Beowulf<\/strong> from Seamus Heaney\u2019s version which show its importance to the story:<\/p>\n