Comitatus and “The Other” in Beowulf
Medieval society was based on the concept of “comitatus” in which the liege lord was the “ring giver” or provider and his thanes who were his retainers. The liege lord fought for glory and the thanes fought to protect the liege lord. These relationships were tightly knit and the greatness of a leader was shown by the loyalty of his men. Often a leader’s greatness was such that he not only commanded the loyalty and respect of his own country men, but also that of men who were outsiders. We see evidence of this in Beowulf with the presence of outsiders who fight along side by side with the liege lord. The most famous of these outsiders is Beowulf’s thane, Wiglaf, who is by Beowulf’s side as he battles the dragon. Wiglaf can be read as a foil for Beowulf in that he is “the other” in Beowulf’s court as Beowulf had been “the other” in Hrothgar’s court. As “the other” they both perform the duties of a loyal thane in fighting for their lord, despite their foreign blood. The loyalty of these foreign ambassadors to the lords they come to serve shows not only the greatness of that leader, but also illustrates that an outsider, “the other”, to be more honorable than the leader’s own thanes in that they are able to uphold the comitatus where the native society cannot. The superiority of “the other” through their demonstration of comitatus shows fatal flaw of the culture and foreshadows that society’s eventual demise.
Beowulf himself was “the other” among the Danes more than once. Although he is a faithful thane to Hugelac, Hrothgar states, “I knew him when he was only a boy;” showing that Beowulf had been in Heorot to which he later returns in order to slay Grendel (Chickering, line 372). Beowulf’s presence and eagerness to assist Hrothgar in disposing of his monster is evidence that Hrothgar is an exceptional lord. As Beowulf and his retainers are led to Heorot which has been plagued by Grendel for the past twelve years, we see “the road was stone paved,” showing that the basic infrastructure within the Danish society seems to be in full working order (line 319). Despite their pesky monster infestation, everything seems to be business as usual. The fact that Heorot still stands is yet another testament to Hrothgar’s greatness, Grendel can keep the Danes from using it, but he does not dare destroy it. This implies an individual issue within the Danes, not a societal problem.
As the center of all life within the society, the mead hall is representative of civilization itself. The fact that Grendel does not destroy it completely, as the dragon later destroys Beowulf’s mead hall shows that the Danes are not yet a doomed society. However, “he could not come near the gift-throne, the treasure / because of God- he knew not his love;” he who sits in the throne was blessed also and thus safe from Grendel’s claws (lines 168-169). While Hrothgar, his throne, and his mead hall were safe physically, the blight of Grendel brought shame to all three. Thus, the presence of Beowulf serves to merely solve the individual issue: Grendel. After all, “at that time none of the princely shieldings betrayed each other” alluding that the time will come when the society falls due to betrayal and the failure of the comitatus (lines 1018-1019). Unferth displays this possibility in his willingness to question Beowulf’s ability to slay Grendel to which Beowulf cleverly replies:
“I’ll tell you a truth, son of Ecglaf
Never would Grendel have done so much harm,
The awesome monster against your own leader,
Shameful in Heorot, if heart and intention,
Your great battle-spirit, were sharp as your words.
But he has discovered he need not dread
Too great a feud, fierce rush of swords,
Not from your people, the ‘Victory-Scyldings.’” (lines 590-598)
The shaming of their leader should have incited each and every Dane to make an attempt at slaying Grendel or die trying. Instead, they let him wreak havoc on Heorot night after night, and in so doing, allow him to continue to shame Hrothgar. It is only an outsider who is willing to step up to the challenge of disposing of the brute, thus calling the loyalty of Hrothgar’s own thanes into question.
Because Beowulf successfully eliminates Grendel, Hrothgar proclaims, “I will love you like a son, cherish you for life,” and in feast seats him accordingly (lines 947-948). This extreme move on the part of Hrothgar alludes to the relationship that is present later in the poem between Beowulf and Wiglaf, another outsider who becomes more loyal to his leader than the leader’s own countrymen. Although this impromptu adoption may be viewed as a slight to Hrothgar’s own biological sons, I argue that he is sending out a message of disappointment to his thanes. Hrothgar goes on to state “Often for less I have given treasures, honorable gifts to lesser warriors, poorer at battle,” further illustrating his displeasure with his own thanes in an understated way (lines 951-953). Had one of them had the strength, courage, and intellect to destroy Grendel, they too might have been regarded as Hrothgar’s own. However, not one of them was willing to actually step up to the task despite their many drunken boasts. Therefore, the privilege of being regarded as the son of the king has been bestowed on he who is worthy: an outsider. This also foreshadows the fall of the Danes when attempts at peace weaving fail. Betrayal will be the undoing of the Danes, as cowardice will be with the Geats.
We are later able to see the Danes as a foil for the Geats and Hrothgar as a foil for Beowulf. This comparison is played out in the second half of the poem when we see Beowulf as an aged king. He ruled “this people for fifty winters, and there was no ruler of surrounding nations, not any, who dared meet [Beowulf] with armies,” then lo and behold, there came a monster: a dragon (lines 2732-2734). Although similar to Grendel, the dragon is indicative of a societal problem. Grendel merely haunted Hrothgar’s mead hall; the dragon completely obliterated Beowulf’s mead hall. The dragon took no prisoners; it came, it saw, it burned the place to the ground and as a result, Beowulf is left feeling impotent, much like Hrothgar had when faced with Grendel. These differences lie in that Grendel had been the unnatural “kinsmen of Cain” while the dragon is a seemingly unstoppable force of nature (line 104). The mere fact that we are talking about this monster in terms of “it” rather than “he” or “she” as had been the case with the other two monsters, shows the inherent difference present in the dragon as a threat. Grendel and his mother had been more of an individual problem, killing individuals and keeping them out of the mead hall. Meanwhile, the dragon not only burned down Beowulf’s mead hall which decimated the society, it also ended Beowulf’s life.
This difference in aggression on the part of the dragon illustrates why “the other” proves to be more honorable and faithful to the liege lord than the lord’s own countrymen. The dragon destroys the mead hall, which is the center of all life in the society, and thus the society is irreparably damaged. This damage has been a long time coming; betrayal of the comitatus doesn’t happen over night. The peace that was with the Geats may have actually proved to be their undoing. It is easy to boast bravery in the mead hall when you have never had an opportunity to be truly brave. As Beowulf battles the dragon it is Wiglaf who calls to the Geats to defend their lord, crying out: “Now sword and helmet, / mail-shirt, war gear, must be ours together,” as he rushed in to defend his lord (lines 2650-2660). These Geats had most likely never seen hard battle before, much less a fifty foot fire breathing fiend. They failed to uphold the comitatus because they had never been called to do so before. Happily, they consumed Beowulf’s mead and enjoyed his gifts of fine armor and rings, but when they were called upon to repay his kindness “too few defenders / pressed round the king when his worst time came” (lines 2882-2883). Only Wiglaf stands by Beowulf in his final moments of need; a foreigner, he is the one to uphold the comitatus fighting for his lord as his lord fights for not only glory, but for revenge and the survival of his people.
The irony here, as Wiglaf points out, is that the Geats hadn’t been worth Beowulf’s death in the first place. Their cowardice brought shame to themselves as individuals, to their families, and to the Geats as a nation. They had been blessed with the finest ring giver to have ever lived, and they left him to die when it was their duty to die either for him or with him. A good thane fights to the death for his lord; Beowulf’s thanes leave him to die alone. This betrayal is cause for exile. “Death is better / for any warrior than a shameful life!” is Wiglaf’s proclamation as calls out the fate they have sustained through their cowardice (lines 2890-2891). Beowulf’s death sees Wiglaf as the new leader of the Geats by virtue of his honor, and thus we see the eventual dissolution of the Geatish nation. They are led by “the other” and thus their claim to sovereignty as a nation is lost. It is only a matter of time before some other nation comes and incinerates what is left of their culture, just as the dragon incinerated their mead hall. The only honor present is that of Wiglaf, who is seemingly left to restore order but does not. Rather, he leaves the Geats to the fate which they have brought upon themselves. Their shame and dishonor is the death of the Geatish society as “deprived of their rites each man of [their] families will have to be exiled” (lines 2886-2887).
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