The Necessity for Generosity

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Recommended: Beowulf and the Christian Faith

Though Christianity was extremely different from the beliefs of the Germanic tribes, some of its values were seen as honorable in Germanic life. Christian values are repeatedly portrayed in Beowulf through the idea that the best way to live one’s life is not through possession of fine things, but through generosity. In such a warlike culture, humility is important to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, so generosity was necessary in order for the people to prosper. One of the ways that people showed this humility was by giving gifts by people lower on the hierarchy.

Humility through giving gifts helps leaders remain in power over their subjects, and makes them more powerful. Hrothgar is known as the ring giver, which shows that he gives rings a gifts to his people (Heaney 7). Rings are generous gifts, so by giving them to his subjects, he earns there respect. Likewise, the tales of his generosity spread, earning him respect from people belonging to other tribes. His increased respect earns him more followers, making him a more powerful leader. This type of benefit from Christian values can also be seen through Hygelac. Hygelac gives Beowulf land after Beowulf gave him a gift (Heaney 147-149). After receiving a gift from Beowulf, Hygelac had to give one in return to stay superior to Beowulf. Despite the worth of land, Hygelac still gives it to Beowulf, because of the importance of the gift giving custom in the stability of the hierarchy. The importance of this custom is evident because even a king adheres to this custom. Likewise, those who don’t follow this custom are portrayed as evil.

Parsimony causes contempt so great that it can lead loss of power, or even in extreme cases, death. Hrothgar describes Heremod as...

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...king things of lesser value, but for him it was more important to give a gift than to keep one. The act of giving the torque to the king was so generous, that the Hygelac had to give Beowulf land in return to remain above Beowulf in the hierarchy. Beowulf’s generosity earned him a higher place in the hierarchy, because he obtained land in return for his gift.

Christian values, particularly the one of generosity, stabilized life in Beowulf. Without these, the hierarchy would collapse and society would become increasingly dysfunctional until it itself collapsed. It both insures respect and stabilizes the position of generous rulers, while causing misfortune and destabilizing miserly rulers. In this sense, Christian values were necessary in Beowulf in order for the backbones of society to remain firm. Without generosity, everyday life would suffuse into chaos.

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