Beowulf And The Rule Of Saint Benedict Analysis

Great leaders come once in a generation. Two tremendous examples of historical leadership come in the form of Beowulf and The Rule of Saint Benedict. Beowulf and The Rule of Saint Benedict provide clear depictions of ideal leaders and subjects.

Beowulf’s example of leadership, and the qualities of the Abbot described in The Rule of Saint Benedict share qualities, but are not the exact same. One aspect that is found in many successful leaders is humility. Beowulf exemplifies humility in his address to Hrothgar saying, “Health to Hrothgar”(Beowulf 17). Beowulf is putting aside his own pride and to honor the king of whom’s court he is in. The Rule of Saint Benedict devotes a whole chapter to the practice of humility, saying, “If we want to reach

Benedict declares that “unhesitating obedience” to a superior or God “comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all” (Benedict 29). Benedict draws a line between how one obeys and how much one loves Jesus Christ, like the saying, “slow obedience is disobedience”. Obedience may seem like an obvious quality of a servant, but it is simply the most important. Benedict also says that any monk that communicates with an “excommunicated brother” will receive the same punishment (Benedict 51). Benedict gives an example of breaking the rules and the punishment that goes with it. While Benedict tells how to be a good and loyal servant, Beowulf’s men provide an example of how not to be loyal and how not to respect one’s leader. Beowulf’s men run in terror as the dragon breaths fire on Beowulf. They run into the woods as Beowulf is attacked. Meanwhile, one loyal servant called Wiglaf runs to Beowulf’s aid stabbing the dragon in the belly as his hand was burned by the dragon. As Beowulf is dying from a venomous dragon bite, only one of his men is by his side,Wiglaf (Beowulf 95-97). Wiglaf displays the actions of a faithful servant by protecting his king, even though it brought harm to himself. Wiglaf stared death in the face for his leader and was willing to die out of respect and loyalty for Beowulf. Wiglaf provides an example of loyalty while his fellow soldiers did quite the opposite. The rest of

They are very similar in the fact that loyalty is valued heavily. In Beowulf’s society, however, fame and fortune are very important and are striving for. This shows a very masculine environment where men are determined doing their best in war and fighting as to impress others and to leave a legacy with their name. Benedict’s writing describes a very strict and ordered system in which proximity to God and how one does in the pursuit of God determine how successful someone is. Personal wealth and personal fame are of no importance and do not factor into anyone’s personal