- Early Germanic society and the world of Beowulf both view swords as "a sign of wealth and symbol of rank" (Hall 10)
- "[T]he sword was an important heirloom, passed on from one generation to another, given, in some cases, at birth along with a name, or later as a token of man-hood” (Overling 44)
- Anglo-Saxon warriors would not have warn campaign ribbons or medals, but would acquire increasingly more valuable (i.e. more highly decorated) war-gear” (Overling 44)
- Hall states how the author’s strategic use in having Beowulf call the sword a hord at this given moment not only “magnifies the stature of the she-troll [Grendel’s mother] as an opponent” (18) but also “amps up the irony of it’s [the sword’s] unexpected failure” (18).
Swords and Weapons in Beowulf
Swords in all their material glory
(at the bottom of the hierarchy)
The Material and the Immaterial: Weapons and Their Representation in Beowulf
- Swords are simultaneously personified, objectified, and subverted in an unfailingly material form
- Swords appreciated as protective weapons for use in battle
- Association with dehumanizing and material descriptors such as “hard” and “iron” (321-30). - Swords become objectified and thus subverted in terms of both agency and power.
Olivia Maiorino Rikki Voskamp Sam Marriott
Some questions that arise are:
- Is Beowulf noble?
- Does he acquire weapons in a noble manner?
- Does he fulfill the responsibilities and obligation of nobility?
- And, is he worthy of the weapons he possesses?
Sword as 'hord'
Can you, my friend, recognize that sword, which your father bore into battle in his final adventure beneath the helmet […] Now here some son or other of his slayer walks across this floor, struts in his finery, brags of the murder and bears that treasure which ought, by right, to belong to you. (XXIX. 2045-2055)
A “hierarchy of weapons”
The Social Representation & Meaning of Swords in Beowulf
- “Hierarchy of weapons,” both material and immaterial
- Weapons -> God/wyrd, Beowulf, and swords
- Each is simultaneously personified, objectified, and subverted in the text so as to highlight the varying amounts of agency and power held by both material and immaterial weapons. These simultaneous processes provide the basis on which the aforementioned hierarchy of weapons is founded.
"As noble status passes from a father to his son, so too do the trappings of that status." - David C. Van Meter
Function of the Sword
Beowulf as a soul in relation to God
- “The sword functions as many signs, physical, visual and linguistic, within the poem: it is a gorgeous treasure prized for its beauty, a symbol of love or loyalty or shame, a reminder of the past, an incitement to future revenge, and much more” (Overling 37).
“The Ritualized Presentation of Weapons and The Ideology of Nobility in Beowulf” by David C. Van Meter
&
“Beowulf, Unferth and Hrunting: An Interpretation” by Geoffrey Hughes
- Beowulf’s material form, or physical body, controlled by God and wyrd but not to the same extent as immaterial form (i.e. soul)
- “…thirty / men’s strength, strong in battle, in his handgrip” (379-81)
- Provides agency through acquaintance with the physical body
Historical Context of the Sword
Personification of swords
Weapons &
Responsibilites of Nobility
- Repeated personification of swords counters objectification of swords by lending both agency and power
- Naming of certain swords, such as Hrunting and Naegling
- Hrunting “…as a good war-friend, / skillful in battle…” (1810- 11).
- Serves to lend power and characterize as separate material entities with agency of their own.
- Ultimate failure of both Hrunting and Naegling in battle serves to prove the inferiority of the material in comparison to the immaterial in the hierarchy of weapons
At the top of the hierarchy: God and wyrd
Sword as symbol
Immaterial weapons
Unferth:
"By the loan of Hrunting Unferth loses his glory" - Geoffrey Hughes
Beowulf
Weapons & Responsibilities
- The immaterial God and wyrd are the most powerful weapons in the hierarchy.
- Repeatedly presented as objectifying and subverting those weapons lower down.
- God as “Wielder of glory” (183).
- God’s ability to control wyrd, or fate:
- My hall-troop,
- my warriors, are decimated; wyrd has swept them away into Grendel’s terror. God might easily put an end to the deeds of this mad enemy! (476-79)
- “Wyrd often spares / an undoomed man, when his courage endures” (572-73).
The noblemen of Hrothgar:
* Does Beowulf use his weapons to fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of nobility?
Appearance of Swords
Beowulf's Accomplishments:
- Weapons include God and His manipulation of wyrd, as well as Beowulf, or more specifically Beowulf’s soul.
- OED definition of “weapon,” spelled wæpen in Old English: “An instrument of any kind used in warfare or in combat to attack and overcome an enemy.”
- Troublesome word: “instrument”
- “Holy God / in his Grace has guided him [Beowulf] to us… / against Grendel’s terror” (381-84).
- Conquered and killed Grendel & Grendel's mother
- Defeated the dragon
- Other feats
These men/warriors fail to assume the responsibility of nobility when they refuse to use their weapons to help Beowulf fight the dragon.
- “The sword might even substitute for its owner: in the Sutton Hoo burial where no body was found, a sword was laid in its place” (Overling 43)
- Hrunting specifically, "was iron, shining with serpent shapes, hardened with battle blood. Never in combat had it failed any man who wound hands round it, who dared undertake journeys of danger, enter the folk-field of battle. That was not the first time it had to carry out courage-work” (Hall 12).
- Swords "have richly decorated hilts… and bear twisting and branching patterns”(Hall 9).
- “Anglo-Saxon wills shows that swords were usually decorated with gold, not to mention spurs, musical instruments and ships' prows”(Overling 43)
- “the more carefully decorated and ornate are his sword-hilt and blade, the better the warrior, and vice-versa”
"I shall fulfill that purpose [of killing Grendel]...or meet my death here in the mead-hall" (line 636 and 638)
Intent:
Beowulf as a second-tier weapon
By examining David C. Van Meter, and Geoffrey Hughes’s articles on the social roles of swords and weapons in Beowulf, I intend to determine whether or not Beowulf is worthy of possessing his weapons.
Weapons and armour as artifacts
- God’s word as the sole factor in determining when and how an individual succumbs to mortality
- Allows for God’s control and use of Beowulf as a weapon, which in turn objectifies and subverts the latter.
- “…the great gift which God had given him, / the greatest might of all mankind…” (2181-82)
- Subverts Beowulf to a position of inferiority and subservience to God
- Provides Beowulf with the capability to perform heroic deeds
- Figurative double-edged sword!
- “I could not – the Creator did not wish it – / hinder his [Grendel’s] going…” (967-68).
- Weapons and armour used as a way of tracing lineage and the greater history of the Northern tribes.
- In particular, heroic deeds performed by various members.
- Description of Hrunting: “…it had never failed / any man who grasped it in his hands in battle…” (1460-61).
- Hrunting fails: “It was the first time / that the fame of that precious treasure had failed” (1527-28).
- Deeds performed in battle with the “fame[d]” weapon often involve the death of whomever wields it.
- Pervasiveness of the concept of mortality in tribal history, particularly in battle
- “The brave in battle will bid a tomb be built / shining over my pyre on the cliffs by the sea; / it will be as a monument to my people…” (2802-04).
Inferiority of the material compared to the immaterial
Material weapons and armour and their protective function
- Descriptors of weapons and armour, such as “bright,” “hard,” “iron” (321-30), and “gold” (303-04), associated with the elements, or the material.
- Use of a “boar-figure” (303) to describe both the helmets of Beowulf’s host and Heorot (308).
- Evokes the idea of “might” (1534), which indicates the primary role of weapons and armour in Beowulf as protective of the lives of heroic warriors.
- “…they [cheek-guards] guarded the lives / Of the grim battle-minded [Beowulf’s host]” (305-06).
- Ultimate failure of both Hrunting and Naegling in battle
- Proves the inferiority of the material in comparison to the immaterial in the hierarchy of weapons
- Personification of Hrunting and Naegling creates a parallel between swords and the mortal human.
- “Naegling shattered – / the sword of Beowulf weakened at battle, / ancient and gray” (2680-82).
- The destruction of Naegling in battle parallels the destruction of Beowulf, the wielder.