Examples of Family in Beowulf

Gift Giving

Identity

If the tribe pillages the enemy tribe, the leader of the attacking tribe will return his loyalty by giving gifts. Most of the time, the gifts were won in battle. These included but were not limited to, weapons, horses, women, and slaves.

In Beowulf, the male figures are referred to as "their father's son." In the story, they are unable to talk about themselves without bringing up their family lineage. Most people tried to live up to their ancestors accomplishments.The characters reputation also reflects their identity

Loyalty in Family

Between the tribes, the members are very loyal to each other, and the tribe.They never left anyone in their family behind. The members among the tribes had a very close relationship and would do anything to protect their family/tribe.

Peace Weavers.

In the Anglo-Saxon society, there were women called peace weavers. Peace weavers were women who were married to a member of an enemy tribe to create peace between them. If the marriages were successful, they were looked upon with great honor.

Importance of Family and Tribal allegiances

Family and tribal allegiances determine people's identities. Characters without a tribe are described as joyless, unhappy, and alone. Without their tribes, they sort of have nothing. To these men, their tribes are their everything. The tribes and their family complete them and if they lack them like Grendel and Heremod, they're described as incomplete

How the importance of tribes impacted the people

Children

The tribes were so important to the people to the point where they would cause numerous tribal feuds. To keep a strong tribe,you would have to have unconditional devotion to your tribe,meaning that you would defend it in every single way you could.This often caused battles. The importance of defense created a set of formal rules of vengeance (revenge) between the tribes

In the Anglo-Saxon society, no children were more important than others. Boys and girls were all equal. Girls were just mainly focused on things such as cooking and cleaning and boys were trained on hunting and providing.

Works Cited

"Beowulf Essay Help." Beowulf Essay Help. N.p., 29 Mar. 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://www.essayforum.com/writing-feedback-3/beowulf-essay-help-1691/>.

"Beowulf Essay." Hot Essays, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://hotessays.blogspot.com/2011/04/essay-on-loyalty-in-beowulf.html>.

Cory, Eleanor '12, "Bravery, Honor, and Loyalty as Morals InBeowulf" (2010). 2010 Fall Semester.Paper 3.

"Example Essays." Beowulf Essay. Example Essays, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/26385.html>.

"LitCharts | Beowulf: Themes." LitCharts | Beowulf: Themes. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

Streissguth, Thomas. "Themes in Beowulf." Understanding Beowulf. San Diego: Lucent, 2004. 72-87. Print.

Examples of Family in Beowulf