English Literature / Unit 3 ENL 0210 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Heroic Code: Comitatus, Wergild, Fame
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The idea
The comitatus was a lord's war band, sworn to die beside him; the lord, the gold-friend, rewarded loyalty with treasure. Wergild was blood money paid to end feuds, which Grendel never pays. Hrothgar's sermon warns Beowulf against pride and the hunger for fame, foreshadowing his death.
In practice
Loyalty, payment, and the price of fame.
Where people slip
The poem also questions the code it praises.
Your place on the trail
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