Discuss the archetypical Anglo-Saxon / Medieval hero with specific reference to Jung’s
definition, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. Other selections may be included.
Beowulf, an epic of heroes, and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, a hymn of the
knights; both of them are great artworks of literature written in the history of English. The
description of both Beowulf and Sir Gawain and The Green Knight revealed the archetypical
Anglo-Saxon / Medieval heroes; however, there are still distinctions between the two pieces.
First of all, the poem Beowulf was initially passed down through each generation by
mouth in the 5th century and was first recorded on paper in the 8th century, where as Sir
Gawain and The Green Knight was from the 14th century. As a result, the time differences
between the two have caused the people’s understanding of heroes to also differ. For instance,
at the time of 5th century, the archetypical hero, Beowulf, was almost merely a hero who
could defeat monsters, lead his people, and has a brave heart. On the other side, hero Sir
Gawain, in the 14th century, have reflected a knight’s honesty, fearlessness, and polite manner
on top of being able to defeat monsters. Moreover, using the Beowulf story as an example,
because of the fact that it had been passed on literally for several centuries before written on
paper, the content might have been twisted or changed over time. The story that people read
today might be widely divergent from the original structures, because of the factors such as
the method of delivery and religious effects.
On the other hand, even though both strong warriors were being esteemed and were
considered as ideal characters, one was merely a fighter, and a leader, but the other was an
authentic knight. Both of Beowulf and Sir Gawain have had achievements that impressed the
others, and that both of them were not afraid of death or injuries. However, Beowulf was
famous of his battle with Grendel, its mother, and the great dragon, whereas Sir Gawain was
famous of his courage, and his quality in being a knight. Even though both of the two heroes
were valiant and sturdy, one was a good leader who defeated monsters, and the other one was
a promise-keeping, and honest knight.
Moreover, the two poems have reflected the elements of the society back then, and
their creators’ believes through their descriptions of the heroes. In Beowulf, the epic poems
introduced both of fictional characters and real characters. For example, characters like
Hrothgar and Hygelac could be found in real history, but Beowulf himself and some of his
deed were legends. Moreover, the combination of real events and legends has reflected the
lives of those who experienced the time when clan societies were gradually disappearing.
The poem has reflected revenges and warships between clans; it also demonstrated the
contradictories between leaders and followers inside a clan. Nevertheless, the character
Beowulf, no matter being a leader or a follower, was impeccable. As being a leader, he is the
protector of his clan, until he sacrificed his life. Towards his neighbour clans, he ignores the
hostile manner between each another, and helped them to exorcise the bad; he also displayed
his loyalty to the Old Denmark king. Thus, he can be considered an ideal character from all
angles. On the other side, in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, the story mainly focused on
praising the knights’ bravery, and their honesty, chaste, politeness, and their glory. The poem
touched upon Gawain’s dilemma of both wanting to survive and wanting to keep his fame.
These details have shown the realness of the society back then, and that Sir Gawain overcame
his fatal flaw through a series of events. Furthermore, these changes have reflected the poet’s
affirm towards the existence of knighthood.
From the points discussed above, a conclusion of the similarities and differences between the
two archetypical heroes can be drawn. Beowulf was mainly expressing heroes’ strength and
leadership around the 5th to 10th century, whereas Sir Gawain and The Green Knight was
concentrating on the quality of heroes.