Beowulf Symbolism

During the time of the poem Beowulf, years 450 - 1066, Germanic tribes ruled Great Britain. They were heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, which became a factor in their writing. Throughout the poem it is obvious were later authors inputted their own religious views. But the more significant topics of the poem are the swords and armor they used, Cumitatus, and "glory before death" and how they all relate to how heroic their warriors were. The sword and the armor were both very symbolic and significant objects in the poem Beowulf. The sword is more than just a weapon and the armor more than protection, in Beowulf it represents a family line of heros. They were physical representations of elder warriors who have passed on. "Then the king …show more content…
70 line 2810). The purpose of this quote was to make clear how important a set of armor was to their people. It's physical value probably would have been a lot, but Wiglaf had just found large mounds of treasure, so Wiglaf didn't need any more money. The point was to show that this suit of armor was more than monetarily significant it was symbolically significant. That Beowulf giving Wiglaf his old suit of armor meant that he thought he was better then the other warriors, that he might be fit to be the next King of the Danes. Another example of the significance of the sword and armor was when "Weohstan kept the war-gear for a lifetime the sword and the mail-shirt until it was time for the son's turn to follow his father and perform the part" (p. 66 line 2620 ). This is again significant in showing that an entire family line is passed down through …show more content…
This mentality is of the mindset that all warriors know that they are going to die, so before they die they must prove them selves. "Sorrow not, wise warrior, it is better for a man to avenge his friend than much mourn. Each of us must await his end of the worlds life. Let him who may get glory before death: that is best for the best for the warrior after he is gone from life" ( p 37. Line 1385). This is saying that he will inevitably die but as long as he proved himself before he died all will be right in his own world. He is also saying that people should not mourn him when he dies because will have accomplished his "glory before death". An Beowulf really did accomplish his glory before death by defeated the dragon "Once again the king gathered his strength and drew a stabbing knife he carried on his belt, sharpened it for battle period he stuck it deep in the dragons flank. Beowulf dealt it a deadly wound, they had killed the enemy" (p. Line 1701). This quote is showing that Beowulf finally accomplished is Glory before death" because he was the one who killed the dragon. The mighty beast that was his largest challenged, the one who killed him, He was also able to kill it. This is important because it made him a true hero in the eyes of his people. He lived by the sword and he died by the sword, meaning that he devoted his life to keeping the Danes protected and he believed