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The Code of Honour Described in Beowulf

Beowulfis the longest and oldest heroic-poem. It was written probably in the 8 th

or 9th century in a Germanic language, known nowadays as Old English, although it has

very few in common with this language. It resembles more to German or even with Latin.Reading this poem, I was very impressed by the life people had back then,

especially by their rules, which were sacred to them. Their apparently simple life was led

by strong beliefs which held them together and helped them protect themselves. I wasalso surprised by the fact that they put honour in front of anything and they treated even

their enemies with respect.

I first thought that Beowulfwas a heroic poem, which described the heroic deeds

of a Swedish prince, who was supposed to have lived in the 6th century. I took a closerlook and I came to the conclusion that this poem gives us an image of a pagan Germanic

society, governed by a code of honour, in which the most important thing was the

attainment of a good reputation. I think that this is the reason why Beowulf comes to the

king of Danes and offers to help him capture Grendel.The pagans didnt believe in the after life but they were sure that your heroic

deeds are the guarantee that no one will ever forget you and you will live forever in thememory of your descendants. This idea is expressed by the anonymous author through

Beowulf, in the 2nd chapter (lines 1384-89) when he talks to Hrothgar:

"Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better

to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.For every one of us, living in this world guides their lives

means waiting for our end. Let whoever can

win glory before death. When a warrior is gone,

that will be his best and only bulwark.

This code of honour was extremely important and I think we could associate it to

the Bible. We, Christians, guide our lives after the Bible. The pagans who lived in that

period guided their existence after this code of honour, in which the most importantthings were courage, loyalty, good reputation.

Courage and heroism are mentioned from the first lines, when the author

describes the Danes and their warrior kings(lines 1-3)

So. The Spear-Danes in days gone byand the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.

We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.

Loyalty is presented as a very important aspect. The warriors were bounded to beloyal to their king as long as they lived. They had to respect him and protect him with the

price of their lives. In the poem, Beowulf talks about loyalty when he expresses his

opinion about the Danes in the first night spent there(lines 1928-29). He talks about

sincerity and loyalty and thus we can deduce that these two were very important:

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Here each comrade is true to the other,

loyal to lord, loving in spirit.

As I mentioned above, fame or good reputation was the most important thing in

ones live. All warriors were glory-hunters and all thanes had to help their master toobtain it. This is why Beowulf is left to wrestle alone with Grendel and then with his

mother.

It was important because it was the direct ticket to immortality. The hero wouldlive in the hearts of his companions, of his family, of his descendants. The glory of one

member of the family would also provide fame for the others. If your ancestors were

famous for their acts of bravery you would immediately be seen with other eyes.

A good proof for this are the words of Whealtheow, the wife of Hygelac (lines1221-24):

You have won renown: you are known to all men

far and near, now and forever.Your sway is wide as the wind's home,

as the sea around cliffs.

In conclusion, I can say that, without a doubt, Beowulf is a story about the long

and hard way to achieve the respect of your fellow creatures in a wild and cruel world, in

which the strongest survive. It is a story about wining immortality; a story about honour,bravery, respect and loyalty as the most important things in human life. Beowulf is,

without a doubt, a lesson for us all. It teaches each and every one of us to fight for justice,

to fight for our life and for the lives of our loved ones. Last but not least, it teaches us toface the monsters in our lives.

Iulia Cmpeanu

1st year, Romanian-English 1