Examples Of Flyting In Beowulf

While flyting, the exchange of verbal insults, occurs in Anglo-Saxon/Germanic texts such as, Beowulf, the trope also pertains to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and more specifically, to the Miller’s and Reeve’s Prologue. In Beowulf, the heroic motif is predominant in the conversation between Beowulf and Unferth insofar as their duel escalates from being a verbal exchange of past events to being a duel about defending and slandering one’s reputation. Similarly, the miller and the reeve engage in a flyting contest, but with a different intention. The miller, for instance, uses marital status as part of his technique to mock the Reeve because he orates a tale in which a marriage carpenter, which the reeve also happens to be, is a cuckold. Unlike

Beowulf’s and Unferth’s dispute, where their argument focuses on the heroic reputation of an individual, the miller and the reeve flyte to ridicule one another on the grounds of trivial things for entertainment as part of a story-telling game, which suggests that the adaptation of this heroic trope to non-heroic contexts inherently robs it of its heroic principle.
In a traditional flyting match, competitors tend to use vulgar language rather than meaningful evidence to discredit one another’s reputation.

However, heroic flyting depends on the nature of topics under discussion, meaning that contestants in a duel must provide evidence that strictly relate to martial performances, such as, courage, and loyalty. Beowulf, for instance, responds to Unferth’s slander by arguing how he had “never…heard/ of a harder night-fight” (Chickering, 575-6) when he fought multiple killer whales. Here, Beowulf emphasizes on his bravery as part of his evidence against Unferth. In other words, a participant’s content, in his evidence, as Carol Clover, states, “have to do with manly virtues: defeat of mighty adversaries, participation in military campaigns, [or] victory in contests of strength” (11). This also means that the same rule applies to the person initiating the duel—Unferth accuses Beowulf for losing a swimming contest, but nonetheless, (according to Beowulf,) it is an act of heroism. And so, another component that makes up heroic flyting is that both competitors must only present acts of valor as evidence against one another to win the

duel.
Furthermore, heroic flyting heavily relies on the participant’s credibility of his evidence rather than his expression of false rhetoric.

This means that heroic flyting concentrates on the usage of authentic material rather than ostensible information. As Carol Clover puts it, contestant’s must “articulate marshaling of superior evidence” (10) to make a negative impact on that person’s reputation. That is to say, in a heroic culture, a contestant must provide factual evidence, and not fabrications, to stain someone’s reputation. Unferth, for example, accuses Beowulf on the grounds that he, during his youth, had “tested sea-ways/ [and] risked [his life] on the deep” (Chickering, 508-9). Here, Unferth attempts to deflate Beowulf’s reputation by presenting genuine evidence of how ridiculously Beowulf took “pride” (Chickering, 508) in risking his life to win a swimming race as if the contest holds a similar value to fighting in a war, or slaying monsters/dragons. In other words, as Ward Park puts it, “the contestants are engaged in making assertions, which they intend as true statements (9).” Therefore, one key element in heroic flyting is having the participants use credible material against one another to win the

match.
Also, Heroic flyting depends on the setting of the verbal contest, and, even more importantly, the nature of its audience. In this way, winning a flyting contest in a heroic culture not only depends on which character provides “superior” evidence, but also the contestant’s strategic choice of setting will aid him because there are now other warriors judging the duel. Unferth, for example, does not flyte with Beowulf immediately following his arrival, but he deliberately waits until the Geatish warrior [takes his] seat,” inside Hrothgar’s mead-hall, making king Hrothgar the judge of their contest. Unferth’s decision to address Beowulf in a room full of warriors also increases the value of the contest because the winner will be praised, strengthening his reputation, while the loser will be denounced, reducing his heroic status. This means that a contestant initiating a heroic verbal duel has to be cautious of choosing an advantageous environment because his plan can easily backfire if he loses the duel. Unferth, for instance, confronts Beowulf inside a hall full of warriors, giving him the upper hand, but he loses the contest because the Geatish warrior provides exceptional evidence against him, making Unferth appear twice the fool. Thus, the aspects that make up heroic flyting are using evidence that strictly relate to heroic deeds or acts of valor, using factual evidence, meaning that the acts of valor must be real, and choosing a beneficial environment.
[G1] In the Canterbury Tales, the Miller and Reeve flyte because the miller orates a tale that humiliates the reeve, so that he can win the game of who can tell a tale with the “most solass” (Chaucer, GP 789), meaning with the most entertainment. However, because the pilgrims decide to take part in this game, the miller’s and reeve’s discussion escalates into a contest of who can satirize one another for the sole purpose of amusement similar to how Beowulf’s and Unferth’s recalling of events turns into a detesting conversation. The miller, for instance, ridicules the reeve on the grounds of marital status, as he says, “Leve brother Osewold,/ Who hath no wife, he is no cokewold./ But I sey nat therefore that thou art oon” (Chaucer, MT 3151-3). Here, the miller uses sex as one of his techniques to captivate the audience, so he can win the contest, which goes against the first convention of the heroic trope because contestants must only use testimonies relating to acts of honor.
[1] In addition, the miller does not follow the first principle of heroic flyting because he discusses petty topics, such as sex, to mock the reeve in their verbal exchange, whereas warriors, like Beowulf, for example, would use evidence that carries reputational value to stain a hero’s identity. The pilgrims’ contest is, as Ward Parks puts it, “ludic flyting [because the evidence] does not seem to bring with it any martial entailments (4).” In this way, their contest seems carry more of the traditional elements of flyting, which involves profanity, than one that takes place in a heroic culture. The miller’s and reeve’s flyting contest need not follow similar restrictions that define a heroic verbal duel because the trope is out of its own environment. This also means that the pilgrims have the freedom to literally use any topic of their choice, as long as that content entertains their audience—hence, the miller emphasizes on sex because it is the most interesting subject in the Middle Ages.
[2] Moreover, the miller does the follow the second principle of the heroic motif because it seems that his evidence is a fallacy as he does not provide supporting details in his statement, but rather uses his own theory to argue that married men, especially carpenters, are automatically cuckolds. This means that the Miller’s accusation is false, and therefore, their flyting contest does not follow the second the major element of the trope. In fact, the reeve confronts the miller on using false information to stain his reputation, as he states, “Stynt thy clappe!/…it is a…greet folye/ To apeyren any man, or hym defame” (Chaucer, MT 3144; 3146-7). Here, the reeve is aware of the miller’s usage of false evidence, but because he allows him to continue orating, the miller pushes the heroic set of principles further away from their duel, meaning the trope has a much lesser chance to develop within the Canterbury Tales. However, because the reeve confronts the miller for using such material, the second principle of the heroic trope has the possibility to fit into their verbal contest, meaning that the heroic trope can partially adapt to non-heroic texts. That is, the reeve’s interjection implies that contestants have the choice whether or not to use authentic evidence against one another, suggesting that the heroic trope can function outside its original framework, but only if the contestants have the desire to use such principle.