The Heorot
Beowulf is the story of a hero who aides King Hrothgar in his quest to defend his prized possession, the Heorot. This origins of the Heorot are relatively unknown, only that Hrothgar built it in order to display his immense wealth and power. Questions have been raised as to who influenced the Danish architecture of the Heorot and where the Heorot could have potentially been located. The Heorot had many grand exterior features to display its importance and significance. The building also had very luxurious and eloquent interior design to impress its visitors and display Hrothgar’s wealth. The grand exterior and impressive interior indicate that the Heorot must have a high social importance. The Heorot withstood a duel between Grendel …show more content…
It is thought “Hrothgar built the Heorot to celebrate his victories and became known as the healaerna maest,”Greatest of halls” and became the foremaerost…recede under roderum, “the most famous building under the heavens,” (Wentersdorf, 2007). The Heorot was built to show off Hrothgar’s wealth he had obtained in battle. The Heorot itself was built similarly to Germanic and Anglo-Saxon secular halls, “Just as timber construction was the dominant material in actual Anglo-Saxon hall construction, the main fabric of Heorot is wood. Although its material would not be in question for Anglo-Saxon audiences - since Anglo-Saxon secular halls (like halls in Germanic tradition more widely) were indeed made of wood,” (Garner, 2010). This further illustrates the close relationship and influence the Germans and other areas had on Denmark. In addition to being constructed out of wood, the Heorot exhibits “architectural ideals evidenced in Anglo-Saxon architecture, Heorot, like many buildings of heroic significance in Old English verse, is also described as rounded or arched, most frequently with the term 'geap', which in Beowulf has connotations of both height and roundness: curved, vaulted, or spacious. At the point of its creation, it is said to be 'heah ond horngeap' [high and with wide/curved gables] (82),” (Garner, 2010). Other examples of …show more content…
The Heorot had been around for approximately twelve years, during which Grendel terrorized the hall and the people. Grendel, son of Cain, was very strong and for him to terrorize but not destroy the Heorot shows the true strength and craftsmanship of the hall Hrothgar built. It took a big fight between Beowulf and Grendel to cause any major structural damage to the Heorot, and even then the hall still stood (Byers, 1965). It is important to note that “the roof receives the special distinction of being unscathed even after Grendel's wrath. Although the walls suffered great damage and must be made 'goldfah' [gold-adorned] (994) once again and even the hinges (heorras) of the great doors come apart, the roof - the building's highest point - survives intact and offers continuing protection for its inhabitants: 'hrof ana genæs ealles ansund' [the roof alone endured all sound] (999-1000),” (Garner, 2010). It took a “deadly enmity between son-in-law and father-in-law” that culminated in “the burning of Heorot, the royal hall of the Danes built by King Hrothgar,” (Eliason, 1980). The most likely cause of the fire was because the Heorot was built of timber, which burns easily. The difficulty it took to destroy the Heorot shows the hall was well built and held high social
Beowulf is the story of a hero who aides King Hrothgar in his quest to defend his prized possession, the Heorot. This origins of the Heorot are relatively unknown, only that Hrothgar built it in order to display his immense wealth and power. Questions have been raised as to who influenced the Danish architecture of the Heorot and where the Heorot could have potentially been located. The Heorot had many grand exterior features to display its importance and significance. The building also had very luxurious and eloquent interior design to impress its visitors and display Hrothgar’s wealth. The grand exterior and impressive interior indicate that the Heorot must have a high social importance. The Heorot withstood a duel between Grendel …show more content…
It is thought “Hrothgar built the Heorot to celebrate his victories and became known as the healaerna maest,”Greatest of halls” and became the foremaerost…recede under roderum, “the most famous building under the heavens,” (Wentersdorf, 2007). The Heorot was built to show off Hrothgar’s wealth he had obtained in battle. The Heorot itself was built similarly to Germanic and Anglo-Saxon secular halls, “Just as timber construction was the dominant material in actual Anglo-Saxon hall construction, the main fabric of Heorot is wood. Although its material would not be in question for Anglo-Saxon audiences - since Anglo-Saxon secular halls (like halls in Germanic tradition more widely) were indeed made of wood,” (Garner, 2010). This further illustrates the close relationship and influence the Germans and other areas had on Denmark. In addition to being constructed out of wood, the Heorot exhibits “architectural ideals evidenced in Anglo-Saxon architecture, Heorot, like many buildings of heroic significance in Old English verse, is also described as rounded or arched, most frequently with the term 'geap', which in Beowulf has connotations of both height and roundness: curved, vaulted, or spacious. At the point of its creation, it is said to be 'heah ond horngeap' [high and with wide/curved gables] (82),” (Garner, 2010). Other examples of …show more content…
The Heorot had been around for approximately twelve years, during which Grendel terrorized the hall and the people. Grendel, son of Cain, was very strong and for him to terrorize but not destroy the Heorot shows the true strength and craftsmanship of the hall Hrothgar built. It took a big fight between Beowulf and Grendel to cause any major structural damage to the Heorot, and even then the hall still stood (Byers, 1965). It is important to note that “the roof receives the special distinction of being unscathed even after Grendel's wrath. Although the walls suffered great damage and must be made 'goldfah' [gold-adorned] (994) once again and even the hinges (heorras) of the great doors come apart, the roof - the building's highest point - survives intact and offers continuing protection for its inhabitants: 'hrof ana genæs ealles ansund' [the roof alone endured all sound] (999-1000),” (Garner, 2010). It took a “deadly enmity between son-in-law and father-in-law” that culminated in “the burning of Heorot, the royal hall of the Danes built by King Hrothgar,” (Eliason, 1980). The most likely cause of the fire was because the Heorot was built of timber, which burns easily. The difficulty it took to destroy the Heorot shows the hall was well built and held high social