Beowulf Wealth

One of the first scenes in Beowulf is the funeral of the Danish king Shield Sheafson. Buried at sea, the proof of Shield's greatness and his following among his people is the literal boatload of treasures sent out to sea with his body.

Wealth isn't just a mark of status for the Danes and the Geats; money can also buy them out of blood-feuds and wars. If a member of one tribe has killed a member of another, he can prevent a war or bring about a truce by paying a "blood price" for the man who was killed. Of course, sometimes this isn't enough to soothe the feelings of the man's family, and war happens anyway…

There are no points for subtlety or tastefulness in medieval Scandinavian warrior culture. If you're wealthy, you show it by encrusting your hall with gold, so that every visiting warrior and every member of your tribe knows exactly how rich you are, all the time. Ostentatiously displaying wealth is the way these guys communicate.

In return for Beowulf's service, Hrothgar pays him in treasures, armor, and horses. This isn't a special kindness – it's exactly what Beowulf expects. Medieval tribes like the Danes and Geats insure that warriors will be loyal to kings by constantly rewarding those warriors with gold, jewels, and other loot.

It's interesting to trace this history of the golden torque, or necklace, in Beowulf. Given to Beowulf by Hrothgar, it is then presented to Hygelac, who will die wearing it. Beowulf will then bestow what seems to be the same torque (although we're not completely certain, since the first torque gets stolen by the Franks at one point) on his only faithful follower, Wiglaf. Along with the golden torque, symbolizing kingship, goes glory – but also suffering and doom.

The exchanges of wealth between different kings and warriors can become extremely complex. In this passage, Beowulf is given gold, armor, and other rewards by King Hrothgar. After sailing home to Geatland, Beowulf presents some of these rewards to his own king, Hygelac. In return, Hygelac gives Beowulf another set of treasures from his own stockpile. Why so many different exchanges? It helps to solidify the alliances and relationships between all three warriors.

Looting and pillaging are normal parts of warfare and battle for early medieval warriors. In fact, most warriors are probably only going into battle in order to receive gold, armor, and other precious treasures. That's how they make their living, after all.

Beowulf's men haven't traveled across the sea and braved a confrontation with Grendel just for the glory of the thing – they also want a reward they can measure in gold. In addition, when one of Beowulf's Geat warriors is killed by Grendel, King Hrothgar negotiates a payment of gold to recompense Beowulf and the Geats for their loss. Hrothgar doesn't do this because he feels bad for the man's family; he does it out of self-defense. If he didn't pay, the Geats might have a reason to go to war against him.

As he dies, Beowulf seems to feel conflicted about the treasure that he has won from the dragon. On the one hand, he is glad that he's leaving a great deal of wealth to the Geat people, which should lend power and authority to their nation. On the other hand, he looks at the gold "sadly," suggesting that he doubts whether it was worth sacrificing his life for it.

At the end of the epic, the narrator seems to remind us that all the gold and treasures in the world are useless to men in the broader context of life, death, the afterlife, and real human needs. However, maybe what's really useless about his treasure is that it's buried underground with Beowulf, "gone to earth," the way that the gold was before it was dug up and fashioned into treasures. Only when it's in the world, circulating, being used to pay for things or as a reward, can the gold actually be useful to men.