Weaponry and armor, especially in the Classical and Medieval Periods of
literature, can sometimes be as central as characters. They become central pieces of
symbolism, they tell stories or they better define the characters that use them.
Although depicted by a variety of different writers throughout works, some
examples of important and symbolic pieces of weaponry are Aeneas' shield from
Virgil's The Aeneid, Beowulf's armor and the sword named Hrunting, from Beowulf,
and Gawain's shield and armory in Gawain and The Green Knight, each of these are
important literary elements that added to the meaning of their respective stories.
It would be almost negligent to not include Achilles’ shield from Homer's The
Iliad, as a piece of armor that was critically symbolic in its story. However, Aeneas'
shield in The Aeneid, by Virgil shares a similar history and an equally similar
purpose. Aeneas has a goddess for a mother named Venus, much like Achilles whose
mom is the goddess Thetis. When war is apparent for Aeneas, his mother goes to her
husband, Vulcan who is the fire god and also the master of metalwork, and begs for
armor for her son. Vulcan bends to his wife's passionate appeals and tasks the
Cyclops' with creating a shield for Aeneas, much like how Achilles armor, including
the shield, comes from Hephaestus at his mother's request. Aeneas' shield is rather
important to the story as more than a piece of armor. On it are depictions of
Romulus and Remus, the mythical brothers who were told to be brothers who were
raised by wolves and were the founders of Rome. As this is the beginning of Rome,
the shield continues to detail its history all the way to Augustus Caesar and Antony,
and the creation of the Roman Empire. Virgil balances history with myth in the
depiction of this shield, which is all foreshadowing in the time that Aeneas lives in,
the description of the shield ends with "He [Aeneas] fills with wonder-- he knows
nothing of these events but takes delight in their likeness, lifting onto his shoulders
now the fame and fates of all his children's children." The shield is important in not
only further connecting Aeneas to the gods, but it details the story of his legacy. By
killing Turnus, the Trojans are once again defeated, so Aeneas takes Lavinia's hand
in marriage and can start a new city. This city will blossom into the city of Rome,
which grows into the famous empire. Aeneas does not know, as Virgil says, what he
is seeing, but he is looking into his future as a fictional person.
Another rather important piece of weaponry and armor is that of Beowulf in
the poem that shares his name. In it, it is the lack of armor that is exceptionally
symbolic. Whereas no one can defeat the monster Grendel, as they live in fear of the
beast, Beowulf is so full of courage and self-righteous strength that he sheds his
armor before defeating the monster. Instead of "suiting up," he takes off all his
armor and kills Grendel by ripping off his arm. This is an important piece in
developing what kind of knight and person Beowulf happens to be. It separates him
from all of the other men, even the next bravest knight because he is willing to go
into battle without his armor. More than that, armor has been so radically important
in previous tales of knighthood or being a strong warrior. Beowulf is "greater" than
these other men, needing no armor whatsoever to go into his first battle. It is not
until Grendel is defeated that it is made perfectly clear that Beowulf is not foolish by
refusing to wear armor. His second battle, when he fights to defeat Grendel's
mother, is a slightly different story. In this, Beowulf does put on armor, including a
helmet and mail. More importantly, he receives an ancient sword named Hrunting
from Unferth. The sword is seen as exceptionally powerful. Beowulf once again is
victorious and kills Grendel's mother, but it feels different the second time around.
He does not rely solely on his own strength and becomes dependent on a sword that
has a reputation of its own. There is a considerable amount of doubt regarding
Beowulf's victory this second time and whether or not the great hero will die. His
need for armor and a sword only adds to the feeling of skepticism, even though he
proves his strength and prowess once again.
Sir Gawain in Gawain and The Green Knight is the epitome of knighthood, and
the author of the poem spends a great deal of time describing both Gawain's and the
Green Knight's respective armor. When Gawain finally leaves to make good on his
promise with the Green Knight, him and his horse, Gringolet leave fully decked out
in armor. There is a certain sense of showmanship and definitive gallantry to this
form of knighthood. Once again, there is a rather symbolic shield; on it is a
pentangle, or a pentagram, which was considered to have magical powers. It is a
five-pointed star that is also known as the endless knot. For Gawain the shield
makes sense because he is "fully faithful in five ways, five times over." In other
words, the shield represents five different groups of five that further describe
Gawain's character. The first is how he is flawless with his five senses, the second
being that his five fingers were never at fault, the third is that his faith was grounded
in the five wounds Christ received whilst on the cross, the fourth is that Gawain
found strength in the five joys which Mary conceived in Jesus, and lastly is the fifth
set of five. This last set includes friendship, fraternity with fellow men, purity,
politeness and pity, all of which Gawain exhibits and practices. Basically, these are
five different ways that Gawain is a great knight, following the code of chivalry in all
forms, and being a superior person. This shield is not depicting any sort of story, the
only image on it is the gold pentagram, but is silently and overwhelmingly symbolic
of the type of person Gawain is.
The point of weaponry and armor in much of the literature that we have
read, among others, is far more than protection and defense. Of course, each piece of
armor serves its purpose on the basest of levels, but the story it tells, or the
symbolism behind it is usually far more important than the way in which it is used.
For Aeneas, the shield he receives is from an act of love by his mother, but it is also
the detailed foreshadowing of the creation of the Roman Empire. It establishes
where Aeneas belongs in history, both in the fictional and mythological sense as well
as the factual and historical sense. It helps establish Aeneas as a character in the
midst of it all. Beowulf's lack of armor is special because it shows exactly how
fearless he was, and how armor is nothing compared to willpower and sheer
strength. Where there could be doubt, Beowulf rejects the thought of failure. When
he fights Grendel's mother using weaponry and armor, it creates more suspense for
the readers, creating disbelief in the brave knight. For Gawain, armor and weaponry
is of the upmost importance. Knighthood in this tale is about their journey and their
battles, but it is also very much about their personality as well as how they present
themselves. Because of this notion, what the shield represents adds to the credibility
of Gawain's character as a person and as a knight. The armor in each of these stories
adds to the credibility of their respective hero, and contributes to the story as a
whole.