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THE INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF "BEOWULF"
Abstract
This study examines the various social institutions that are reflected in Beowulf, in particular, the nature and responsibilities of the king, the structure of the comitatus, and the proper distribution of wealth in the community. Also contributing to an analysis of these three aspects of heroic society are the interrelations of kinship, feuds, and outlawry, which are examined in light of their generally disruptive effects on the community. Both external and internal pressures would disrupt the kingdoms of Hrothgar and Beowulf, as invaders and monsters attack from without, while dissention among friends and kin weaken from within. Both forces frequently result in violence, the main symptom of imminent chaos in this early society. Given this perspective, the study supports the theory that Beowulf is a unified work; for what appear to be disjointed events on the surface, are in fact various facets of the same theme that persists throughout the poem, the struggle between order and chaos in the human community. The study is intended to be a reevaluation of the poem in light of its institutional background, showing the forces which threatened the fragile stability of Beowulf's world, and the methods people employed, and which all too often failed, to prevent that threat from becoming reality.
Subject Area
Literature|Middle Ages
Recommended Citation
BELLMAN, JAMES FREDRICK, "THE INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF "BEOWULF"" (1985). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8526612.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8526612