The works of numerous authors provide a passage into the state and structure of a certain time period. Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman culture often excluded women and praised only the accomplishments of men. With patriarchy overpowering the social order, where was the place for women? Throughout history, misconstrued perceptions followed women from the matter of their real lives into their portrayals in literature. These perceptions varied from looking at women as monstrous, misogynistic creatures to insignificant and submissive. Both the epic poem, Beowulf, and the Breton lai, Lanval, challenge the traditional stereotype of women in society. Hrothgar’s wife, the Queen of Danes, plays not a vital part in the epic poem, Beowulf. Wealhtheow is
