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Click on the following feud you'd like to review:
Hrothulf, murderer of his Danish cousins
I First half of Beowulf: notice the many references to feuds. These references, while obscure to us, would have been familiar to the Beowulf poet's audience. At first glance, they don't seem to have much relation to the main plot: Beowulf fighting Grendel, Grendel's mother , and finally a dragon, all supernatural creatures. But on closer examination, we see that the feuds, rooted in the history of the Anglo-Saxon people, provide an important comment to the story of these people.
A. Reference to a feud
among the Danes:
Hrothgar and his wife,Wealtheow, have two sons, Hrethric and
Hrothmund. The audience knew that historically, Hrothgar's nephew,
Hrothulf, killed the two boys so that he could become king.
Wealtheow's mention of Hrothgar's nephew and her request that Beowulf
remember her sons is ironic; she doesn't know, but the audience does,
that this same nephew will murder her sons for the sake of the
crown.
B. During the celebration of
Beowulf's victory, the story-teller poet, the scop, sings of Finn:
This is a story about a feud between the Danes and the Jutes: Finn,
king of Frisians and Jutes, married a Danish princess, Hildeburh, in
an alliance to secure peace between the Danes and the Jutes.
Hildeburh's brother Hnaef, leading a party of Danes (also called
Scyldings visit Finn and Hildeburh. Hnaef and his men are attacked in
a hall and after a lengthy battle Hnaef and many of his men, together
with many of Finn's followers including his son by Hildeburh, lie
dead. A warrior called Hengest assumes leadership of the surviving
Danes and a treaty is concluded. Hengest's Danes decide to join
Finn's depleted comitatus (group of loyal warriors, pledging
allegiance to the leader) on the understanding that they are accorded
honourable and equl treatment. They agree not to mention the battle.
But eventually two Danes are unable to keep silent and Hengest is
stirred into action by the sight of an old sword and the conflict is
resumed. Finn is killed, his treasure seized and his wife carried
back to the vicorious Danes; thus, Hildeburh loses her brother, her
son, her husband, and her home.
C. Another irony in reference to the Danes: when
Beowulf returns home he tells his king that
Hrothgar's daughter, Freawaru, is engaged to Ingeld of the
Heathobards. Froda and Ingeld belonged to the Heathobards who were
probably later subsumed with the Saxons. The story of the son of
Froda, Ingeld, was well known to the Anglo-Saxon audience. There
existed an ancient feud between Hrothgar's Danes and Froda's
Heathobards. Froda has been killed in some sort of fight with the
Danes; in any event, Hrothgar attempts to buy peace by marrying his
daughter to Froda's son, Ingeld. Beowulf declares himself sceptical
as the likely success of this plan. And the Anglo-Saxon audience knew
that in due course Ingeld revives the feud during a visit to his
father-in-law and is there killed.
II References to feuds in the second half of Beowulf:
A. Feuds between the Geats and the Swedes:
Hygelac, Beowulf's king is the third son of Hrethel, king of Geats.
Hrethel's second son, Haethcyn, accidentally kills first son,
Herebeald. Haethcyn becomes king and is killed by Swedes during the
reign of Ongentheow
Hygelac, the third in line to the throne, becomes king and avenges
Haethcyn on Ongentheow. Hygelac's son, Heardred, succeeds his father
to throne. Beowulf supports him.
B. Meanwhile in Sweden:
Ongentheow's son, Othere, succeeds his father to
the throne. After Othere's death, his sons should have succeeded him
to the throne, but Othere's brother, Onela, seizes the throne
dispossessing his nephews and the rightful heirs.
These nephews, Eanmund and Eadgils are given refuge by Heardred, the
Geatish king, as there is no love lost between the Geats (Beowulf's
people) and the Swedes.
Onela attacks and Eanmund and Heardred are killed.
Beowulf becomes king of Geatland.
Beowulf supports Eadgils in his attack on Onela. Eadgils attacks and
kills Onela.
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