She quickly paid him back with her cruel clutches;1 she grabbed towards
him (line 51). She overthrew the strongest of dispirited soldiers, warrior
on foot, so that he took a fall (line 54). Then she sat in the guest hall and
drew her sword, broad and bright-edged (line 55), she wished [to] avenge
her son, [her] only son. On his [Beowulf’s] (line 56) shoulder lay [a]
woven corselet; that protected life, [it] prevented entry by point and by
edge. He would then have perished (line 59), the son of Ecgtheow, under
[the] broad earth, warrior of Geats, unless (line 61) his battle-corselet
had not provided help, [as] strong battle-mesh.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Translation:
1
Richard Marsden, The Cambridge Old English Reader. Cambridge
University Press, 2004, pp. 283, l.50 (footnote). All further references are
imbedded with the text.
1
, Candidate Number: 2009763
All this music they made until dinner time2, when they had washed well,
they went to be seated. In each case he best man in the most honoured
position (line 73). Queen Guenevere (line 74) very finely dressed, set in
their midst. Arrayed on high dais, adorned all around with the fine fabric
at her side, a canopy of excellence, cloth of Toulose all over her and
many wall hangings of Tharsian fabric (line 75-7 that was embroidered
and with the best gems. That could be proved of value to ever buy with
money (line. 79-80). The loveliest (line 81) person to descry, glanced
there with grey eyes. Truly no one could ever say they had seen a more
attractive lady (line 83-84).
Compare the agency of women in ‘Beowulf’ and ‘Sir Gawain and
the Green Knight’
Steven Loyal describes agency as ‘how actions are to be understood in
terms of intentionality, goals and ends, freedoms and constraints. 3 Within
2
J.A.Burrow and Thorlac Turville-Petre, “Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight”, A Book of Middle English, Blackwell Publishing, Third Edition,
Oxford, UK, 2005, pg. 186, line 71 (footnote). All further references are
imbedded within the text.
3
Steven Loyal “Agency.” The Sociology of Anthony Giddens, Pluto Press,
LONDON; STERLING, VIRGINIA, 2003, pp. 51–70. JSTOR
2
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