Introduction
 3 funerals: Shield Sheafson, Hildeburg’s relatives, and
Beowulf
 A fourth? “The Lay of the Last Survivor”
 Each funeral represents a change in the story—in the
setting, plot or mood
 Recurring themes: the importance/life cycle of gold,
glory in battle, warrior mentality
Shield Sheafson
Shield Sheafson
 Mood: ‘Death is honorable,’ begins the poem with sense of
glory and great respect when he is sent out to sea’
 Main Theme: Glory in Battle/Warrior Mentality
 “scourge of many tribes, a wrecker of mead-benches,
rampaging among foes…” (3)’
 Explains the main theme in their society: glory in battle is
rewarded; treasure is used to reward victory in battle
Shield Sheafson
 Gold: His body is cast away at sea with treasured possessions
 Gold and treasure is used to represent the King’s greatness, being
given back to the sea to live on
 “the great ring giver…I have never heard of a ship so well
furbished…” (5)
 Each item is described to show its importance
 “far-fetched treasures, battle tackle, bladed weapons, coats of
mail…” (5)
 His death was mourned and he was ‘cast away’ to drift forever
Hildeburh’s Relatives
Hildeburh’s Relatives
 ‘Saga of the Finns’ sung at Heorot after Beowulf ’s
victory over Grendel
 Hildeburh, her brother Hnaef and King Finn fight in
Finn’s hall and both die in battle, set on funeral pyre
together to burn
 Change in mood: the sad story of Hildeburh offers a
foreboding feeling immediately after a Danish ‘victory’
  leads to conflict with Grendel’s mother
Hildeburh’s Relatives
 Consequences of war: Hildeburh’s husband, brother,
and son are killed  great sorrow and remorse instead
of reverence, vicious/bloody side of war, being on pyre
together signifies communal loss, mourning
 “how could she [Hildeburh] not lament her fate when
morning came and the light broke on her murdered
dears?” (72)
 Glory: death is no longer ‘majestic,’ being cast away,
but instead is fiery, very reminiscent of Hell
Hildeburh’s Relatives
 Warrior mentality? The story describes the ugly side of battle—a
stark contrast from the ‘glory’ described in Shield Sheafson’s
funeral
 Gory details to describe vicious side of battle and change course
in the poem, criticism of warrior culture/mentality?
 “the flesh on his bones to sputter and blaze beside his
uncle’s…heads melted, crusted gashes spattered and ran bloody
matter…” (75)
 Gold: ‘Effulgent gold’ is described and some items forged in gold
are put on pyre, in a way mocking glory of battle? Life cycle of
gold ends…
Beowulf
Beowulf
 Combination of pyre and burial
 Fitting end for the poem: mood is mournful but glory has been
restored, but not glory of warrior?
 Instead of wrecker of mead-benches, Beowulf was the “man most
gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win
fame…” (209)
 Glory: greatness of his life is displayed in funeral, dragon’s hoard
is buried with Beowulf
 Biggest difference: comparison to Shield Sheafson
 “it was their hero’s memorial…mourning his loss as a man and a
king…gave thanks for his greatness” (209)
Beowulf
 Gold in great abundance is buried with Beowulf, jewels, torques
  author says gold is under gravel, “gone to earth, as useless to
men now as it ever was,” criticism of warrior culture
 Change in the importance of gold? Great sorrow in their leader’s
death and their society coming to an end makes gold seem
useless
 Dragon’s remains are cast over the cliff to sea  connection to
Sheafson’s funeral and poem comes full circle, related to ‘life
cycle’ of gold
 Grand funeral with the most precious items, his best warriors rode
around the tomb
th
4
Funeral?
“Lay of the Last Survivor”
 Theory of 4th “funeral” in Beowulf
 Last man of an ancient race stows all of his people’s treasures in a cave
and waits to die
 Comparable to Shield Sheafson’s burial with the things that are buried

“I am left with nobody to bear a sword or burnish plated goblets, put a
sheen on the cup… the hard helmet, hasped with gold… the coat of mail…
no trembling, no tuned timber, no tumbling hawk, no swift horse” (151).
 Mentioning of “tumbling hawk” refers to end of life, hawk flying in and
out of mead hall represents a life
 Change: gold has not reached its ‘final resting place’ and is ‘cursed’
Real Burials
Real Burials

There have been many findings of different burials from medieval times.

There were many burial mounds during the early stages of medieval times

Ship burials were quickly adapted

Ship burials involved the dead corpse being placed in a ship, and it would either be
cast to see, or left on land, and depending on the location, set on fire

Many great jewels, armor, gold, and other important artifacts were always left
with the corpse

Conclusion: While the Hildeburh’s Relatives being burned on the same pyre
is a stretch, and there is no proof of any ancient race stowing away all of its
treasures, the descriptions of funerals in Beowulf are very accurate
descriptions compared to what they would have been
Ibn Fadlan
Ibn Fadlan
 Ahmed ibn Fadlan, a writer from the 10th century, wrote a
description of a Scandinavian burial
 Dead chieftain placed in temporary grave for 10 days while being
guarded by one of his female servants, who was encouraged to
drink and sleep around with the men working
 The dead chieftain is then placed in proper attire and is prepared
to be burned, while the servant woman was strangled and stabbed
 They are both burned together on the chieftains pyre  related to
Hildeburh’s relatives’ burial
Sutton Hoo
Sutton Hoo
 Located in south-east Suffolk, England
 A large field that is the site of many different ship
burials and mound burials
 Is being funded to be both studied in more depth, as
well as to be protected
 Describes burial sites in Beowulf would likely be
similar to Sutton Hoo
Thank You
Works Cited

http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/images/viking_ship_gokstad.jpg

http://research.uvu.edu/mcdonald/Anglo-Saxon/A-S-Life&Culture/The%20mound-1.gif

http://www.powayusd.com/teachers/dsykes/viking1.gif

http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/gallery_images/0806/0000/0129/sitepic.jpg

http://www.suttonhoo.org/index.asp

http://www.pdwhite.com/images/Dragon's%20Hoard.jpg

http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/e7a/e03/e7ae033c-38fb-4008-b03c-caac8adfe9e6

Owen-Crocker, Gale (2000). The Four Funerals in Beowulf: And the Structure of the Poem. New York: Manchester
University Press.

Smyser, H.M. (1965). "Ibn Fadlan's Account of the Rus with Some Commentary and Some Allusions to
Beowulf". Franciplegius: Medieval and Linguistic Studies in Honor of Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. eds. Jess B. Bessinger
Jr. and Robert P. Creed. New York: New York University Press