Beowulf Q&A

The warrior code of ancient Northern Europe encouraged warriors to find the most challenging opponents and establish a reputation for themselves. Society believed in living on after death through the fame of their deeds. Therefore Beowulf goes out in search of fame, and Treasure. His desire to seek Treasure was not necessarily one of material greed, because Treasure was an important social custom in addition to being an economic need. Hrothgar suggests that Beowulf has come out to aid him because Hrothgar had once paid off a sum

Unferth is an important warrior of Hrothgar’s court, and he feels threatened by the entry of a powerful outsider who intends to rid the people of a problem that Unferth has been unable to solve. His jealousy of Beowulf’s position compels him to taunt the warrior about a rumor he had heard. This also allows Beowulf to demonstrate his ability at boasting, which was an important skill for good warriors to have in addition to marital might.

Beowulf wins the largest hoard of treasure in the epic by defeating the dragon, and he pays for it with his life. Beowulf asks to see the treasure hoard with his dying breath, and he hopes that this large hoard will fame him ever-lasting fame and that it will be enough compensation for a people who have lost their king. These hopes are dashed by the poet immediately, as most of the treasure is believed to have deteriorated, and nearly all of it is buried with the dead warrior king. 

Grendel’s exact nature is never truly expressed, however his shape is established to be that of a man. His size is much larger than that of a man which is evidenced through the descriptions of his attacks, and the fact that four men have to carry his head back to the mead hall. We also learn that he is a descendant of Cain, who was cursed by God for the murder of his brother Abel. Scholars have also argued that Grendel represents the displaced people from wars instigated by kings like Hrothgar.