Comparing Beowulf's Honor In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

In both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the heroes of these stories must face supernatural enemies to become heroic, and when the deeds or honor is called into question, the heroes are either quick to redirect the situation back in their favor or accept the consequences. For Beowulf, he chooses not to raise an army to defeat the dragon because he relies on the strength he had as a young man though he is now much older. For Sir Gawain, though he continues on a quest to find a man that might just kill him and considered noble for doing so, he is not completely honest with his host which later comes back to shame him. Both men value their honor and how people perceive them above self-safety and in some sense, forethought.

In Beowulf,

there are many codes of honor being established at the same time.When Beowulf hears of Hrothgar being terrorized by a monster for twelve years, he wants to aid in defeating the monster. Being a young warrior at the time, he would have most likely needed permission to go about this task, which the “elders” gave him.The following lines expresses this:
He summoned and stocked a swift wave-courser,
And swore to sail over the swan-road
As one warrior should for another in need.
His elders could find no fault with his offer,
And awed by the omens, they urged him on. (Beowulf, lines 171-175)
After getting permission from the elders to aid another country, plus the words “as one should” senses an obligation of sorts that is trusted upon the able bodied. There is a duty to help those who need it, and you will be rewarded properly. Also, Beowulf is excited for this journey. “He was keen to embark: he keel was beached/ under the cliff where sea-currents curled/ surf against sand; his soldiers were ready.” (Beowulf, lines 179-181). There is an essence of a strong, young man in him and he has not only the belief in himself, but also from his people, that he can accomplish the goal at hand.
When Hrothgar accepts Beowulf’s aid, he passes it a little bit off like a returned favor from Beowulf’s father.

The “one I scratched your back, now you scratch mine” rather than be upfront and accept the fact that there is a major issue which the king himself is unable to contain and needs outside assistance. This eases a bit of a blow to the ego, an meanwhile, Beowulf is obviously going to be rewarded. That night, a man named Unferth tries to discredit Beowulf’s strength by sharing a story of how he lost a swimming race when he was younger. Beowulf corrects Unferth by unfurling the whole truth, and blames this dishonest behavior on drinking too much, which saves Unferth a little face. Questioning a man’s honor, especially a guest, is wrong and shameful and the man “attacked” has the right to fix the

issue.
Another standard of honor is also played in this. Beowulf is going to get revenge on the demon that killed Hrothgar’s (and his) men. It is a code among warriors that implies a death for a death is just and honorable. We see this several times in the story, most notable though, when the mother of Grendel, the demon killing the Danes and is later killed due to a fatal wound given by Beowulf, comes to avenge her son’s death. This is worth taking note of due to the fact that in a warrior society, what she is doing isn’t implicitly wrong. However, she is considered an evil and fuels the feud further by taking Hrothgar’s most trusted man. Beowulf conquers the sea-witch and the dangers that come along with her. He rights the wrong, and returns home. However, he is further compensated and upon arrival, gives his king and queen the majority of his treasures out of respect.
Fastword fifty years or so and Beowulf is a wise and just ruler.

The people are happy and peaceful, until a dragon under the earth is woken up by a thief stealing from his hoard. Unable to find the thief, the dragon is throwing a fatal temper tantrum and burning everything down. Beowulf, finds the thief and demands to know where the dragon lies. Still trusting in himself, he only takes twelve other people with him instead of raising an army. He does not go into the depths of the cave like he had with the sea-witch, but instead forces the dragon to battle him outside. Honestly, going into the cave, especially if he felt his death was imminent, would have been the smarter option because at least the dragon is stuck under the ground and can’t fly off to gain advantage. Still, it shows that he is not going to charge into battle anymore. The battle ensues, everyone but one, Wiglaf, runs away after Beowulf engages. Wiglaf hits the side, Beowulf is bitten, but deals the final and fatal blow. Before Beowulf dies, however, he passes the torch onto Wiglaf by giving him his heirlooms since he had no

children.
Wiglaf is upset with the ten people that ran away because when word spreads that they were cowards that ran from battle, and Beowulf, their protector, died, now their country is ripe for invasion and they brought dishonor themselves.