Who Is Unferth's Loyalty In Beowulf

Beowulf Essay

In the epic poem, Beowulf, the reader sees that there are even cowards in tales of legendary heroes. These cowards, however, do show some compassion towards others. Unferth, a companion to Beowulf is shown as a capable warrior, but prideful to a fault. Unferth’s fear wins out to his loyalty and morals to his leader, Beowulf. His pride and resentment toward Beowulf also serves as fuel to his abandonment later on. He does show some morality when he lends his sword to Beowulf. This event is the opening to others proving their worth like Wiglaf did.

Loyalty is a key part of any story, but most crucial to medieval tales of knights and mythical creatures. Beowulf’s men were/are loyal to him until they were reminded of their mortality. His men abandon him in his

greatest time of need. The true crime was that his men broke their promise to always repay him for his protection, friendship, and kindness. Line 713, “As a good man must, what kinship should mean.” This shows that Unferth and all the other men forewent their oaths unlike Wiglaf. Unferth shows his disloyalty by being one of the first men to run in the battle. He completely forgets all that he pledged to Beowulf, and how he would help him when he needed it the most. Line 709,” came to him, helped him, his brave and noble followers; they ran for their lives.” This shows that fear overcame any promises that Beowulf’s men may have made. This is a true betrayal of loyalty.
Unferth’s pride at being second best to his leader caused him to feel jealousy even when he had everything.

His arrogance clouds his judgment when he downplays the many deeds that Beowulf accomplished. Unferth attempts to boast of his own accomplishments in the field, but they fail to hold a candle to Beowulf’s own. He is angered by this, but gives up trying to be acknowledged by his peers. Lines 590-593, “The facts, Unferth, if you were truly as keen and courageous as you claim to be Grendel would never have got away.” Beowulf puts Unferth in his place. Beowulf is a foil for anything Unferth tries to do, but he does it with good intentions that let him see the error of his ways.

Unferth does show some good morals, even at an impromptu time. Unferth only lends his sword Hrunting, when Beowulf is in grave danger. The reader can see a spark of humanity in Unferth, but not enough to really change opinion. Line 465, “I shall shape glory with Hrunting, or death will hurry me from this earth!” Unferth shows true irony with his comrades when he mourns the loss of Beowulf. Beowulf’s men honor his death, but not the promise they made. This shows the irony of what the band of men stood for while

travelling.
The tale of Beowulf ultimately shows who the heroes are and who the cowards are. Beowulf is the foil to Unferth’s boast while at the same time showing how to be more humble. Unferth sees what a true hero should be like when Beowulf bravely dies with honor and the love of his men. Unferth is not to be hated in the poem, but to be an example to be the better man and not to be arrogant. He is a good character to connect with in real life situations which helps the reader see the story in a more realistic light.