Beowulf.” 11. There are rings and bracelets, gold plates and goblets, silver coins and helmets, and sword-hilts studded with jewels. It was not intentional; the intruder was a slave going to ground on run from his owner. Beowulf is the oldest extant heroic poem in English and the first to present a dragon slayer. [12], The fire is likely symbolic of the hellfire of the devil, reminiscent of the monster in the Book of Job. After Beowulf dies, his followers show up. Moreover, the dragon is more overtly destructive. The dragon's barrow holds wealth in abundance, yet the wealth is of no use to anyone. He held it well, ruled fifty winters; he was an old land guardian. He is upset with the thief so he sets fire to all the villages and towns in search of the thief. When the dragon wakes, what is missing from his treasure? On the grassy ground The Dragon indiscriminately attacks the countryside. [17][18], Beowulf's fight with the dragon has been described variously as an act of either altruism[19] or recklessness. Beowulf’s peaceful rein is disrupted when a dragon begins to terrorize the Geats. [16] Moreover, the dragon is more overtly destructive. A golden goblet. In Beowulf's two earlier battles, Grendel and Grendel's mother are characterized as descendants of Cain: "[Grendel] had long lived in the land of monsters / since the creator cast them out / as the kindred of Cain"[15] and seem to be humanoid: in the poet's rendition they can be seen as giants, trolls, or monsters. The dragon has been guarding the treasure-hoard for three centuries. In Beowulf, the dragon is portrayed as an evil creature that dislikes mankind especially those who dare intrude on its hoard or steal from it. In the Septuagint, Job's monster is characterized as a draco, and identified with the devil. What terrors does the dragon inflict on the kingdom? [1] The scene is structured in thirds, ending with the deaths of the dragon and Beowulf. ... Chapter 32: The Hoard and the Dragon 33. After Beowulf dies, his followers show up. The dragon's hoard is buried with Beowulf's ashes. The Dragon: We keep hearing a term of 50 years mentioned: especially in reference to Beowulf's kingship and to the time the dragon has guarded its hoard. [4] Although the dragons of hagiography were less fierce than the dragon in Beowulf, similarities exist in the stories such as presenting the journey to the dragon's lair, cowering spectators, and the sending of messages relaying the outcome of the fight. At his death, peace in his lands will end, and his people will again suffer a period of war and hardship. The dragon in Beowulf symbolizes the forces of darkness, destruction, and avarice which constantly threaten to overwhelm the world. [33] Ultimately, as Tolkien writes in Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (1936), the death by dragon "is the right end for Beowulf," for he claims, "a man can but die upon his death-day". How long had the dragon been guarding the treasure-hoard? The dragon's barrow lies near the sea, between a cliff and the beach. Later in the epic poem Beowulf fights a dragon, who is known by many colourful kennings: Harrower of the dark; Scourge of the people; Guardian of the hoard; Hoard-guardian; Hoard-guard; Sky-winger; Sky-plague; Sky-roamer; Poison- breather; Barrow-dweller; Treasure-minder; Throughout the poem, many other kennings are used. The poet describes Beowulf as he prepares for his final battle, in which he will face a fiery dragon that is guarding an ancient hoard of treasure. The earliest story of theft in Germanic literature is a subplot in Beowulf. In many ways, the Dragon is reminiscent of Grendel attacking Heorot; he attacks the countryside, seeking vengeance against the Geats as a whole. [46] Aia Hussein of the National Endowment for the Humanities has written that the fight between Harry Potter and the Hungarian Horntail in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) by J. K. Rowling was influenced by the confrontation between the dragon and the title character in Beowulf. A path led underneath unknown to men. Beowulf scholar Alexander writes that the dragon fight likely signifies Beowulf's (and by extension, society's) battle against evil. In his death-speech, Beowulf nominates Wiglaf as his heir and asks for a monument to be built for him on the shoreline. The threat posed by the dragon therefore represents a kind of tension in the question of what makes a good king. Chapter 32: The Hoard and the Dragon Beowulf. [35] Conversely, Kemp Malone writes in "The Kenning in Beowulf" that Beowulf's fight with the dragon receives much critical attention, but that commentators fail to note that "the dragon was no fighter. "[13], A study of German and Norse texts reveals three typical narratives for the dragonslayer: a fight for the treasure, a battle to save the slayer's people, or a fight to free a woman. [42] As Beowulf dies from his fight with the dragon, despite defeating it, James Parker of The Atlantic writes that "There is no transcendence in Beowulf, and no redemption [...] kill the dragon—but the dragon will get you anyway". Why does Beowulf fight the dragon alone? Beowulf, the king of the Geats, fights the dragon. In the manner of a pagan warrior, Beowulf equates death with fate. The dragon is very much feared in the story of Beowulf. They represent evil that is challenged by heroes and for the most part they are the stories. A great dragon lurks beneath the earth, jealously guarding its treasure, until one day a thief manages to infiltrate the barrow, or mound, where the treasure lies. The hoard-watcher, waited for the gloaming with fierce impatience; his pent-up fury at the loss of the vessel made him long to hit back ... Lines 2677-2687: In his final battle with the dragon Beowulf is able to act courageously by keeping thoughts of glory in mind. The parallel in the story lies with the similarity to Beowulf's hero Sigemund and his companion: Wiglaf is a younger companion to Beowulf and, in his courage, shows himself to be Beowulf's successor. After Beowulf dies, his followers show up. The poet describes Beowulf as he prepares for his final battle, in which he will face a fiery dragon that is guarding an ancient hoard of treasure. Over and over the breakers roll in and beat on the beach. Then in the dark nights a dragon began to rule, he who guarded a hoard, a steep stone burial mound high on the heath. They are 'inmates of hell', 'adversaries of God', 'offspring of Cain', 'enemies of mankind'....And so Beowulf, for all that he moves in the world of the primitive Heroic Age of the Germans, nevertheless is almost a Christian knight". In other ways, the Dragon is very different from Grendel. Fifty years pass with Beowulf in charge, when a local dragon is angered when a slave enters its lair and takes a cup from its treasure. Meanwhile, his kinsman Wiglaf scolds the other members of the troop for not going in to help, before coming to Beowulf's aid. The hoard, because it stands as a symbol of betrayal, is put into Beowulf's barrow where it lies for all time as "useless to men" as when it lay in the dragon's barrow. Beowulf wishes aloud for a son, but concludes that Wiglaf will stand in. There the hoard is found by a dragon, who keeps watch over it for three hundred years, until the theft of a cup rouses his anger and brings about the tragic denouement of the poem. Why does Beowulf fight the dragon alone? Why is Beowulf going to fight the Dragon? "[8] Furthermore, Tolkien believes the Beowulf poet emphasizes the monsters Beowulf fights in the poem and claims the dragon is as much of a plot device as anything. For the glory of winning. [25] An embattled society without "social cohesion" is represented by the avarice of the "dragon jealously guarding its gold hoard",[26]and the elegy for Beowulf becomes an elegy for the entire culture. Beowulf tells his men to stay outside, that this fight is his alone, but the dragon proves too strong and mortally wounds Beowulf. He burns vast amounts of territory and the homes of the Geats: "the dragon began to belch out flames / and burn bright homesteads". After a thief steals from the dragon's horde, the dragon goes on a rampage and terrorizes the Geats. After Beowulf dies, his followers show up. One day a slave, fleeing a beating,... (full context) The narrator explains that this particular barrow was the treasure of a lost tribe. The adventures of Beowulf, Episode 11--Beowulf Fights the Dragon--He saw by the cave, he who had many virtues, he who had survived many times the battle flashes when troops rush together, a stream running from the stone arch--a stream of fire. As demonstrated in Beowulf, gold is to be used by the ring-givers (kings) to reward the deeds of heroes, particularly successful warriors returning from conquest. Wiglaf excoriates them for their cowardice in leaving their king to fight the dragon by himself. For fifty years he ruled it well. The Dragon.Dragons appear throughout medieval folklore. For the glory of winning. Over and over the breakers roll in and beat on the beach. Chapter 33: Brave Through Aged - Reminiscences 34. on top of the cliff stands a barrow, a hill built by people long ago for burying their great lord. Armour is called battle-dresses or battle-outfits. After his battles against Grendel's mother and Grendel, Beowulf returns home and becomes king of the Geats. [39], In his 1936 lecture Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J. R. R. Tolkien noted that the dragon and Grendel are "constantly referred to in language which is meant to recall the powers of darkness which Christian men felt themselves to be encompassed. The third act of the poem differs from the first two. [14] The characteristics of Beowulf's dragon appear to be specific to the poem, and the poet may have melded together dragon motifs to create a dragon with specific traits that weave together the complicated plot of the narrative. The dragon is guarding a treasure hoard left by "the last survivor of a noble race," who, before he died, locks his gold and jewels in a stone fortress. This depiction indicates the growing importance and stabilization of the modern concept of the dragon within European mythology. The fight with the dragon symbolizes Beowulf's stand against evil and destruction, and, as the hero, he knows that failure will bring destruction to his people after many years of peace. A golden goblet. Wiglaf kills the dragon halfway through the scene, Beowulf's death occurs "after two-thirds" of the scene,[32] and the dragon attacks Beowulf three times. What does the dragon hoard and how does his show symbolism? 15. He feels no fear and remembers he fought Grendel alone and won. He will face the fire-dragon alone. [9], The Beowulf dragon is the earliest example in literature of the typical European dragon and first incidence of a fire-breathing dragon. ‘Go on, dear Beowulf, do everything Not that it refused to fight when challenged, but that it did not seek out Beowulf or anyone else. His scaly coils sprawl in the pile of precious things. [6] Beowulf preserves existing medieval dragon-lore, most notably in the extended digression recounting the Sigurd/Fafnir tale. He and his thanes climb to the dragon's lair where, upon seeing the beast, the thanes flee in terror, leaving only Wiglaf to battle at Beowulf's side. Gold and treasures that show symbolism of greed. Beowulf, the king of the Geats, fights the dragon. Once there, Beowulf pauses to reflect on his life and he recalls his own glory days and the victories that he earned for his king and their people. After the dragon is killed, Beowulf tells Wiglaf to look for the dragon's treasure and to bring it to him. The thief steals a gem-covered goblet, arousing the wrath of the dragon. Beowulf’s peaceful rein is disrupted when a dragon begins to terrorize the Geats. [27] The dragon's hoard is representative of a people lost and antique, which is juxtaposed against the Geatish people, whose history is new and fleeting. Wiglaf excoriates them for their cowardice in leaving their king to fight the dragon by himself. The dragon's hoarding is the exact opposite of Beowulf's generosity as a king. The dragon guards an underground barrow full of treasure, which is accessible only by a secret passage. The dragon's treasure-trove poignantly represents the vanity of human wishes as well as the mutability of time. t came about when Hygelac lay dead, and his son Heardred also, killed by a battle-sword in spite of his shield, that Beowulf became lord of the land of the Geats. What does Beowulf do when he sees Grendel's body in the lair? [38] W. P. Ker criticized the inclusion of Beowulf's fight with the dragon and his subsequent death in the poem, writing "It is as if to the end of the Odyssey there had been added some later books telling in full of the old age of Odysseus, far from the sea, and his death at the hands of Telegonus". [29], Wiglaf remains loyal to his king and stays to confront the dragon. The legend of the dragon-slayer already existed in Norse sagas such as the tale of Sigurd and Fafnir, and the Beowulf poet incorporates motifs and themes common to dragon-lore in the poem. The 17th act of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf includes Beowulf's fight with a dragon, the third monster he encounters in the epic. [10] The Beowulf dragon is described with Old English terms such as draca (dragon), and wyrm (reptile, or serpent), and as a creature with a venomous bite. ... Chapter 32: The Hoard and the Dragon 33. [23] The dragon's hoard symbolizes the vestige of an older society, now lost to wars and famine, left behind by a survivor of that period. He cuts the dragon in the belly to reduce the flames, and Beowulf deals the fatal blow. A dragon guards this hoard of gold. Tolkien expands on Beowulf's dragon in his own fiction, which indicates the lasting impact of the Beowulf poem. Beowulf presents his last war speech to the select company. Its treasure is buried with Beowulf on Wiglaf's orders, and Wiglaf, who is Beowulf's heir, ascends the throne thereafter. The Dragon: We keep hearing a term of 50 years mentioned: especially in reference to Beowulf's kingship and to the time the dragon has guarded its hoard. How do you think the treasure got there in the first The scene includes extended flashbacks to the Geatish-Swedish wars, a detailed description of the dragon and the dragon-hoard, and ends with intricate funerary imagery. Then, one day, a sleeping dragon is woken by someone who steals a goblet from his hoard of treasure. [11] Also, the Beowulf poet created a dragon with specific traits: a nocturnal, treasure-hoarding, inquisitive, vengeful, fire-breathing creature. In a stone barrow, on a high heath above sea-waves, below which lay a path not known to men, a weeping prince of yore had stowed his battle gear and cups of gold, with prayer to the protecting earth. The dragon's barrow holds wealth in abundance, yet the wealth is of no use to anyone. In northern literature there are only two that are significant ... we have but the dragon of the Völsungs, Fáfnir, and Beowulf's bane. What does the dragon hoard and how does his show symbolism? The ancient treasures in the hoard once belonged to a regional tribe of warriors who were killed in battle some 300 years previously. Long ago the last living man of the tribe placed his... (full context) In 1906, Knut Stjerna published an essay discussing the archaeological evidence for the dragon’s hoard in . After the dragon is killed, Beowulf tells Wiglaf to look for the dragon's treasure and to bring it to him. 16. came into Beowulf's hand. [28] As king of his people, Beowulf defends them against the dragon, and when his thanes desert him, the poem shows the disintegration of a "heroic society" which "depends upon the honouring of mutual obligations between lord and thane". The dragon, therefore, is a stark contrast to the other two antagonists. The dragon, therefore, is a stark contrast to the other two antagonists. The dragon is exceedingly greedy – marking a stark contrast to good kings, who create loyalty and love among their people and warriors through generosity. A mighty shield that can withstand dragon flame. Not for long after that was the spirit of the war-chief wound up in the flesh. Beowulf is a hero who previously killed two monsters. Later in the epic poem Beowulf fights a dragon, who is known by many colourful kennings: Harrower of the dark; Scourge of the people; Guardian of the hoard; Hoard-guardian; Hoard-guard; Sky-winger; Sky-plague; Sky-roamer; Poison- breather; Barrow-dweller; Treasure-minder; Throughout the poem, many other kennings are used. Chapter 32: The Hoard and the Dragon Beowulf. [2] Nonetheless, comparative contemporary narratives did not have the complexity and distinctive elements written into Beowulf's dragon scene. In the case of Beowulf, the dragon to be met kept guard of a hoard of gold. Wiglaf excoriates them for their cowardice in leaving their king to fight the dragon by himself. A mighty shield that can withstand dragon flame. It is the story of the thief who breaks into the dragon's hoard, removes a precious cup ("sincfet," vv. On his return from Heorot, where he killed Grendel and Grendel's mother, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules wisely for fifty years until a slave awakens and angers a dragon by stealing a jewelled cup from its lair. In the dark underground the glow of the gold makes a strange light that glints in the dragon's scales. [12], The third act of the poem differs from the first two. [5] Moreover, the dragon is vanquished through Wiglaf's actions: although Beowulf dies fighting the dragon, the dragon dies at the hand of the companion. After the dragon is killed, Beowulf tells Wiglaf to look for the dragon's treasure and to bring it to him. Beowulf rules the Geats for fifty years. The way in is hidden and narrow, but inside is a room heaped high with treasure. I had to read the last part of Beowulf many times before I saw any clear evidence that the treasure was previously owned by two different peoples. But trouble was not far away. After that Last Survivor dies, his treasure-hoard is guarded by a … They picked and ran with the goblet. [10] Job's dragon would have been accessible to the author of Beowulf, as a Christian symbol of evil, the "great monstrous adversary of God, man and beast alike. Dickerson and O'Hara further elaborated that through its dragon, Beowulf turned the "notion of having a monstrous evil (and not mere human foes) as the enemy" into "a hallmark of modern fantasy" present in C. S. Lewis' Narnia books, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, and the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen Donaldson. He feels no fear and remembers he fought Grendel alone and won. Beowulf is now the king -- the "ring-giver" who ideally distributes booty captured in battle to his thanes in accordance with their deserts. [47], "Cain's monstrous progeny in Beowulf: part I, Noachic tradition", "The Dragon-Lore of Middle-earth: Tolkien and Old English and Old Norse Tradition", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_dragon_(Beowulf)&oldid=1009933851, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 March 2021, at 01:05. He could not enter for the dragon's flame. Dragon The dragon symbolizes greed. For fifty years he ruled it well. In many ways, the Dragon is reminiscent of Grendel attacking Heorot; he attacks the countryside, seeking vengeance against the Geats as a whole. In Beowulf, the dragon is portrayed as an evil creature that dislikes mankind especially those who dare intrude on its hoard or steal from it. When the dragon wakes, what is missing from his treasure? When the angry dragon mercilessly burns the Geats' homes and lands, Beowulf decides to fight and kill the monster personally. Every tribe is centered around a king, who is also called a "ring-giver." As demonstrated in Beowulf, gold is to be used by the ring-givers (kings) to reward the deeds of heroes, particularly … After a thief steals from the dragon's horde, the dragon goes on a rampage and terrorizes the Geats. The ancient treasures in the hoard once belonged to a regional tribe of warriors who were killed in battle some 300 years previously. Cuts off Grendel's head. His impending death. Dragon. Before the dragon, the hoard was hidden in the earth house by the survivor of a forgotten race (died through war) What does the intruder do once he has stolen the cup? The treasure lies in the dark and rots rather than helping the thanes and the kingdom. Why is Beowulf going to fight the Dragon? He hoards gold and treasures in his lair, which represents the opposite of the Anglo-Saxons' accepted practice. [34], In 1918, William Witherle Lawrence argued in his article "The Dragon and His Lair in Beowulf" that the fight between Beowulf and the dragon tends to receive less critical attention than other portions of the poem, commenting that "Grendel and his dam have, as it were, become more beloved of the commentators". When the dragon wounds Beowulf fatally, Wiglaf attacks it with his sword, and Beowulf kills it with his dagger. But trouble was not far away. Beowulf ultimately kills the dragon, but at the cost of his own life. The king's gifts of treasure to his followers ensure their loyalty – they're literally being well-rewarded for following him. [41], Seamus Heaney suggests that Beowulf's attitude towards fighting the dragon reflects his "chthonic wisdom refined in the crucible of experience", that is there is already a "beyond-the-grave aspect" to his resoluteness. Although many motifs common to the Beowulf dragon existed in the Scandinavian and Germanic literature, the Beowulf poet was the first to combine features and present a distinctive fire-breathing dragon.
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