Beowulf Battles: The Death of Comitatus
by Barry Wright
Essay: Beowulf Battles: The Death of Comitatus
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
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In the epic poem of Beowulf, written by an unknown monk in about 725 AD, the Anglo-Saxon virtue of comitatus
is displayed as a slowly dying aspect of life. Comitatus is the basic idea that everyone protects the king at all costs
even if it means a warrior giving up his own life, and if a king is killed, the warriors must avenge the death of the
king or they can no longer serve as warriors for the next king. This value of comitatus is displayed mostly through
the three battles that Beowulf encounters during the epic poem. An analysis of the three battles is important
because Beowulf’s choice of weapons, behavior of the Thanes, and preparation for and attitude toward battle all
emphasize the death of the Anglo-Saxon virtue of comitatus.
The amount of weapons used by Beowulf in each of the three conflicts directly relates to the decline of AngloSaxon union. As the three battles went on, Beowulf’s weapon use became lesser and lesser and by the third battle
with the dragon, the idea of comitatus had died. In the battle that Beowulf encountered with Grendel, no weapons
are used and there is a high comitatus. The narrator states, “He began to remove his iron-breast mail, / took off
his helmet and handed his attendant / the patterned sword, a smith’s masterpiece, / ordering him to keep the
equipment guarded” (l. 671-674). This shows Beowulf’s confidence in his brute force and youth to defeat Grendel
without any weapons and makes his attendant store away the weapons so as if he cannot use them, which shows
extremely high comitatus. In the battle that Beowulf encountered with Grendel’s mother, some weapons are used
and there is a lessening comitatus. The narrator states, “The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns / had been
tem...
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