6 Think how the HeathoBards are bound to feel their lord Ing

6. Think how the Heatho-Bards are bound to feel, their lord, Ingeld, and his loyal thanes, when he walks in with that woman to the feast: Danes are at the table, being entertained, honored guests in glittering regalia, burnished ring-mail that was their hosts’ birthright, looted when the Heatho-Bards could no longer wield their weapons in the shield-clash, when they went down with their beloved comrades and forfeited their lives. Then an old spearman [Ash warrior] will speak while they are drinking, having glimpsed some heirloom that brings alive memories of the massacre; his mood will darken and heart-stricken, in the stress of his emotion, he will begin to test a young man’s temper and stir up trouble, startling like this: “Now, my friend, don’t you recognize

your father’s sword, his favorite weapon, the one he wore when he went out in his war-mask to face the Danes on that final day?... Now here’s a son of one or other of those same killers coming through our hall overbearing us, mouthing boasts, and rigged in armor that by right is yours.”

A.) This passage illustrates Ingeld’s competing loyalties to his wife on the one hand and his biological family on the other, a frequent tension in Beowulf.

B.) This passage features an old warrior who reflects on his glorious past to explain why people of his day should act as he has.

C.) This passage suggests that treasure always carries with it a history and can be both good and bad.

D.) A, B, and C.

E.) None of the Above.

Solution

a) is correct

This passage illustrates Ingeld’s competing loyalties to his wife on the one hand and his biological family on the other, a frequent tension in Beowulf.

Daughter of King Hrothgar, Freawaru is cupbearer at the celebration marking Beowulf\'s arrival. Through the role of bride-to-be, Freawaru is considered a \"peace-pledge between nations.\" (2017) Her betrothal to the young warrior, Ingeld is meant to end a tribal feud. Freawaru is a Dane while Ingeld is a Heatho-Bard. The hope is that their union will bring peace between these two tribes. However, although it is a common strategy, more often than not, marriage between enemy tribes is a futile attempt for this warrior society. Beowulf believes that in the case of Freawaru and Ingelid old emotions between the Danes and Heatho-Bards will be stirred up at a gathering of the two tribes:

During the feast the son of a Heatho-Bard warrior that has fought with the Danes notices his father\'s sword on the waist of a Dane. This Dane is apparently the son of a warrior that has killed the young Heatho-Bard\'s father in battle. Fury enrages the Heatho-Bard and he kills the Dane. This fuels a renewed feud between the two nations. The peace between the two tribes is broken once again. Ingeld\'s hate for the Dane\'s causes his love for Freawaru to diminish. This is why Beowulf has a lack of faith in the union of Ingeld and Freawaru. Although the intentions are good, he believes that such a union will incite fighting between the clans rather than dispelling it.