This killing forces Beowulf to again fight a great battle against a great and evil beast. Beowulf returns from the departed beasts lair not only returning the man-price of Grendels mothers death, but also the victory token of Grendels head. The head can be seen as man-price in addition to Grendels death, paying for those many lives lost during the 12 years of Grendels raiding.
Wergild is defined as the man-price demanded from one who murders another. It can be paid in the form of the murderers death or by a compensatory payment equal to the value of the man killed. Beowulf succeeds in every attempt at wergild he enacts; Killing Grendel along with killing its mother. Wergild can be traced back to biblical era,For the killing of Abel the Eternal Lord had exacted a price. It was wergild itself that brought Grendel, a descendant of Cain, to existence and that same act that brought it to attack Hrothgars kingdom. Grendel however did not show credence to the belief of wergild. Hrothgar himself could not slay the beast in his old age and after Grendel slaughters hundreds of Hrothgars men through
| |
 |
|
 |
| |
 |
 |
| |
 |
 |
Beowulf
... The conflicting ideas in Beowulf invite the reader to take a more active role and question their own ideas about some of the themes presented. ... (1464 6
|
| | |
|
Beowulf
... ideas. The beginning lines of Beowulf also introduce a number of thematic ideas that prove to be important throughout the poem. ... (4562
|
| | |
|
Religion In Beowulf
... this poem. Beowulf is the ampquotideal heroampquot and has reference to many of the typical ideas of the NordicGermanic society. The monster ... (6723
|
| | |
|
Beowulf
... in his poem. This technique of combining two different ideas made the poem Beowulf very interesting to read. In mixing Christian ... (257510
|
| | |
|
Puritans
... critical reader is left with only one place to put trolls and charms: under the heading of representation of abstract ideas symbols. Beowulf may, in ... (12575
|
| | |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
| |
Though vengeance was a common practice throughout the epic there are still characters who are respected that do not deal out wergild. Hrothgar is not able to bring about wergild yet his men still respect him. It was also him who brings Beowulf to aid him in his troubles. Beowulf never fails to enact wergild and whenever he has dealt vengeance, he is rewarded by great speeches, riches, and the respect and loyalty of many men. However, when proactively acting in defense of his people by embarking to defeat the dragon, Beowulf does not have that same support and glory. One of the men Beowulf brought with him stays with Beowulf during his last battle while the other 10 men broke ranks and ran for his lives. Wiglaf plays a big role in the epic, aiding Beowulf in his moment of need. Wiglaf does not follow Beowulf out of the respect for his acts of vengeances, but rather out of respect for Beowulfs leadership and accomplishment. The character of Wiglaf exemplifies the writers hope for humanity; A society not based on vengeance, but one based upon courage and leadership. Wiglaf, a mortal man, accomplishes more than Beowulf had in the entire epic by overcoming his own fear when an easier path was present. The lesson that vengeance is wrong is presented by the writer by his depiction of the almost endless chains of killing due to wergild. Grendel kills Hrothgars men. Beowulf kills Grendel. Grendels mother kills another on
958
4 
