Gold In Beowulf

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The epic poem, Beowulf, was written in the Anglo-saxon period, when people were all about the glory and valor of war. That glory and valor includes the rewards of war, specifically speaking of treasure and gold .At the beginning of Beowulf, Beowulf is a new and fierce warrior who receives lots treasure as gifts for his fearlessness. This treasure is used in a traditional sense, where it is given as a gift or reward and symbolic of a warrior's honor and bravery but at the end of the story the meaning of gold and gifts has been corrupted and used as bribery.
In the days of the Anglo-Saxons, people believed in wyrd, or that they had no control over their lives and that fate decided everything ahead of time. Due to wyrd, they weren’t scared because …show more content…
Then a fire-breathing dragon, angry over the plundering of his vast treasure, unleashed flaming ruin upon the countryside. The aging King Beowulf set out to stop the fiery menace. From its lair, the loathsome "coiled worm" confronted the Geats with its terrible scorching breath. .... At Beowulf's funeral, the Geats mourned the passing of "the mildest of men and gentlest, kindest to his people" (Damon). After Beowulf had aged and has been king for many years, he faces his last monster. Beowulf must battle a dragon, that has been watching his hoards of gold, because one of Beowulf’s servants stole a piece to use as a bribe. This battle is fought solely because of misuse of gold. There are more than one example of misuse of gold in this story, the obvious one with the servant trying to use it for venal uses, and the dragon hoarding all of his treasures for many centuries. When Beowulf and the dragon fought, Beowulf won and received all the gold but the victory came with a price. “The treasure had been won, bought and paid for by Beowulf's death”(Beowulf lines 2843). Before the king passes away he tried to balance the misuse of gold. “Together the two men had felled the foe. But Beowulf knew that his wounds were fatal. In his last breath, he bestowed the dragon's treasure on his people. His own armor he gave to Wiglaf. Then his soul departed, leaving his people to mourn the greatest of kings and most beloved of men”
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