Wiglaf vs. Unferth in Beowulf

Wiglaf vs. Unferth in Beowulf

In the heroic poem Beowulf, not only does Wiglaf demonstrate the importance of heroism to society and the necessity of loyalty to one’s kinsman and lord, but he also sets the context of the final part of the poem. Unferth, on the other hand, presents a rude challenge to the hero, which is not without precedent in heroic poetry, and thus becomes in the eye of the audience a sort of villainous type. Let us consider the more noble of the two first.

As Beowulf readers, we all know that at the most crucial point in the story, when the hero’s life is being challenged by the dragon to an extent that it has never been threatened before, the one loyal thane who comes through to help the hero is Wiglaf.:

The hoard-guard took heart,

his belly swelled with fierce new hissing.

Enveloped in flames, he who earlier

had ruled his people felt keen pain.

But not at all did the sons of nobles,

hand-picked comrades, his troop stand round him

with battle-courage: they fled to the wood

to save their lives. Only one

felt shame and sorrow. Nothing can ever

hold back kinship in a right-thinking man.

He was called Wiglaf, Weohstan’s son,

a worthy shield-bearer, Scylfing prince, (2593ff.)

Why is Wiglaf here called a “Swedish prince”? George Clark in his “Traditions and the Poem,” says that the Waegmundings, to whom both Beowulf and Wiglaf belonged, had both Geatish and Swedish affiliations (35). Beowulf apparently restored the rights and patrimony of Wiglaf among the Geats.

kinsman of Aelfhere; saw his liege-lord

tortured by the heat behind his battle-mask.

He remembered the honors that he gave him before,

the rich homestead of the Waegmunding clan,

the shares of common-land that his father had held,

and he could not hold back. His hand seized the shield,

yellow linden-wood; he drew his sword,

known to men as Enmund’s heirloom, (2604ff.)

In “The Old Kings” George Clark explains how Wiglaf makes the scene in Beowulf:

Wiglaf emerges from a shadowy troop of Geatish warriors who accompany Beowulf to the dragon’s lair. . . .Though he enters the story abruptly, Wiglaf becomes Beowulf'’s one faithful follower. . . . Wiglaf is described as a son of that famous warrior Weohstan, who played a significant role in the dynastic wars of the Swedes and Geats.