The Theme Of Treasure In Beowulf

A Treasure, gold, jewels hand relics. All of these things draw images of Anglo-Saxon era.

B Particularly the story of Beowulf, a tale of a Geatish king who is renowned for his ability to slay monsters beyond the ability of normal men.

C Treasure is constantly passed to beowulf as he completes numerous victories over demonic monsters. D The way that treasure appears in Beowulf can give modern interpreters a glimpse into how massive a role gold and treasure had in the Anglo Saxon era whether that was for good or for bad. BODY PARAGRAPH 1

E Respect is tied into how much tressure a king has and how much treasure he claims for his warriors.

F This is shown in how little success that the Danish King Herod had running the kingdome.

G “...He shared

L Beowulf received these gifts as a reward for an incredible feet showing his power and skill to any who laid eyes on his earned goods.

M This reward shows that Beowulf earned treasure for a marvelous feet that can later be shown to exhibit his accomplishments later in life.

N Treasure in Beowulf not only is associated with respect and earning it, but as a display of power and BODY PARAGRAPH 3

EGold and treasure causes all consuming greed and envy in the tale of Beowulf, it is the driving force behind the plot starting Beowulf on his quest to kill Grendel and being the reason that his tale comes to an end.

F A runaway slave stole a cup from the mighty dragon to appease his master

G “The cup brought peace/To a slave, pleased his master, but stirred/ A dragon's anger”(2285-2287).

H This is in a way a display of reckless greed.

I In an attempt to improve his station the slave suck into the dragon's den and sol the cup, risking unleashing the beasts wrath upon al of Geatland just to save himself, hitch, of course, is exactly what happened.

J The ending of the epic involved Beowulf sacrificing himself to win riches for his people in a battle against impossible

M Showing that all that really matters in this society is gold, nothing else.

N In the end the lust for gold is what put an end to the tale of Beowulf CONCLUSION

O The way that gold consumed the minds of the upper class during this era shows a real disconnect with human emotion that was more present during the time of Rome before this epic was composed.

P The whole society is based around one thing gold. Just to have loyal companion a king must be paying him portions of his gains, just winning a battle isn't enough, the victor must present gold and plunder to have him and his people feel like it was a success.

Q This creates a sad picture of what life was like after the fall of Rome. People of the lower class were often walked upon in the Roman age by=ut at least the life of one of the greatest kings of the era was more important that treasure, even kings were viewed as small collateral damage if there was gold to be gained.

R Looking at how society functioned all toes years ago can real help modern interpreters appreciate just how far the human race has come over the centuries, however there is still much work to be