The Theme Of Father/Son Relationships In Beowulf & The Song Of Roland Essay, Research Paper

The Theme of Father/Son Relationships in Beowulf & The Song of Roland

Thomas Lazzaro

Professor Fisher

Literary Patterns of European Development Paper

#1 2/6/97

The representation of father-son type relationships in early Medieval

literary works is a key theme early authors used to give their works more depth

and meaning. Two works that use the theme of father-son relationships are

Beowulf and The Song of Roland. In Beowulf, the relationship between Hrothgar

and Beowulf is one in which there is no actual blood father-son tie, but the two

characters take on all the characteristics of a real father son relationship.

Hrothgar, although Beowulf’s senior, has to rely on this new warrior who comes

to Heorot to help him rid his kingdom of a great danger which he can not get

rid of by himself, and Hrothgar treats him as if he were his own son. In The

Song of Roland, Charles’ relationship with his nephew Roland also takes on the

characteristics of a father-son type relationship. In this work, although

Charles is the better warrior than Roland, he relies on Roland to watch the rear

guard of his army and Roland loses his life while serving his King. The

significance of these inter-generational relationships will be looked at in this

paper, as well as what the authors through the guise of these father-son

relationships were trying to say about various different aspects of life during

their time.

In Beowulf, the function of the relationship between Hrothgar and

Beowulf helps to further the plot in several ways. Whenever there is a reliance

on family in any literary work, it gives any story more meaning and significance.

When Beowulf first arrives in Hrothgars’ hall, we get a sense of the old and

incapable state Hrothgar is in “old and gray-haired among the guard of earls”

(Beowulf, pg. 62) is how he is first described. When hearing who Beowulf’s

father is he states in a joyous tone “I knew him when he was a child!..Well does

the son now pay this call on a proven ally!” (Beowulf, pg. 62-63) Immediately

there is a fond relationship here which will develop even further. When

Beowulf claims that he is in Heorot to cleanse the people of the monster named

Grendel who is plaguing them, Hrothgar is very grateful and he states “So it is

to fight in our defence, my friend Beowulf, and as an act of kindness that you

have come to us here!” (Beowulf, pg. 65) We see here that Hrothgar is indeed

grateful to have the services of so brave a warrior. When Beowulf slays Grendel,

the pride that the old Hrothgar feels towards Beowulf can almost be equated to

the pride a father will feel towards his son when he accomplishes a great deed.

He even claims Beowulf as his son when he holds up the slain Grendel’s hand and

states “Beowulf, I now take you to my bosom as a son, O best of men, and cherish

you in my heart. Hold yourself well in this new relation!” (Beowulf, pg. 80)

This claiming of Beowulf as his son and his later bestowing to him gifts

customary to their society shows how strong their bond is. After the slaying of

Grendel’s mother, the relationship grows even stronger, and Hrothgar from this

point on will be ever grateful to his new son who saved his kingdom from so

great a peril.

In The Song of Roland, the relationship that exists between Charles and

Roland is just as significant as in Beowulf, but is somewhat different. Roland

is recognized as a prized knight and the King’s nephew before he is assigned to

the rearguard, (as can be seen as through the protests of the thought of him

going to negotiate with the treacherous Saracens) but not until after Roland’s

betrayal and death is he esteemed so high in Charles’ mind and all the others

involved. When hearing of the betrayal Roland states “Where are you, fair

nephew? ??God!” , Says the King, “how bitter my reproach, that I was absent when

they struck the first blow” (The Song of Roland, sect. 177) in utter

desperation. When later Charles finds out Roland has definitely been slain by

the Paynims, while lying down to sleep he thinks of his nephew who he thought of

as a son. “Charles lies awake and weeps for Roland’s plight?The King is weary,

for grief weighs on his eyes; ” (The Song of Roland, sect. 184) The deep pain in

Charles heart is different than in Beowulf, because Charles is in mourning,

while Hrothgar was joyous, and while Hrothgar could be proud of his son Beowulf,

Charles feels as if he has let his son down bye letting this whole situation

happen when he trusted the evil Ganelon. He then goes on with a new vigor to

destroy those who killed Roland and the Franks, and the resulting battle can be

seen as a revenge mission for Charles, which further helps to give the story

more depth. Although the result of the two father-son relationships is

different in some of the respects that are stated above, both relationships are

essential in establishing the plot of the two works and giving the reader a

sense of all the intricate forces that were at work in the two societies.

The person who wields the power in the two stories also varies in each

work. In Beowulf, Hrothgar is seen as old and unable to challenge the forces of

evil that have befallen his kingdom, and Beowulf is seen as the young powerful

warrior who will bring a new energy to the fight against evil. Beowulf’s

arrival marks a time when the son is taking over from the father the

responsibilities of a great threat, and further help to give the character of

Beowulf more stature and prestige.

In The Song of Roland the situation is almost the complete opposite. In

this work, Charles will be the one who ultimately triumphs over the evil, and

therefore it is essential to build his stature up. Although Roland is regarded

as a great warrior, Charles is seen as the Christian conqueror of the enemies of

Christ. In Charles’ case, his old age is to his advantage, and his long white

beard and hair are stressed by the author to help paint him as very old. The

fight scene between Baligant and Charles further goes to shed light on the

experience, leadership and general legend of the old King Charles. So who has

the power in a father-son type relationship clearly depends on the individual

work itself. Whoever the main and essential character is of the particular work

is going to be granted the superior power and prestige.

The strong father-son relationship in Beowulf is a way of stressing how

the people of the time felt. The comitatus of the Scandinavian kingdoms of the

time Beowulf was written emphasized family and clan above all else, and by

having the Hrothgar-Beowulf relationship act out in a certain way, you can get a

great sense of what the comitatus system was like. The political and economic

ideas of the time are also commented on through this relationship. The gift

giving of Hrothgar and Beowulf in turn for deeds done shows what the essence of

the comitatus was, how services were rewarded and great deeds applauded. The

entire relationship between Hrothgar and Beowulf is the prime example of the

comitatus, and the author was clearly trying to stress that when writing Beowulf.

The author of The Song of Roland also clearly had the idea also of

commenting on the society of the time by using the father-son relationship as a

model. Roland’s complete faith to his lord and King Charles gives the

impression of how all loyal subjects should be to their lord. When deciding if

they should trust the Saracens and talk with them Roland warns “Nevermore trust

Marsile!” (The Song of Roland, sect. 14) Later on we see the paternal instincts

and wisdom of Charles when Roland and other members of the twelve offers to

speak to the Saracen Marsile. Roland states “That shall you not!” (The Song of

Roland, sect. 18) , showing how much he valued his closest warriors, almost like

it was a family, again showing how the feudal system was a two way relationship.

Roland’s willingness to face anything that his King wishes also goes to comment

on the social characteristics of the day and what was expected from the code of

chivalry. The final revenge theory is also something that is interesting to

look at. Charles’ sadness and anger at the death of Roland sparks his energy,

and makes him take the war up as a revenge for Roland and the others. The

emphasis on revenging Roland is also representational of Medieval society, and

how if a family member was killed it was expected that a fellow family member

would revenge them. The father-son relationships portrayed here clearly help

give an emphasis on the values of the society in which the two writers are

writing in.

The significance of the father-son relationship in these two works are

essential in both works development. Just as one could argue the good-evil, or

Christian-pagan conflicts are essential to them both, the father-son

relationship is just as important. Through the relationship we can get a window

on the past that lets us see the societies that are written about, we can get a

sense of their social, political, and economic customs. Clearly both authors

use this great technique to give their stories more depth and meaning, and by

doing so Beowulf and The Song of Roland are not only considered great literary

works of their respective periods because of the stories they tell, but also

because of the valuable information they give the reader on the society in which

they take place.