Essay (Failure of) Comitatus in Beowulf and the Bible
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Course
English literature 450-1649
Institution
Universiteit Utrecht (UU)
Book
Beowulf
Comitatus, as well as its failure, in Beowulf and a similar principle of loyalty in the stories of Jonah, Abraham and Daniel in the Bible form good comparison. This is because the poem and the religious stories show some interesting corresponding elements. Comitatus refers to “the epic or heroic ...
Comitatus, as well as its failure, in Beowulf and a similar principle of loyalty in the
stories of Jonah, Abraham and Daniel in the Bible form good comparison. This is because the
poem and the religious stories show some interesting corresponding elements. Comitatus
refers to “the epic or heroic tradition of the Germanic peoples” (Markland 341) and can, then,
not be found in the Bible. An equivalent principle, like loyalty, is very widespread in the
Bible, though. To support this statement, the following sources will be used: Beowulf itself to
find examples of (failure of) comitatus, the Bible to look at the stories of Jonah, Abraham and
Daniel and a text about comitatus in general, but particularly in Beowulf. Research has been
done on the subject of comitatus in Beowulf, for example by Murray F. Markland. He has
written about the principle of comitatus, especially in Beowulf. However, Markland has not
discussed the link between comitatus and an equivalent in the Bible.
Comitatus is an important element in Beowulf; there is loyalty to the king and
disloyalty as a consequence of cowardice. The bond between Beowulf and Hrothgar is a great
example. Beowulf is very loyal to his king, since Hrothgar protected Beowulf’s father in a
feud. Beowulf is, of course, very thankful to Hrothgar, which explains his devotion to his
king. Another example is that Beowulf’s men help him to fight Grendel: “Beowulf's men are
there to hail him when he swims to shore bearing Grendel's head” (Markland 342). However,
comitatus seems to fail in the poem as well, when Beowulf fights Grendel’s mother on his
own. Failure of comitatus has possibly been caused by cowardice; Beowulf’s men were afraid
to help him. This happens again when Beowulf is battling the dragon, though there is one man
willing to fight by his side, namely Wiglaf.
The most important part of comitatus, namely loyalty to the leader, king or lord, can
be found in the Bible as well, for example in the story of Abraham. He has been
commissioned by God to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. Because Abraham is loyal to God,
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