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The name Wealhtheow is unique to Beowulf.Like most Old English names, the name Wealhtheow is transparently recognisable as a compound of two nouns drawn from everyday vocabulary, in this case wealh (which in early Old English meant "Roman, Celtic-speaker" but whose meaning changed during the Old English period to mean "Briton", then "enslaved Briton", and then "slave") and þēow (whose ...
His men, upon seeing this and fearing for their lives, retreat into the woods. However, one of his men, Wiglaf, in great distress at Beowulf's plight, comes to his aid. The two slay the dragon, but Beowulf is mortally wounded. After Beowulf dies, Wiglaf remains by his side, grief-stricken.
Given that Unferth shows his dislike for Beowulf early in the story, Unferth's choice to award Beowulf with Hrunting, which means "hunting", [6] can be interpreted as a sign of peace and acceptance. In this light, the giving of the sword seems to be an indication of Unferth's recognition of Beowulf as a capable and powerful warrior.
Beowulf is an epic poem in Old English, telling the story of its eponymous pagan hero.He becomes King of the Geats after ridding Heorot, the hall of the Danish king Hrothgar, of the monster Grendel, [a] who was ravaging the land; he dies saving his people from a dragon.
The parallel in the story lies with the similarity to Beowulf's hero Sigemund and his companion: Wiglaf is a younger companion to Beowulf and, in his courage, shows himself to be Beowulf's successor. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] The presence of a companion is seen as a motif in other dragon stories, but the Beowulf poet breaks hagiographic tradition with the ...
Beowulf ruled the Geats for 50 years, until his realm was terrorized by a fire-breathing dragon after a thief stole a golden cup from its hoard of treasure. After unsuccessfully attacking the dragon with his thegns, Beowulf decided to pursue the monster into its lair at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dared join him ...
6. “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.” 7. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” 8. “In the face of pain there are no heroes.”
When Beowulf damages his sword wounding the dragon and is burned by the dragon's fire, [B 5] Wiglaf is the only man of Beowulf's band to overcome his fear of the dragon. [B 6] He rebukes the other thanes [B 7] and goes to Beowulf's aid [B 8] crying words of encouragement. [B 9] Wiglaf does not retreat, though his shield is consumed by fire.