Only Wiglaf, an inexperienced thane who has great respect for his king, remains loyal. When it is apparent that Beowulf is losing the battle to the dragon, however, all but one of his men run and hide in the woods. Although the now elderly king insists on taking on the dragon alone, he brings along the 11 in case he needs them. Preparing for his last battle, with the fiery dragon, Beowulf puts his trust in 11 of his finest men, retainers who have vowed to fight to the death for him. In his final test, the burden of loyalty will rest on other, younger shoulders. After Heardred is killed, Beowulf does become king and rules with honor and fidelity to his office and his people for 50 years. Queen Hygd offers Beowulf the throne after her husband dies, thinking that her young son (Heardred) is unable to protect the kingdom Beowulf refuses and serves the young king faithfully. Beowulf could become king then but is more loyal than ambitious. After Hygelac is killed in an ill-advised raid on Frisia, Beowulf makes a heroic escape (2359 ff.) back to Geatland. When the hero returns to Geatland, he continues his loyalty to his uncle and king, Hygelac, risking his life even when the tactics of the ruler are not the best. The tie between the families goes back many years, and Beowulf is proud to be able to lend his loyal services to Hrothgar. Hrothgar even remembers Beowulf as a child. When the tribe sought vengeance, Hrothgar, then a young king, sheltered Beowulf's father and settled the feud by paying tribute (wergild) in the form of "fine old treasures" (472) to Ecgtheow's enemies. Now deceased, Ecgtheow had killed a leader of another tribe in a blood feud. The young Geat is devoted to the old king because Hrothgar came to the assistance of Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow, years before. However, we soon learn that a major motivation is a family debt that Beowulf owes to Hrothgar. Certainly he is interested in increasing his reputation and gaining honor and payment for his own king back in Geatland. At every step of his career, loyalty is Beowulf's guiding virtue.īeowulf comes to the assistance of the Danes (Scyldings) for complicated reasons. One of the central themes of Beowulf, embodied by its title character, is loyalty. In Beowulf, the major themes reflect the values and the motivations of the characters. A theme in a literary work is a recurring, unifying subject or idea, a motif that allows us to understand more deeply the character and their world.
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