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Perhaps the most extensive source of literature from the Anglo-Saxon period come
s in the Beowulf epic. Though there is no knowledge of who first transcribed it,
it remains the primary example of old English poetry as reflective of the socie
ty. Yet the common assumption that often comes from the reading of this text is
that the women are believed to take on the predictably subservient role. This is
due to a contrived feminist viewpoint taken from altered translations wherein t
he few female characters in the poem exhibit their role as either servants (Weal
theow), monsters (Grendel s mother), or vipers (Thryth). It is not difficult to un
derstand how the poem has been liberally altered from the original text. For exa
mple, in the unaltered poem Wealtheow is described as noble lady ( frolc wf)1 Lady of
e Helmings (mb-ode idesHelminga) and
Gold-adorned (goldhroden) whereas in a modern t
ranslation she is mentioned in passing only as either giving men drinks or silen
tly sitting beside Hrothgar (Ringler, 2005). It is in the dissonance between the
original text and the modern ones that lead to the incorrect assumptions regard
ing the women in Beowulf.
To look at the poem from this perspective degrades it of context and power, thus
lessening its importance and connection to the Anglo-Saxon world. On the surfac
e it only appears that the women of Beowulf have only minor roles because their
significance is either glossed over or specifically put down by scholars and ana
lysts. To look at the poem from this perspective degrades it of context and powe
r, thus lessening its importance and connection to the Anglo-Saxon world. On the
contrary, in early Anglo-Saxon literature there is a stern representation of th
e strong woman in Beowulf. We are shown several female roles within the text, bu
t none are more telling than those of Wealhtheow and Hygd. Although it can be as
sumed that these women have a lesser position given the little that is said abou
t them in comparison to Hrothgar and Beowulf, they nevertheless have imperative
roles within the tale whether positive or negative. Through the narration we can
see the central positions that women hold within the society and the hall. Weal
htheow is Hrothgar s wife and as such is expected to act as her position requires.
She is known as The woman of the Helmings (Ymbeode a ides Helminga), clan host (medos
tigge mt mga hose) and the great gold-adorned lady of the hall (grette goldhroden gum
an on healle)2 Her wisdom and ability to weave through the etiquette of court is
central to the liquidity of the kingdom as seen during the passing of the cup. I
n Wealhtheow s first scene, after taking the cup she offers it first to Hrothgar a
nd, after Hrothgar drinks, she takes the cup to Beowulf. She asserts her power i
This ideal is contrasted with the presence of Grendel s mother and Thryth. These w
omen exert physical strength and violence over less aggressive means. They are h
ostile, do not welcome guests, and use irrational violence in order to settle di
sputes. Thryth is presented as a princess who used to kill the men who came into
her hall and it is commented that this is unacceptable, even by someone who is
beautiful. Grendel s mother also attacks without discrimination, as she does with
Beowulf. Yet there is a difference between the two women in that Thryth is conne
cted through lineage and Grendel s mother is not. Thryth is the daughter of a king
; she has social status, and can change through the influence of society via her
marriage: famous for good things, used well her life while she had it, held high
love with that chief of heroes. . . (lifgesceafta lifgende breac, hiold heahlufa
n wi hlea brego). Unlike Thryth, Grendel s mother is much more dangerous because she
functions outside of society, so terrorizing the warriors when she enters the ha
ll that they do not even don their armor before taking up their weapons. Her lac
k of lineage and loyalty is fearsome because she seeks to disrupt the ability fo
r the society to thrive.
But it is not just Grendel s mother s otherness that causes Hrothgar s unease, it is a
lso her refusal to follow even the basic societal expectations, the wergild (lit
. man-gold), or vengeance, in this case. The wergild existed as a form of repara
tion for killing. In the Laws of Aethelbert, the wergild is a way for which a se
nse of justice can exist without further bloodshed. If one has killed another me
mber of society, then they would have to pay a certain amount of money depending
on the status of the victim and after the kinsman are paid the accused is then
considered to have done what is proper. Knowing this, we can then look to how Gr
endel and his mother are described as having no settling of money:/ Nor did any c
ounselor have hope to expect noble reparation from the killer s hands (fea ingian, n
e r nnig witena wenan orfte beorhtre bote to banan folmum). What makes the villains
so terrible is their indiscriminate killing without reason and reparation. It is
clear that there is a great weight placed on human life and even the most antag
onistic member of society would still be expected to function and perform their
part within the community. Life was not taken lightly, and someone who died befo
re their time was grieved for. Thus, Grendel s mother s attack on Hrothgar s hall is h
er attempt to gain retribution for Beowulf killing her son, albeit in an immoral
way:
Grendeles modor,
siode sorhfull; sunu dea fornam,
wighete Wedra. Wif unhyre5
hyre bearn gewrc, beorn acwealde
ellenlice; r ws schere,
frodan fyrnwitan feorh ugenge.
Grendel s mother,
Journeyed in sorrow; her son s death consumed
Her need to bring hate. The fierce woman
Took toll for her child, she daringly killed in blindness
The noble; that was Aeschere, wise counselor life departing.
She then takes the man, Hrothgar s counselor, with her In her fiendish embrace unde
r the mountain-stream./That was for Hrothgar the most grievous of the affliction
s/ The leader of the folk had long attained (leofne mannan; hio t lic tbr feondes fmum
under firgenstream. t ws Hrogare hreowa tornost ara e leodfruman lange begeate). When
this is compared to the way in which Beowulf enacts the wergild, he is seen as f
irst answering the call of Hrothgar and indulging the lord so that he might kill
the beast. In Beowulf s actions there is a sense of some small justice that he ha
s come to the land in order to create peace due to the years the land has suffer
ed, but Grendel is indiscriminate, much like Grendel s mother, and kills for the s
ake of it. Beowulf, on the other hand, kills the two in order to restore balance
ABSTRACT: This paper examines the roles of the women in Beowulf, focusing on tho
se of hostess, peaceweavers, and monsters. When read through an anthropological
lens, Beowulf presents the female characters as being central both in the story
In her 1995 book article "The Women of Beowulf: A Context for Interpretation," G
illian R. Overing writes that "[t]he women in Beowulf, whether illegitimate mons
ters or pedigreed peaceweaving queens, are all marginal, excluded figures . . ."
[1]. In this article, Overing's approach is that of a literary critic, and alth
ough valuable for Beowulf studies (and required reading for anyone interested in
the women in Beowulf) she fails to take into account possible anthropological a
pproaches to the text. Read within the context of the society presented in the t
ext, it is clear that the women are central and important to the poem as a whole
. This paper will not take issue with Overing's article or approach to the sourc
es, but instead analyze these women in a complementary, anthropological fashion.
Through these discussions I will show that, when read carefully, Beowulf presen
ts the female characters as women central both to the story itself and within th
e society presented in the poem, and far from "marginal, excluded figures".
Let us first examine the major female characters. There are six women in Beowulf
who have major roles: Wealhtheow, Hygd, Freawaru, Hildeburh, Grendel's mother,
and Thryth, all of whom can be combined in corresponding pairs[2], and in this w
ay I will examine the role of these women. Wealhtheow and Hygd are both queens a
nd, as hostesses, they both exert influence in the hall (usually thought of as a
masculine enclave), influence that does not always coincide with the wishes of
their husbands. The first section will present Wealhtheow and Hygd as hostesses,
discussing their place in the structure of the court society shown in the poem,
a society that focuses on the hall and the words that are spoken within the hal
l. Hildeburh and Freawaru are both failed peaceweavers, Hildeburh in the past ti
me of the poem and Freawaru in the future. "Peaceweaver" is a term in modern sch
olarship reserved for a woman married into one group from another, in an attempt
to weave peace among them. As peaceweavers, these women have the potential to h
old influence in both groups - potential which does not come to fruition for rea
sons that will be discussed in the second section, which will present Hildeburh
and Freawaru as peaceweavers, discuss the effect of tribal loyalties on their ma
rriages, and examine the general practice of peaceweaving. Grendel's mother and
Thryth are both women of a monstrous type who are eventually "tamed", through de
ath and marriage, respectively. These monstrous women serve as counter-examples
of both the hostesses and the peaceweavers. The third and final section will pre
sent Grendel's Mother and Thryth as counter-examples of hostesses and peaceweave
rs; perhaps they can be considered hostile hostesses and strife-weavers.
il one reads carefully and examines how this duty is carried out. In Wealhtheow'
s first scene (612-641), after taking up the cup she first offers it to Hrothgar
. After Hrothgar drinks she takes the cup to all his retainers until finally she
reaches Beowulf. She greets him, he reasserts his promise, made in a previous s
cene, to rid the Danes of Grendel, and Wealhtheow, satisfied, returns to her sea
t.
Comparing Wealhtheow's second scene (1162-1231) to her first scene shows some of
the importance of the queen's cup-carrying practice. Again Wealhtheow first app
roaches Hrothgar, who is sitting next to his nephew, but next instead of carryin
g the cup to all the other retainers she delivers it directly to Beowulf, who ha
s been seated with her sons. This difference may show that Beowulf has risen in
status in the court since he kept his promise to kill Grendel. However, it also
calls attention to the parallel between the story that has just been told about
Hildeburh and the death of her sons and brother and Wealhtheow's own sons and th
eir uncle. But because the function of this change is unclear in the text itself
, it is helpful to look to other sources for a possible answer.
Michael J. Enright, in the first chapter of his book Lady with a Mead Cup, discu
sses the place of women in the political society of the Germanic warband, making
special reference to those scenes in Beowulf involving Wealhtheow [4]. Enright
argues that, because she always offers the cup to Hrothgar first, Wealhtheow is
an extension of and a support for his kingly power. He cites another Old English
poem, Maxims I, that seems to confirm this argument. The section that he cites
discusses the nobleman's ideal wife, how "at mead drinking she must at all times
and places approach the protector of princes first, in front of the companions,
quickly pass the first cup to her lord's hand . . ." [5]. The order of serving
is then directly tied into the rankings within the warband. This argument makes
sense in reference to the scenes in question: in the second scene, Wealhtheow se
rves Beowulf after Hrothgar as a representation of his newly earned status withi
n the band.
Hygd, the other woman who plays the role of hostess in Beowulf, has a much small
er part. She is described as moving through the hall, carrying the cup, but no o
rder is given for her rounds (1980- 1983. "The daughter of Hreth passed through t
he hall, cared for the people, bore the cup to the hand of the hero"). The poet
does not say whether or when she delivered to cup to Hygelac or to Beowulf. Cons
idering the above argument for the importance of order in the cup-distribution,
it seems that the lack of that information in the case of Hygd is just as import
ant as the information included at Heorot. In the scenes involving Wealhtheow, B
eowulf is a stranger in a rival hall, so it is necessary for Hrothgar to show hi
s power. The poet illustrates this power through the passing around of the cup,
and Beowulf knows that, because the king receives the cup first, he is the maste
r of the hall. However, because Beowulf has returned to his own hall and to his
own lord, there is no need for Hygelac to show that he is the master. We know th
at Beowulf is Hygelac's thegn: that is how he is first introduced in the poem (H
igelaces egn, 194).
These examples of Wealhtheow and Hygd show them as instruments of the kings in t
he hall. Enright does disservice to them, however, by focusing only on their fun
ction as extensions of their husbands. Although he concludes that Wealhtheow's p
osition as cup-bearer and supporter of the king gives her some power within the
structure of the warband, Enright argues against her and other women in her posi
tion having a significant influence on politics. He does not take seriously enou
gh the words spoken by Wealhtheow to Hrothgar and Beowulf during the celebration
of Grendel's death (lines 1161-1187 and 1216-1231). In her speech to Hrothgar,
Wealhtheow urges him to be gracious (gld) to Beowulf and the Geats, but not to ma
ke him heir to the Danish kingdom (as she has heard he wishes to do) (1175-1180)
. Instead, she asks him to take Hrothulf (Hrothgar's nephew) as his heir, to hol
d the kingdom for her sons (1180-1187). In this act, Wealhtheow is actively prot
ecting her own interests, and the poet gives no indication that her words were i
gnored or not accepted into consideration by Hrothgar [6]. Her words to Beowulf
reflect the same concerns. First, she urges him to accept the gift she has just
given him, a ring (beag), illustrating her own graciousness and generosity [7].
She then praises his deeds and urges him to be kind to her sons, reminding him o
f the truth and loyalty that exist in Heorot. Her final words illustrate her sel
f-confidence: "the troop, having drunk at my table, will do as I bid" (1231). Ag
ain, the poet gives no reason for us to believe that her demands will go unheede
d [8].
Hygd also held at least some political power, and this is shown most clearly whe
n she attempts to deliver the kingdom of the Geats to Beowulf following Hygelac'
s death on the battlefield, in effect passing over her own son, Heardred. The po
et says, "Hygd offered him [Beowulf] the hoard and kingdom, rings and royal thro
ne; she did not trust that her son could hold the ancestral seat against foreign
hosts, now that Hygelac was dead" (2369-2372). Perhaps she is acting as an exte
nsion of her husband's power (as she does during the cup distribution in the hal
l), doing what he would have wished her to do. However the poet does not say tha
t she is acting on anyone's authority but her own - apparently it is Hygd and Hy
gd alone who does not believe her son is strong enough to hold the kingdom. Jane
marie Luecke has examined historical and anthropological evidence and concludes
that the social arrangement in Beowulf, though patrilineal, dimly reflects the m
atrilineal (the bloodline descending through the mother's line) and matrilocal (
the household centered around women as opposed to men) organization of early Ger
manic society [9]. Stephen O. Glosecki (in an article reprinted in this issue) a
grees that there are many references in Anglo-Saxon sources in general, Beowulf
in particular, that may "persist as reflexes of a totemic system in which the ba
sic exogamous group was both matrilineal and matrilocal" [10]. The lineage is tr
aced through the women: a man belongs to his mother's line, and his son belongs
to 'his' mother's line, not his father's. This would create a system of inherita
nce quite different from the later medieval system of primogeniture. In the tote
mic system, "if the father bequeathed his ancestral wealth and status upon his s
on, this patrimony would pass out of his own natal clan and into the matriclan o
f his affines" [11]. To avoid passing his ancestral wealth into another family,
then, the father must choose another male relation related to his own mother thr
ough another female relation. The closest relation in this case would be the son
of a sister (this relationship will be dealt with in greater detail in the next
section), and, although referred to many times as the son of his father, Ecgthe
ow, Beowulf is also the son of Hygelac's sister. Return then to Beowulf and Hygd
, and take into account the possibility of a reflexive totemic system. One can s
uggest that Hygd wishes to keep the kingdom in her husband's family, not because
she or her deceased husband doubted the abilities of Heardred, but because the
totemic system prescribes that it should be so.
Let us now move from a discussion of relations within a group to that of relatio
ns between groups. A good place to begin this discussion is with an examination
of the term "peaceweaver" and its use in Old English literature. It is commonly
believed that the term freothuwebbe, "peaceweaver," is most often applied to wom
en given in marriage in order to secure peace among enemy or rival peoples [12].
Freothwebbe, however, is only used three times in the Old English corpus, and L
arry M. Sklute has thus concluded that the term "does not necessarily reflect a
Germanic custom of giving a woman in marriage to a hostile tribe in order to sec
ure peace. Rather it is a poetic metaphor referring to the person whose function
it seems to be to perform openly the action of making peace by weaving to the b
est of her art a tapestry of friendship and amnesty" [13]. Using this definition
, in their courtly functions both Wealhtheow and Hygd can be called freothuwebbe
[14], and in fact Wealhtheow is referred to using a similar term, frithu-sibb f
olca (2017, peace-pledge of the nations). Although Sklute does not see a differe
nce in the way the terms freothuwebbe and frithu-sibb are used in Beowulf, John
Hill describes a distinction hinging on the second element in the compounds, "we
aving concord in contrast to kinship peace alliance." Thus, Wealhtheow acts as b
oth. "As a link between two peoples, Wealhtheow is obviously the latter [i.e., f
rithu-sibb]; as a personage in the hall she is the former [i.e freothuwebbe]" [1
5]. Though I use the modern English term "peaceweaver" for Hildeburh and Freawar
u I want it to be clear that I am referring to their functions as frithu-sibb, w
omen given in marriage as a peacekeeping force between rival groups.
The story of Hildeburh offers a doorway into discussion of an issue near to that
Freawaru plays a much smaller role in the poem than Hildeburh [20]. After Beowul
f returns to Hygelac he tells a story of perceived insult and revenge surroundin
g the marriage of Hrothgar's daughter to Ingeld, son of Froda, king of the Heath
obards, whom the Danes have defeated in the past. The plan of marriage is clearl
y one of peaceweaving (2026-2029). Beowulf's description of Freawaru is fairly i
ncidental to the story; she mainly serves as a way of introduction to the confli
ct. He tells how she went about the court, offering the cup to warriors [21]. He
then describes what he fears the outcome of her marriage will be. At the feast
following the wedding, an aging warrior will recognize the Heathobard treasures
being carried by the Danes and will urge the younger thanes to battle, and not e
ven the finest bride will be able to stop them (2029-2031). Though Freawaru's pa
rt in all this is admittedly quite small, she is nevertheless a character centra
l to the story.
Thryth is an evil woman, guilty of terrible crimes (firen ondrysne), but neverth
eless she is also described as a famous folk queen (fremu folces cwen) [24], lad
y (idese), and even peaceweaver (freothu-webbe) [25], which she decidedly is not
. These descriptive terms illustrate one major difference between Thryth and Gre
ndel's mother: Thryth functions within society. As the daughter of a king she ha
s social status, and although her actions are not praiseworthy the poet does not
condemn her as a person. She is also capable of change through the influence of
society. After her marriage, a social event, her attitude changes. "She caused
less calamity to the people, less malicious evil . . . famous for good things, [
she] used well her life while she had it, held high love with that chief of hero
es . . ." (1946-1947 and 1953-1954).
Grendel's mother, despite the poet's own words (1282-1284), is a hardier opponen
t than her son was, and she is certainly physically capable of carrying out her
desired vengeance. Compare her entry into Heorot with that of Grendel [31]. Alth
ough when she approaches the hall Grendel's mother is frightened and wishes to l
eave as soon as possible, her presence has a stronger influence on the sleeping
thanes than does Grendel's (1279-1295). When Grendel first enters Heorot (115-12
5) he takes 30 men, and yet his work is not discovered until the next morning. I
n his second entry (720- 749), he tears the door open and walks into the middle
of a room filled with sleeping warriors. Not only were they able to sleep despit
e their knowledge that he was coming, they also apparently sleep through the des
truction of the door. Grendel is able to grab one man and almost grab another be
fore Beowulf begins their battle. It is only then that the sleeping thanes awake
. When Grendel's mother enters, however, her mere presence awakens the men. Ther
e is no warning, they did not know that she was coming (as far as they knew, dan
ger died with Grendel), and the poet gives no indication that she made any noise
when she came into the hall. The warriors, however, wake immediately. "She reac
hed Heorot, where the Ring-Danes slept throughout the building; sudden turnabout
came to men, when Grendel's mother broke into the hall" (1279-1282). They are s
eized by a terror (broga) and do not even think of donning armor before they gra
b their weapons (1290-1291). This is only one example of the contrast evident be
tween Grendel and his mother [32].
Through this short analysis of the roles of the women in Beowulf, I have endeavo
red to show the centrality of female characters to the poem. In the form of the
work, the presentation of these women is purposefully symmetrical, inviting comp
arisons and contrasts. Those women who act as hostesses and peaceweavers, even w
hile looking out for their own interests, are central to the poem, and an unders
tanding of the functions of the women in Beowulf assists the comprehension of a
complex poem. Those women presented as monsters, the hostile hostesses and strif
e-weavers, are interesting in themselves, and also serve as counter-examples to
the other female characters. A thorough investigation of the relationships betwe
en the women and their men uncovers possibilities of a matrilineal undercurrent
in the culture of Beowulf, which may indicate a dim memory of a pagan Germanic p
ast for the Anglo-Saxon poet. Though they are all defined by the men that they a
re close to, either sons, fathers, or brothers, none of the women in Beowulf are
marginal or excluded
Throughout the history of literature, female characters are often side character
s that do not get much recognition from readers. Further analysis of male-centri
c works, reveals that women play central roles in literature regardless of the p
roximity to the protagonist (oftentimes, male) who is struggling with internal a
nd external conflicts. Many of these conflicts in literature lead to significant
analysis of the moral fabric that defines such a character. For example, the ep
ic of "Beowulf" is revered for its accounts of heroism and male comradery. Beowu
lf is a courageous hero who defeats three monsters for the sake of a nearby coun
try. The women in "Beowulf" are overlooked; however, a close examination of the
poetry demonstrates that the women play roles that are central to the story and
to that of society. Three major women play integral roles throughout the epic: W
ealhtheow, Grendel's Mother, and Hildeburh. These women entertain, bring peace,
and contradict societal expectations of the female gender, either directly or in
directly. The epic of "Beowulf" illustrates three major roles for the women in t
he society: the hostess, the peacemaker, and the monster.
The peacemaker is a pivotal role played by the women throughout the epic of "Beo
wulf." As a peacemaker, the woman is responsible for uniting tribes (warring or
not) and maintaining solid relations between these groups. The strongest model o
f the peacemaker in "Beowulf," is Hildeburh, the Danish princess who was married
off to the King of Jutes. Hildeburh is a gift from the Danes to the Jutes in ho
pes to bring peace between the countries and establish an alliance. According to
Nicole Smith, she claims that Hildeburh's main job as a "happily confined" quee
n is to act as a "mediator and a departure from male dominated activities and re
lationships," which means that she eases tensions that may arise between men. Fu
rthermore, when Hildeburh's brother of Danes and son of Jutes perish in a battle
in which they are enemies, she stresses that they be burned together (Beowulf l
ines 1070-1185). Her desire to burn enemies together demonstrates an act of join
ing the opposed forces regardless of the alliances. Although the marriage did no
t bring peace to these groups of people, Hildeburh fulfilled her duty as a peace
weaver by maintaining loyalties with her homeland and the land of her husband's.
In addition to the peacemaker, the queen in "Beowulf" acts as hostess to the men
of the land. It is important to note that the hostess does not solely serve the
men; rather she is the instrument that reaffirms social customs and publicly es
tablishes the status of the men who are in the presence of the king. Wealhtheow,
the queen of Daneland and wife of Hrothgar completes these duties in the mead h
all when the warriors are dining with the king. For example, Wealhtheow establis
hes a warrior's status by using the cup of mead. She carries the cup of mead sta
rting with the king and then to the warriors. In the first scene, she serves Beo
wulf last since he had just arrived in Daneland. However, in lines 1162-1231, sh
e serves Beowulf directly after serving her husband. The act of the cup demonstr
ates that Beowulf has earned his right to sit beside the king, as though he were
a Dane himself (Porter 1). Furthermore, the hostess holds political power in th