Theme Of Honor In King Arthur And Beowulf

Many different traits and characteristics are thrown together to create the heroes of a story. They are usually the brave, noble types, not out for greed or glory, hoping for love, but living through chivalry. Heroes are also seen as the most honourable character in the tale. But what exactly is honour? To be truly honourable, a man must embody three main characteristics: loyalty, compassion and the willingness to forgive. Two protagonists that portray these traits are King Arthur and Beowulf, each of whom plays the prime role in their self-titled tales.
Acts of loyalty appear multiple times in both tales as the characters are tested and tried through each event. In Andrea Hopkins's compilation the Chronicles of King Arthur, Arthur's loyalty to the Camelot and the ideals that built it are constantly scrutinized as his wife, Guinevere, has an affair with his noblest of knights, Lancelot. He knows of this happening, but chooses to ignore the acts, knowing that the public attacks from it could internally lead
the kingdom to ruin (p. 164). Loyalty also appears in The Longman Anthology's version of Beowulf, when Beowulf returns to his homeland and his king, bearing fruitful amounts of gifts that he had earned while serving Hrothgar and his country. All of his plunder and rewards he handed over to his King and his Queen, offering them as "proof of [his] fealty" (1889). Beowulf's overwhelming allegiance to his kin brought him back from a foreign land, and led him to give all of his treasures away to those who were the dearest to him.
The ideals of compassion brings out the different levels of kindness, chivalry and love that most would expect a hero to openly portray. Arthur's apparent love for his fellow knights is constantly pointed out as he narrates his feelings during the separation of his round table during the Quests for the Holy Grail. It is written that his "heart was filled with pride, and yet sorrow" (p. 135). His reign as king had never put him so close to any others, causing him to suffer the remorse that things would soon be coming to an end. Even Beowulf showed some levels of pity during his initial dealings with Unferth, a Danish warrior in Heorot at the times of Beowulf's fight with Grendel. Unferth openly insults Beowulf of being less than a hero after he lost a competition versus Becca. Beowulf merely shrugs off the abuse, responding with "my fuddled friend brimful of beer, you blabber too much about Becca's venture," (471-473) and then going on to explain the full truth behind the race. He knows that Unferth is drunk, and instead of letting him come off as a complete fool, he halts him from saying anything further, then sets things straight to prevent any future occurrences.
All major characters in any story, novel or tale, must display some measure of sympathy, especially when it comes to forgiving the acts of those around them.
While Arthur never enjoyed the fact that Guinevere and Lancelot betrayed him, until he was openly confronted with the situation and forced to determine an outcome, he never willingly acted hostile towards either party (p. 164). After the pair ran away to Joyous Gard, Arthur spoke directly with Lancelot, at which point he "would have been reconciled with Sir Lancelot and would have taken back Queen Guinevere and forgiven all charges against her," (p. 171) had not Sir Gawain again stepped in to force Arthur's hand. Beowulf's relationship with Unferth also portrayed a level of compassion when Unferth gave his sword, Hrunting, to Beowulf to aid him in his battle with Grendel's mother. Beowulf was willing to forget the past confrontation between the two, and accept the sword, promising its return
(1314-1316).
Every hero is known for his actions, and his leadership. Beowulf and Arthur exemplify the exact traits which today's readers are expecting to find, showing loyalty to those near them, compassion to those around them, and the ability to forgive those that have wronged them. They are the strongest protagonists of their tales, and have become the perfect examples of the ideal Hero.