Selflessness In Beowulf

Throughout the stories of Beowulf, Lanval, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Wife of Bath’s the concept of love is clearly shown through acts of selflessness, passion, and loyalty, love comes in many definitions, such as love to another person or love to a country.
The act of being selfless is one of the biggest parts of loving something or someone. In Beowulf we see how he puts his country’s needs over his own. Beowulf dedicates his life to protecting others and being a good king. Beowulf could have easily walked away from that life, after all he is human and as the year goes by the thrill of fighting will fade and any human would crave a normal life. However, Beowulf has love for his country and his people and he continues on until his death, when he goes to fight the dragon that has been tormenting his country, …show more content…
2511-2514). Throughout this all his men flee (Ll. 2596-2599) and he is left alone with all but one person (Ll.2599-2603), and he fights with all he has left and practically gives his life for the safety of the people. In Lanval the biggest act of selflessness would be when the fairy shows up to save him from death (Ll. 615- 624). The fairy was in no way obligated to show up to save Lanval, the rules of their relationship were clearly stated and he broke them yet her love for him was so much that she puts her pride and rules aside and forgives him for his mistake, because she couldn’t have any harm come to him (Ll. 618-619). She came to him when he most needed her, she simply could not just abandon him for the mistake he made. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain’s love for his king is shown when he gets up to fight in place of the king so no harm would come to him. The knight is described as “a mountain of a