The Role of Fame, Fate, and Destiny in Beowulf

Beowulf dedicated his last breath to save his people from the

ravages of a deadly monster. Despite the frailties of old age, he

hastened once more to save the day. Unfortunately, the terrible earth

dragon was too much for him. Beowulf succumbed to his wounds and

died. The last lines of this great Anglo Saxon epic was a tribute to him,

“Thus the men of Geatland, his hearth-companions, mourned their

hero's passing, and said that of all the kings of the earth, he was the

mildest and most beloved of his men; kindest to his kin, and the most

eager for praise (Beowulf 52)”.

There is no doubt whatsoever that Beowulf was a man who

wanted to achieve lasting fame. The last four words validated that.

Beowulf not only wanted that fame but he ensured it to be the

adulatory kind. These are among the values of the erstwhile Anglo-

Saxon society. Fame is paramount and could be achieved only through

extraordinary feats of daring in combat and other heroic deeds. This is

not purely a selfish and egoistic drive since the warrior’s

accomplishment spreads over his clan, king, and family. When

Hrothgar beheld the massive arm of Grendel hanging from the steep

roof of his great hall, he exclaimed with delight and praised Beowulf,

“By your deeds, you have ensured that your fame shall endure through
all the ages. May the Almighty ever reward you with good, just as He

has now done! (Beowulf 20)”. Of course Hrothgar rewarded him

handsomely. Honor or fame was not the only reward to successful

warriors, the beneficence of the superior is also expected. Perhaps the

material rewards were of less importance than fame since fame is

lasting and one is ensured of being sang about by minstrels in the far

corners of the known world. It would be common then for young men

to eagerly prove themselves in battle. One has to excel as is today to

really become relevant. Fame was central in young men’s efforts like

Beowulf. The dark period that was the Middle Ages was a constant

struggle against forces beyond the peripheries of a tribal domain or

community. Bravery was a premium in a constantly harassed

community. That could matter very much if a community’s existence is

at stake thus, the gratitude of the community to its hero or heroes

through rewards and propagation of their memories.

The search for fame is intertwined with another concept-fate. Fletcher

explained that the ultimate force in the universe of these fighters and

their poets (in spite of certain Christian touches inserted by later poetic

editors before the poem crystallized into its present form) is Wyrd, the

Fate of the Germanic peoples, cold as their own winters and the bleak

northern sea, irresistible, despotic, and unmoved by sympathy for man

(14). Fletcher was referring again perhaps of the hostile environment

of the Dark Ages which the Angles had to contend with among other
things. Either one should succumbed to it or die fighting. A part of

Beowulf’s response to Unferth is worth quoting about fate or destiny:

“Light, the bright beacon of God, came from the east. The waves

grew calm, and I could see the high sea-cliffs, those windy walls.

Destiny often rescues the warrior not doomed to die if he has

courage! And so it was that I killed nine water-monsters with my

sword. I never heard of a battle more hard-fought by night

beneath heaven's roof, nor of a man more desolate while adrift in

the deep! Yet I escaped unharmed from the clutches of my foes,

although I was weary from swimming (Beowulf 15)”

As can be gleaned from the above quote, Beowulf explained that there

may be some things that men are not destined to overcome. Still man

fighting beyond what is expected of him is often sufficient to overcome

what could have been a triumph of destiny. The context of the quote

seems to indicate that destiny may not be totally overwhelmed but

exceptional bravery or effort even from a man could perhaps relaxed

what has already been delineated by it.

J.R.R. Tolkien whose literary criticism of the Beowulf epic brought

greater attention to it has this to say about the interplay of fate and

cosmic forces on Beowulf:

Fate or mythological matters each appear, and to distinguish in

particular those things which are said in oratio recta by one of

 the characters, or are reported as being said or thought by them.

It will then be seen that the narrating and commenting poet

obviously stands apart. But the two characters that do most of

the speaking, Beowulf and Hrothgar, are also quite distinct.

Hrothgar is consistently portrayed as a wise and noble

monotheist, modeled largely it has been suggested in the text on

the Old Testament patriarchs and kings; he refers all things to the

favor of God, and never omits explicit thanks for mercies.

Beowulf refers sparingly to God, except as the arbiter of critical

events, and then principally as Metod, in which the idea of God

approaches nearest to the old Fate. (Tolkien 18).

Comparing fame and destiny as a premium in the lives of Anglo-Saxon

warriors is difficult. To determine if one is more elevated than the

other is hardly viable. Yet considering Beowulf, it could be concluded

that fame and the goodwill of his friends are more than sufficient to die

for. He respected fame and destiny but as I’ve indicated he believed

that they may be kinder to a person who does not succumb easily to

supposedly insurmountable odds.

Bibliography

"Beowulf." 2009. www.enotes.com. 6 March 2009

<http://www.enotes.com/beowulf-text>.

Fletcher, Robert Huntington. A History of English Literature. Blackmask, 2002.

Tolkien, J.R.R. "BEOWULF: THE MONSTERS AND THE CRITICS." SIR ISRAEL
GOLLANCZ LECTURE 1936. 1936.