The poet refers to Beowulf saying, “There was no one else like him alive. / In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, / highborn and powerful” (ll.196-198). This clearly states his very special role and his importance to those who need help defending themselves. One could say that with such power it is his duty to fight these monsters and save the kingdom. Beowulf is aware of his duty, and whether he likes it or not, he is obligated to live for the sole purpose of winning battles and fighting monsters to save those who are weaker than he.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” (Mark Twain) For one to master fear it takes time, experience, and above all it takes a strong will to be courageous; Siegfried had all these things. Siegfried is the hero of the Nibelungenlied, a pre-Christian story, so not all of his deeds would be pleasing to God. His major accomplishments were killing a dragon and fighting the Nibelungs. The Nibelungs were a family of dwarves who possessed a treasure they believed no one could take; cartloads of gold, the magical sword Balmung, and a ring that produced 8 gold rings every seven days. Siegfried also fought against a dragon, with amazing results!
The warrior Beowulf is “the strongest of the Geats … stronger than anyone anywhere in this world…” Beowulf’s strength is obvious to Grendel during their battle. "That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime knew at once that nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder.” Beowulf does not show fear and goes out of his way to make sure his actions are not perceived as cowardly. “My lord Higlac/might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to go.” By defeating Grendel, using only his bare hands, Beowulf is embodying the personality characteristics that the Anglo-Saxon society valued in its warriors. Beowulf is a religious character. He is a good character who works for and with God to defeat evil creatures.
Beowulf is described as having the strength of "thirty men" in just one arm, and when he first arrives in the land of the Danes, the watchmen sees the mighty warrior and says, "I have never seen a mightier warrior on earth than is one of you, a man in battle-dress" (Beowulf, 7). Strength is obviously an important characteristic of warriors in Anglo-Saxon culture, but strength alone is not enough to define a warrior. Beowulf shows that every warrior must have courage. In an argument with Unferth, Beowulf says, "Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good" (Beowulf , 12). This quotation shows the significance of courage in the Anglo-Saxon culture.
“Then Wiglaf went back, anxious to return while Beowulf was alive, to bring him treasure they’d won together. “ (45) 791. Even when Beowulf died, he still got treasure for the victory over the dragon, and another reward he got for his achievement was a holy ritual (funeral). An epic hero doesn’t have to be a superpower hero. But most heroes tactics, weapons, and courage to become heroes.
This however, does not affect Beowulf a whole lot, considering his brute strength. Strength is one of the characteristics that stands out the most to the reader and helps define Beowulf as a hero. Beowulf is known for his physical stature, which is far superior to most men. He is also known for slaying countless creatures and evils much bigger than him (like Grendel). Throughout the epic, he kills both Grendel and Grendel’s mother without using a sword or mail and is successful both times.
In speaking of the way of knights, the knights and lords followed the rules and laws of their king. In the case of Sir Gawain, his king and ruler happened to be the infamous King Arthur, but none of the knights wanted to challenge him for his place. Although none of his knights thought of themselves as a leader or a "general" if you will, almost all of their greatest heroic achievements were believed to be done singlehandedly. As far as combat goes, Beowulf was somewhat famous in the Anglo Saxon era for all of the battles and feats he had done over the course of his life. Although some of the feats that Beowulf had done were not fully examined in-depth (such as when he told the story of the time he fended off sea monsters while swimming), his greater battles and achievements are explained in far greater detail and depth.
The author believes that Napoleon won many battles because of his enemies’ mistakes and not because of what he actually was…the greatest military mind that ever lived. I did some research of my own and found out that he is also remembered for his Napoleonic Code and his military campaigns are still taught in some military academies. Owen Connelly wrote in his book that Napoleon insisted that he would be remembered for the Napoleonic Code. And, in fact, he is. Owen Connelly’s perspective on the way Napoleon won battles is his opinion and he tries to prove it in this book.
The tribes admire their leaders because of their extraordinary strength and courage. Throughout the poem, there are examples where Beowulf courageously boasted before he goes to fight an opponent. During that Anglo Saxon period, it was acceptable to boast but you have to fulfill your promises to your people. When Beowulf arrived to Hrothgar, he promised that he would kill Grendel. Either Grendel would be killed or Beowulf would die.
Glancing once he regretted sheathing his sword already without fully checking the area for more foes. However the gods were on his side today and he drew in time to parry a blow from above, from a figure with a young face, almost newly trained in Fabien's eyes. The loud clang of metal to metal echoed in the knights ears. Yes Fabien was a knight, one of the oldest in the group but with experience and some had a sense that he would never falter in anything when it came to fulfilling the queen's wishes. It was a reason why the queen favored him so when it came to fighting.