Introduction
Beowulf is a poetic text in English literature depicting the events of a heroic man in the 6th century. Beowulf primarily focuses on the heroic deeds of male characters. The poet characterizes male heroism with courage, strength, loyalty, and generosity. However, in-between the lines, the plot has female characters who also demonstrate the power and significant roles in the poem’s events. Many poetic critics and analysts do not consider the functional roles of these women. Nevertheless, each female character has unique characteristics and roles that are honorable and essential in the peace and well-being of the male heroes. The women portray strength, power, and courage and fulfill their duties and responsibilities following the traditions of the Anglo-Saxon community. Various women characters in Beowulf express extremely influential power that shows their significance in the events of the heroic story.
Queen Wealhtheow
Cup-bearing is the most significant role women play in the Anglo-Saxon community. Being a cup-bearer in the mead hall was important since wine sharing symbolized peace, wealth, glory, and nourishment in the land. Only powerful men such as the King and his retainers drank from the mead hall during special events. Cup-bearing in the mead hall was also a valuable role as it involved serving the King and observing the curtsies of nobility (Madison 27). Wealhtheow, Hrothgar’s wife and bearer of his two sons, plays the role of a cup-bearer in the mead hall. The role exemplifies her as a noble, honorable and courteous woman by serving the King’s retainers. Passing the ceremonial cup played a significant role because it was a uniting activity between rival groups (Bălinișteanu-Furdu 40). Sharing the wine showed brotherliness among the participants giving the mead cup-bearer the honor of actively participating in uniting warring communities. Giving the role to a woman shows their essence and power in facilitating peace through gentleness and grace of serving the community.
The Queen is a perfect portrayal of a traditional Anglo-Saxon woman. She plays the role of a hostess and greets guests while serving wine during meetings. She holds the position with etiquette and ideal standards of a mighty Queen. When Beowulf and the Geats are invited to the King’s chamber as his guests, Wealhtheow “graciously greeted the Geats war leader” and offered him wine (Gummere 623). She then goes around the mead hall, “offering hall-joy to old to young/with rich treasure-cups” (Gummere 630). The Queen takes pride in serving her husband, the King, first, establishing her duty and responsibility as a woman in Anglo-Saxon society. According to Scandinavian tradition, a woman’s position is beside her husband, and she is expected to be submissive and dutiful in serving him. Giving the cup to the King first shows her respect and submission, fulfilling the society’s expectations while taking control and monitoring the kingdom’s affairs.
Apart from serving the wine, the Queen urges Hrothgar and the warriors to enjoy the wine and bring victory to the land. The Queen’s words are significant as a cup-bearer because they show her support and power in influencing the King’s thoughts and rule. In Gaet land, Queen Hygd is also a cup-bearer and hostess in her land, showing the significance of the role (Madison 31). Like Wealhtheow, she possesses the elegance and curtsies of a Queen. The poet also describes her as wise and generous in giving gifts. Therefore, cup-bearing is crucial to the peace and well-being of the community as passing the cup around weaves peace. Giving the role of cup-bearing to a woman signifies her power over societal matters since the cup is a valuable piece in the traditions and wealth of the community.
The Queen is a leader and symbol of wisdom to the community. As one of the poem’s main characters, the Queen influences King Hrothgar and takes part in decision-making regarding the affairs of the land. The poet describes Wealhtheow as intelligent, magical, and soft-spoken, qualities of wisdom. She considers her people’s welfare and cultural practices while following societal rules and expectations to the latter. The Queen’s wisdom is seen when she hands the mead cup to Beowulf after the king. The act indicates the community’s acknowledgment of Beowulf’s presence as their protector and savior against the evil Grendel. Although many may dismiss the Queens’ actions as part of her service to the King, her actions puzzle the refrainers, and they instantly understand Beowulf’s positions in the land. At the same time, it boosts Beowulf’s ego to fight victoriously against Grendel and prove his worthiness to the royals (Bălinișteanu-Furdu 44). The Queen’s deliberate action of handing wine according to rank shows her power over the decisions of the King’s court.
The Queen’s intelligence also makes her a significant and influential figure advocating for diplomacy. She uses her wise words to garner loyalty and honor to his husband. While passing the cup, she talks and praises the warriors evoking their fighting spirits and loyalty to the throne. According to Madison, a Queen should act as a diplomat and wise counsel to the people since Queens possess the grace and gentleness of communication (27). Wealhtheow’s diplomatic role strengthens the bond between the King and his retainers, leading to prosperity in battles and allegiance to the throne.
Additionally, the Queen’s wise counsel is seen when she reprimands Hrothgar for wanting to adopt Beowulf. Although women were regarded as ignorant in Anglo-Saxon society, the Queen speaks her mind freely regarding the issue since it concerns the crown and her lineage. Madison states that Wealhtheow’s critic is polite in avoiding conflict, which shows her role as a peace-keeper and wise woman (33). She uses her power of eloquence and wisdom to gently guide the King’s actions, smoothening matters with Beowulf, which helps avoid conflict and promote prosperity and abundance in the kingdom.
Another essential role of Beowulf women is gift-giving to bind relationships and give back to the community. In the Anglo-Saxon community, women possessed treasures and wealth from marital gifts and had free reign to share with others (Morcom 393). Thus, women were gift-givers in nature and had the role of helping the less fortunate. Queen Wealhtheow is seen as “regal and arrayed with gold,” sitting beside her husband on the throne room. As a wealthy woman, giving gifts was among the Queen’s significant activities of giving back to the community (Gummere 641). Apart from the less fortunate, the wealth was also gifted to loyal members strengthening their loyalty to the King. After Beowulf’s victory against Grendel, the Queen gives him a precious necklace to reward his heroism. The action portrays the Queen as generous and wise. It also demonstrates her power in the land as the King lets her undertake significant functions like rewarding a hero.
Hildeburh and Freawaru
Beowulf women played the role of peace-keeper through peace-weaving. The term peace-weaving refers to uniting and establishing peace between two communities. Although the poet’s mention of peace weaving is scarce in the text, Bălinișteanu-Furdu states that the practice was widespread in the Anglo-Saxon community (32). Women were traded or married off as a peace offering, and it was the best approach to long-lasting peace since the woman held decision-making power in the foreign land. Women played the role of peacemakers and brought together communities through marriage. Noblewomen married into other tribes to bring unity, a value associated with pride and honor in the community. The most effective way of biding the peace treaties was childbearing to produce offspring with both bloodlines. Hildeburh and Freawaru act as peacemakers through cross-tribal marriages, which were meant to strengthen bonds and unify warring communities. In Beowulf, Hildeburh acts as a peace-keeper by marring Finn, a man from a rival community, to maintain peace with her brother’s land. Although they have children to seal the bond, they die breaking the marriage bond and the treaty for allegiance.
Nevertheless, the marriage was significant in maintaining peace for some time. After the tragic death of Hildeburh’s family, she burns her son’s remains alongside her brothers. The act shows her compassion and peacekeeping even in death as she does not blame her brother for her son’s death. Likewise, the royal family tries to marry their daughter, Freawaru, for the sake of peace. During war threats from the Heaðobards, the King decides to wed Freawaru to King Ingled to prevent war after the death of Ingled’s father. However, when Ingled declines the offer, Hrothgar wages war and defeats him to death with the help of his nephew Hrothulf. Alternatively, the King offers Freawaru’s hand in marriage to Hrothulf to prevent another war by peace weaving (Bălinișteanu-Furdu 34). Although the marriage fails at keeping the peace, the role of women as peace-keepers is evident and was significant in Anglo-Saxon society. Both women fail at averting peace, but their life events demonstrate their contribution as traditional women in creating peace.
Grendel’s Mother
In Anglo-Saxon society, men played essential roles in protecting the community and family members. Men held significant leadership roles in battels and were also the primary provider of the community. However, one woman defies society by acting as a protector and brave fighter for justice. Grendel’s mother fiercely avenges her son’s demise challenging Beowulf in a severe battle. Although the poet describes her as monstrous, she is still a woman by referring to her as Grendel’s mother (Morcom 392). When she learns of Grendel’s torture and death, “she emerges/ bent on revenge” (Gummere 398-399). She visits the people of Denmark and reverses their good fortune by killing soldiers and taking her son’s claw that was hung for the public. Repossessing the claw shows the mother’s determination to protect his son’s reputation and physical, even in death. Thus, she risks facing Beowulf to retrieve her son’s remains. The poet describes Grendel’s mother as fierce and “fought with the power and courage men fight with” (Gummere 450). The viciousness shows the power of women in protecting society and their families in dangerous situations and societal injustices.
Although the author does not consider giving Grendel’s mother a name to be retold in legends, she had more strength and a will for vengeance that was capable of ruining the heroic Beowulf. According to Ghani, Grendel’s mother is among a few female protagonists who fight against legendary heroes such as Beowulf (57). In the fight with Beowulf, Grendel’s mother almost rips and tears Beowulf apart. Beowulf admits “He would have traveled to the bottom of the earth/ Edgetho’s son, and died if that shining woven metal had not helped” (Gummere 478-479). Even the older men of the land were afraid that Beowulf would not return from the fight. When the sun fades, and the heroic Beowulf does not surface from the water, “Almost all agreed that Grendel’s mighty mother/ the she-wolf had killed him” (Gummere 555). Unfortunately, Grendel’s mother losses the fight to Beowulf despite her heroic act of protecting her own. Although Grendel’s mother dies in the fight, her courage, strength, and resistance show that women are not powerless and could engage in dangerous missions to protect their values and kin.
Conclusion
From the careful analysis of the female characters’ activities in the poem, it is clear that they and significant roles and power in society. Queen Wealhtheow is among the poem’s main characters who possess power and influence through cup-bearing, peace weaving, and offering counsel, which guides the King’s leadership. The Queen’s activities also portray a genteel Anglo-Saxon woman committed to serving society and her husband. Hildeburh and Freawaru play the role of peace weaving through tribal intermarriages. Although both characters’ marriages end in tragic events, they are regarded as significant in portraying the poser of peace-weaving between tribes. Finally, Grendel’s mother is among the few women in history who challenge a heroic figure to fight. Her heroic fight shows women’s power as protectors and possessing parental responsibilities. The various roles played by these women may be unnoticed but significantly influence the poem’s plot.
Works Cited
Bălinișteanu-Furdu, Cătălina. “Are Women as Peace Weavers the Symbols of Hope for the Anglo-Saxon Society?” Interstudia (Revista Centrului Interdisciplinar De Studiu Al Formelor Discursive Contemporane Interstud), Editura Alma Mater. 2021. Web.
Ghani, Hana. “The Feminine Other: Monsters and Magic in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies, vol. 2, no.1, 2021, pp. 55-63. Web.
Gummere Frances. (2019). Beowulf. Bibliotech Press.
Madison, George-Berlet. “The Beautiful and the Monstrous: Femininity in Beowulf and Marie De France’s Lai De Lanval.” The Albatross English Undergraduate Journal, vol. 1, 2020, pp. 26–33. Web.
Morcom, Thomas. “The Medieval Cultures of the Irish Sea and the North Sea: Manannán and His Neighbors.” Island Studies Journal, vol. 16, no.1, 2021, pp 394-395. Web.