The Motif Of Chain Mail In Beowulf

The poet uses the motif of chain mail to characterize Beowulf as a high class fighter, but also as a vulnerable man. Mail shirts are mentioned throughout, mostly during battle scenes. Chainmail is made up of many fine links and takes many hours to create, thus only those with money could afford it. The poet utilizes both this denotation and connotation to show that Beowulf embodies the Anglo Saxon value of status. The main purpose of mail shirts is to protect the wearer. Despite possessing the strength of thirty men, Beowulf wears a mail shirt on most occasions. This demonstrates that while he is powerful and godlike in many respects, he is still a vulnerable and mortal man. With Beowulf in particular, the use of the mail shirt foreshadows

that he will be in need of the protection. He faces Grendel “weaponless, unafraid” (44), without any armor, showing that his strength alone is enough to fight this monster and he will not need to use any of the usual protection. However, when he goes to fight the dragon, he wears a “mail shirt on his breast” (102). Beowulf only uses the mail shirt when fighting with a monster mightier than him, and thus the use of the chainmail when entering his final fight helps to foreshadow his death. Through the use the motif of chainmail, the poet characterizes Beowulf as a complex character, mighty and powerful enough to fight a terrifying monster unprotected as well as of high status, but also vulnerable and mortal, just as everyone is.
The poet uses patrilineage to portray the importance of status through family to the Anglo Saxons.

Because of this, characters, particularly warriors and royalty, are commonly introduced using both their name and the name of their father. When Beowulf first introduces himself to the watchman of the Danes, he says “My father/Was a famous soldier… His name was Edgetho” (31). Anglo Saxons valued their father’s name as it was a way to show status based on what one’s predecessors had done. In a world before last names, patrilineage was often used to keep track of who was related to who. After meeting Beowulf, Hrothgar announces that he knew Beowulf through distant relations; “His father/Was Edgetho, who was given Hrethel’s one daughter﹣Hrethel, Higlac’s father” (35). Hrothgar says this to validate Beowulf to his followers. The poet uses this diction to demonstrate that no matter how confusing the lineage or relation is, one’s patrilineage still mentioned and crucial for understanding. Even when the father’s name or origin does not help the warrior gain status, the name is still used. In Wiglaf’s case, his father was of Swedish origin, which would not have helped a warrior of the Geats. However, his father’s name is still given as he is introduced: “His name was Wiglaf, he was Wexstan’s son” (104). This is said even before proclaiming that he was “a good soldier” (104). Though in this case, the soldier’s patrilineage does not help him gain status, it is still used. This

demonstrates that the name of one’s father is important even if it brings no personal gains. Through the motif of patrilineage used throughout, the poet clearly shows that it was an important aspect of the Anglo Saxon culture.
In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the character Albus is portrayed as an epic hero, despite being an outsider and not well liked to demonstrate that anyone can be a hero.

Over the course of the play, Albus completes the archetypal hero cycle. His call to action comes in the form of a plea for help from a stranger. Delphi asks indirectly asks Albus to bring her cousin back from the dead by changing the course of time. Once he hears this, Albus is set into action, advancing to the next step. He gains a follower by recruiting his best, and only, friend, Scorpius, who reluctantly agrees to tag along. Once, Albus and Scorpius make their plan, they cross the threshold by exiting through a train window and immediately face their first task. The trolley lady confronts them on the roof of the train and transforms into a sort of monster. Once they get past her, Albus and his companion face many other tasks ranging from a fight with a bookcase to attempting to change one aspect of the past without destroying the world as they know it. Eventually, after the tests have all been tackled and mostly go wrong in some way, they discover that Delphi has been deceiving them all along and is actually evil. Upon this realization, the two teens get their parents and other adults involved through another test, and prepare for the epic battle, going back to the day when Harry’s parents were killed. They wait for Delphi to appear and once she does, she gains the upper hand over the adults.

However, at the last minute, Albus steps in and saves the day. They return home and both Albus and Scorpius gain what they desired most, the understanding and acceptance of their fathers. This makes Albus, and Scorpius too in some ways, the epic hero of this story. This creates the idea that someone who from the outside has all the characteristics of an outcast, socially isolated and misunderstood, can become the hero of their own story.