Beowulf Strength and Skill

Beowulf makes his battle with Grendel more than a simple slay-the-monster task. By announcing that it will be a hand-to-hand combat, he gains extra glory for himself and the Geatish king, Hygelac, turning the contest into a feat of strength as well as a fight against evil.

It's important for Beowulf to show strength even when there isn't an important heroic task to be accomplished. When there aren't demons or dragons to fight, he gets into these, er, "swimming contests" with other warriors.

How strong does a medieval Scandinavian hero have to be? Strong enough to rip a demon's arm out of its socket. That's how strong.

Beowulf's first great exploit during the epic (we're not counting his swimming contest with Breca, which we only see in flashback) is a combination of strength and skill: incredible strength, with which he clamps down on Grendel's arm, and skill in wrestling, with which he finds a joint-lock in which to hold the demon.

Beowulf's strength is depicted as nearly, or maybe actually, superhuman. His wrestling contest with Grendel causes more destruction than anyone had thought humanly possible.

In this passage, Queen Wealhtheow praises Beowulf for defeating Grendel and asks him to remember the rights of her sons in the Danish kingdom. It's particularly interesting that Wealhtheow equates "strength" with "kindly guidance" – apparently being a strong man and being a wise one are pretty closely associated in this culture.

It's not enough for Beowulf to tell stories of his physical prowess; he also needs to display concrete evidence of his deeds. For example, Exhibit A: the severed arm of Grendel hanging from the rafters of Heorot Hall.

Although the usual pattern of a three act plot suggests that Beowulf's second battle should be more difficult than his first, Grendel's mother is actually a little bit weaker than Grendel himself. Still, the narrator reminds us that she's a vicious, violent, unbelievably strong opponent. She's compared to an Amazon, a member of a mythical tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology. Fighting Grendel's mother is like fighting an Amazon, whereas fighting Grendel is like fighting a male warrior. What's the difference? Well, the Amazon might be slightly less strong because she doesn't have the same physical build as a man – but when a bloodthirsty warrior slices the crest off your helmet with a sword, you don't really stop to think about the warrior's gender, do you?

Beowulf is careful to explain why he allows himself the advantage of armor and weapons in his battle with the dragon: it's because the dragon has its own special advantages: poisonous venom and the ability to breathe fire. It's not enough for Beowulf to battle the dragon. He has to emphasize that, in doing so, he really is meeting the creature on a level playing field, demonstrating his own strength and prowess, not just using better weapons.

Throughout Beowulf, swords snap, melt, and otherwise fail their owners. During Beowulf's final battle with the dragon, the narrator explains that our hero is just too strong for the blades of the swords forged by men. It's just one more hint that Beowulf's strength is more than human, mythic in its proportions.