Yet, Beowulf is about three single combats in the life of one hero. He has armies, but he fights alone. As I said before, it is ahistorical and inhuman. That it is ahistorical is most obvious. Knowing what we do and Anglo-Saxon warfare, one would think that if Hrothgar’s men could not simply trap or shoot Grendal, they would work to surround him with a shieldwall and stab him to death with their spears. Beowulf has brought twelve good men with him, and one would think he reasonably should try the same. That would not have worked, the poet informs us later as the men in Heorot inspect Grendal’s torn arm:
Beowulf had chosen to fight him unarmed because Grendal is unarmed and because Beowulf leaves the outcome to God, showing both fairness and faith. It turns out to be exactly the right choice.
Grendal’s mother, too, cannot be killed by conventional means. Unferth’s sword, Hrunting, could not cut her. It took “… an ancient heirloom / from the days of giants, and ideal weapon … but so huge and heavy of itself / only Beowulf could wield it in battle” to kill her. Beowulf and Wiglaf, however, killed the dragon, using conventional weapons: both their swords and Beowulf’s stabbing knife. The poet says, however, when Beowulf’s sword, Naegling, is broken that “When he (Beowulf) wielded a sword … the stroke he dealt … would ruin it. He could reap no advantage”.
The circumstances of these three battles are essential to the heroic experience. Tolkien wrote of Beowulf, “In its simplest terms it is a contrasted descriptions of two moments in a great life, rising and setting; an elaboration of the ancient and intensely moving contrast between youth and age, first achievement and final death”. The fights against Grendal and his mother are such that conventional tactics will not work. For the first, it is unclear how more men wrestling Grendal would be more effective, and Beowulf is the only one gifted with the strength and God’s favor. For the mother, only Beowulf could lift the ancient sword. In both cases, Beowulf must fight alone. The effect of the situation is heightened when Grossman’s criteria for killing comes into it. Being able to kill easily, Beowulf is already set apart, though that’s made less by the fact that he’s fighting monsters rather than men. Also, he is a highly trained (conditioned) warrior. Beowulf must face the enemies without order of a leader, for while Hrothegar gracefully accepts Beowulf’s help, he does not command it. Beowulf’s men are with him in Heorot, but since conventional Anglo-Saxon/Viking war techniques will not work, he cannot gain the proximate safety of the shieldwall. When fighting Grendal’s mother, he is completely alone. No only is he without proximate group support, he is in close physical proximity to the enemy – sexual range. Grossman writes:
Grendal fights inhumanly, and Beowulf must, as the hero, meet him there – alone. The power of the situation for the audience comes from this simple fact: While men fight as armies, we ALL struggle alone, ultimately. The fights we have with our demons are dirty and intimate. It is this to which the poet speaks. Only by transcending our everyday human limitations can we succeed, and this is why the poetic hero is beyond human and historical. Of the fusion between old and new mythologies in Beowulf, Tolkien writes, “One of the most potent elements in that fusion is the Northern courage: the theory of courage, which is the great contribution of Northern literature”. Beowulf is a lesson in courage, not by homily (though Hrothgar does give open advice), but by the poetic example of the heroic experience, which the poet arouses in the audience. It is rather like a mystery cult. In the struggle, the warrior cannot rely on externalities, but only on himself. This is the existential problem. Whether for the Anglo-Saxon warrior or any other human, an exemplar of courage is essential. In the film, Conan the Barbarian, the antagonist, Thulsa Doom, has been searching for the answer to the Riddle of Steel. He has found the answer and tells the hero, Conan: “Steel isn't strong, boy. Flesh is stronger. … What is steel compared to the hand that wields it? Look at the strength of your body, the desire in your heart”. To thrive, we must come to this knowledge. The sword, brotherhood, family: All these will not kill our Grendals. The answer of Beowulf is his own, bare hands and faith in Providence.
