Beowulf’s boasting.
What do we learn about Beowulf from his boasting? A lot, it seems.
The epic poem Beowulf offers us modern-types a chance to learn the mannerism and nuance of an often-romanticized people. The very old poem tells the story of Beowulf’s triumphs and trials against ancient monsters and provides us with insights into the cultural importance of boasting to several historical civilizations.
Beowulf’s exchange with local jealous try-hard Unferth on the eve of his battle with Grendel — one of the aforementioned monster threatening a, wait for it, mead drinking hall — (see Beowulf, lines 495–610) establishes boasting as an important mechanism for asserting achievement and capability. Bragging in this work is a form of currency. It is the equivalent of placing a cultural wager; the boast functions as an important affirmation of reputation, especially concerning physical prowess and bravery.
Let’s set the scene. Beowulf, upstart warrior-hero of moderate renown, has been welcomed by King Hrothgar, a local monarch and presumably a powerbroker of sorts. Here, the king functions as an intermediary between Beowulf, the quest, and the swagger associated with slaying serious monsters.
Our hero Beowulf has revealed his intention to face (read: smite) Grendel, who has been terrorizing Hrothgar’s mead hall Heorot for some time (lines 456–490). Naturally, the restoration of Business As Usual is uppermost on the agenda of for the folks at Heorot, who are unwilling to sort Grendel as it seems they all have some serious drinking scheduled in.
Enter Unferth, a smarmy malingerer determined to take some of the gloss of Beowulf’s high-intentions. The poem describes Unferth’s envy of Beowulf’s superiority and courage (itself a revealing insight into Unferth’s own insecurity and feelings of inadequacy. In later years [much later] we will comes to understand these feelings as a natural response to toxic masculinity, but I digress). Unferth does what any man with a inferiority complex would do: he attempts to embarrass our hero.
He tells the assembled audience the story of when Beowulf lost a swimming contest against another Geat (pronounced to rhyme with “yeet”, I think. That’s the clan/race/people Beowulf hails from), Brecca (lines 506–524), calling into question both Beowulf’s physical prowess and presumably his buoyancy. As we shall soon see there is more to this tale the the wily Unferth shares with his audience, but it’s fair to say that attacking Beowulf’s strength and stamina using this precise tale is a low blow, son.
Unferth then goes on to warn Beowulf (while addressing the room) that none have survived against the monster Grendel (lines 527–528), as if to urge our hero to give up on such a hopeless quest and resume drinking with the others.
After carefully considering the arguments made against him and his purposes Beowulf’s replies to Unferth with a stinging verbal rebuttal. The retort is a two-pronged attack that — like all the best arguments — takes the momentum from Unferth’s comments and flings it back.
First, limbering up, Beowulf uses maximum sass to accuse Unferth of pubic drunkenness: how else could he garble the story so badly? Beowulf retells the events of the same swimming contest, adding in the little bit that Unferth missed about and why he was even in the icy ocean: to fight sea creatures. By raising the story at all, Beowulf was able to slide in what I am calling an #unhumblebrag. Casually, Beowulf explains that neither Unferth or Brecca could have survived that ordeal; voluntarily heading out into the frozen ocean to fight nine fearsome sea monsters on their own turf (or water, as it were), casting himself in a heroic light while eliminating any chance that he is perceived publicly as anything less than a towering icon of success, strength and courage (lines 530- 582).
Prong two. He goes on to use a low-blow tactic of his own, turning the mirror on Unferth. In a series of belittling comments about the troublesome Dane, Beowulf contrast his own record of glory-thirsty bravado to Unferth’s lack of any general action against Grendel, concluding it is indeed Unferth who is the coward and any argument to the contrary doesn’t hold water (lines 590–598). Behold:
The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly
As keen or courageous as you claim to be
Grendel would never have got away with
Such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king,
Havoc in Heorot and horrors everywhere.
But he knows he need never be in dread
Of your blade making a mizzle of his blood
Or of vengeance arriving ever from this quarter —
“Mizzle” presumably being a cross between a Mess and a… Squizzle? Regardless, this is where things get particularly revealing. The poem of Beowulf itself was penned by a Christian. Well, truthfully, we’re not exactly sure who wrote it, but there is enough evidence that the author was Christian that scholars have largely agreed just to go with.
The anecdote told by Unferth, and Beowulf’s savage reply through his extravagant boast and subsequent put-down demonstrate the priorities of both the pre-Christian Scandinavian culture the characters were operating in, and the Christian culture of the poet themselves.
This is critical. Biographical and contextual elements of Christian praxis influence the author’s notation of the exchange and the value system embedded in it. The vehemence Beowulf replies with, both in the graphic description of the true swimming contest, and his follow-up jab-punch attack on Unferth’s own record of victories (or lack thereof), demonstrates that might, success and courage are deeply important to the culture of both the Geats and Danes.
Beowulf describes his contest with Brecca as the latest in a long tradition of boasts and challenges between the two (line 535–538), emphasizing the cultural importance of continually seeking glory and fame through feats of physical strength and bravery. In Beowulf’s tale not only does he win the contest, but he also slays nine sea monsters making the waters safer for sailors ever after.
After hearing Beowulf tell the real story of his heroism and restate his intention to destroy Grendel or die trying, King Hrothgar is adequately impressed. Beowulf’s boast of strength becomes more than the story of his life, but also embodies the promise he undertakes to rid the mead hall of its enemy. The boast becomes a currency or source of capital Beowulf can trade and exchange on and when the value of that currency is threatened Beowulf, like any financier in history, takes steps to shore up the potential loss.
Considering the narrative is based in a pre-Christian society, the poet’s interwoven references to Christian concepts during Beowulf’s reply to Unferth’s attack further alters the process of boasting, adding to it an almost religious importance. Beowulf bluntly tells Unferth that his misrepresentation and ‘quick tongue’ will see him suffer in hell (line 589), linking the misrepresentation of heroic deeds with Christian sin.
Again, to protect the value of his assets, Beowulf seeks to bring down the value of a competing asset, with emphasis on the “ass” part of the term; Unnferth. His description of being guided by the light of God back to the shore after his swimming contest (lines 569–570) also demonstrates the endorsement of God is essential to hero regardless of their historical context, and thus likewise establishes the priority system of the Christian poet.
The exchange between these two characters reveals the importance of heroic deeds, and the need to defend oneself against attacks on these deeds. Despite its fantastic content, the text of Beowulf provides important insights into the priorities of these historic cultures, and establishes boasting part-anecdote, part-currency, part-vessel. It’s a complex and essential aspect of a culture’s consciousness.
And it’s a bloody ripping read. Spoilers: after Beowulf kicks Grendel’s ass he stops back for a mead and some praise, then goes hunting for Grendel’s mum.
References:
Beowulf, lines 1–835. Trans. Seamus Heaney. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th edition. Gen. ed. Stephen Greenblatt and M.H. Abrams. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2006. 1:34–51
