How Is Beowulf Loyal

Beowulf is a well-known Anglo-Saxon epic poem. Beowulf, the main character in the epic whose namesake, exemplifies many of the characteristics of an epic hero. He is knowledgeable, robust, and loyal to the people that he helps. By displaying bravery, honor, and loyalty, Beowulf reflects the beliefs, traditions, and values of Anglo-Saxon culture.

Beowulf displays bravery and strength by his actions in the fight with Grendel. When King Hrothgar tells Beowulf about Grendel, the monster who lurks in the marsh, he plans to defeat him. Beowulf displays bravery when he plans to defeat Grendel using only his bare hands. Grendel “[g]rasped at …[the] strong-hearted wakeful sleeper” (Beowulf line 188), Beowulf, and he vigorously grips Grendel’s arm.

When Grendel attempts to flee, Beowulf reveals the degree of his raw strength by maintaining a vice grip on Grendel’s arm until “the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, [and] muscle and bone split” (lines 257-258).
In addition to showing his bravery and strength when he fights Grendel, Beowulf also shows his bravery and strength when he fights Grendel’s revenge-seeking mother.

Grendel’s mother kills King Hrothgar’s advisor, and Beowulf comes back defeat her. Showing no fear, Beowulf bravely goes straight into the water that Grendel’s mother is in. She drags “him, armor and sword and all” (lines 377-378) through the water in the marsh to her den. Beowulf shows his bravery by not fleeing as many others would. During the ensuing battle, Beowulf displays his strength when he grabs a massive sword that was “hammered by giants, strong and blessed with their magic” (lines 430-431). Beowulf effortlessly lifts the gigantic sword above his head and plants the sword into the neck of Grendel’s mother. Additionally, Beowulf shows even more of his strength when he finds the corpse of Grendel, beheads it and swims all the way to shore while holding it in his hand like a

football.
After defeating Grendel’s mother, the brave Geat’s final and most impressive display of strength and bravery is in his fight with the dragon.

The brave and noble Beowulf comes out of retirement when word gets around that “a dragon awoke from its darkness” (line 472). This presentation of bravery is the most impressive because Beowulf is eighty years old when he fights and defeats the dragon. Beowulf says that he will fight the dragon if “the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face…[him]” (lines 487-488). Wiglaf also shows bravery when he runs into the tower to help Beowulf and just narrowly missing the dragon’s breath that would have turned him into a pile of ashes. Beowulf shows pure strength when he breaks his sword after impaling the dragon. Beowulf displays bravery when he continues to fight after the dragon bites him on the neck. Because of his strength and bravery, Beowulf never backs down from a challenge which is a quality that the Anglo-Saxons encouraged among their

people.
In addition to the story displaying bravery and strength, Beowulf also displays honor and, the most important Anglo-Saxon value, loyalty. Beowulf honors both his king, King Higlac, and Grendel when he decides to fight Grendel with no weapons after he learns that Grendel “needs no weapons and fears none” (line 143). In contrast, Grendel shows a lack of honor when he came up to one of the sleeping Geats, “ripped him apart …[and] cut his body to bits with powerful jaws” (lines 181-182). In Anglo-Saxon society, most people consider killing someone in an unfair way is dishonorable. Beowulf shows honor when he says that he would “use no sword, no weapon, of this beast [the dragon] could be killed without it, crushed to death like Grendel, gripped in …[his] hands and torn limb from limb” ( lines 493-494). Even in his old age, he thinks it is fair that he does not have a weapon if his enemy does not have one. The only thing that made Beowulf want to use his weapon was the fact that the dragon had venom that it could use to poison him. Wiglaf, the son of Wexstan, shows honor when he stays and fights with Beowulf while the other soldiers flee uttering the words, “my sword will fight at your side” (line 591). Beowulf earns Wiglaf’s honor because Beowulf has given his family armor and wealth.
Beowulf, Wiglaf, and Grendel’s mother all show loyalty throughout the story. Beowulf shows loyalty to King Hrothgar by not only defeating Grendel but returning to defeat Grendel’s mother. Beowulf says that his “duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king” (lines 125-126). Beowulf’s loyalty even goes as far as putting his life on the line to kill Grendel. If Beowulf would not have stopped Grendel from snatching him, Beowulf could have died. Beowulf is also loyal to his people when he becomes king. He defeats the dragon because he knows that they would live in fear if he did not. Grendel’s mother shows loyalty to her son by putting her life on the line to avenge him. She comes out of the comfort of her den and swims to the surface of the water just to defeat her son’s killer. Wiglaf shows loyalty to Beowulf by following his instructions on what to do with the gold instead of being greedy and keeping it all for himself. Wiglaf also does what Beowulf wishes when he has the “brave Geats [to] build …[Beowulf] a tomb” (line 694). The loyalty that Wiglaf displays makes him similar to Beowulf in many ways.
Stories like Beowulf were based off the beliefs, values, and traditions of the Anglo-Saxon people. Characters such as Beowulf and Wiglaf were created not only to entertain the Anglo-Saxon people but also to teach children values. The heroic code of Anglo-Saxon society was possibly a major influence on the creation of Beowulf. Along with the Iliad and the Odyssey, Beowulf is a prime example of Anglo-Saxon morals.