Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxon Hero Essay

Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxon Hero

A hero is a person of prominent courage who has exceptional traits and abilities, who is admired for having these aspects of their personality and for brave and noble acts. An Anglo-Saxon hero is a person who has good leadership traits, is capable and ready to give people a feeling of security, and is prepared to go into danger regardless of probable harm. Anglo-Saxon heroes usually are kings or thanes because of distinguished personalities exceeding others, by doing good to benefit others rather than to benefit oneself. One has to be willing to put their own life on the line for the benefit of others. The epic poem, Beowulf, has been handed down as an oral tradition for many years. Burton Raffel translated the poem which one may read today. In this poem, there is an Anglo-Saxon hero. An Anglo-Saxon hero must acquire many traits, such as, one must covet material possessions to enrich the tribe, have courage that leads to fame and immortality, and one must be modest, admits mistakes and knows limitations. There are several heroic characteristics, all of which Beowulf possesses. Killing Grendel, Grendels mother, and defeating the dragon are all Beowulfs achievements in becoming a king and a hero.

One characteristic Beowulf possesses is to enrich the tribe by coveting material possessions. No Dane doubted/The victory, for the proof, hanging high/From the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monsters/Arm, claw and shoulder and all(123-126). In this example, Beowulf takes the arm and shoulder and hangs it from the rafters to show the tribe that Grendel is dead and the tribe can go back to living normal lives with no worries. Order my troop to construct a barrow/on a headland on the coast, after my pyre has cooled./It will loom on the horizon at Hronesness/crews under sail/will call it Beowulfs Barrow, as they steer/ships across the wide and shrouded waters(419-425). In this example Beowulf orders a barrow be built after he is cremated to be a reminder to the people of his accomplishments and his loyalty to his tribe. The barrow will enrich the tribe by letting them know if it was not for Beowulf, the tribe might not have survived.

Beowulf also posses the characteristic of being modest; he admits his mistakes and knows what his limitations are. He says, I would rather not/use a weapon if I knew another way/to grapple with the dragon and make good my boast(277-279). With this being said by Beowulf, one can see that he prefers not to use a weapon, yet he knows he cannot fight the fire breathing dragon with his bare hands, no matter how much he would like to be able to add it to his accomplishments. The hammered links held; the point/Could not touch him. Hed have traveled to the bottom of the earth,/Edgethos son, and died there, if that shining/woven metal had not helped...(235-238). Beowulf knows his limitations and realizes that if it is not for his woven metal vest, he will die that day. Even though Beowulf wants to be boastful and courageous, he has to be modest and know his limitations, if not the tribe will never be rescued from Grendel.

One can see that Beowulf fits the traits of an Anglo-Saxon hero. He shows that he is boastful and yet he realizes his limitations and mistakes. One can see his physical strength when he takes the sword from the wall that was described that no ordinary man could lift it. At the end of the battle with the dragon, Beowulf basically hands over the gold and crown to Wiglaf, his one true follower, proving his fairness and generosity. Beowulf never questions his duties and responsibilities as a hero for his tribe, he continues fighting monsters and continues to achieve great heroic deeds.