Beowulf - Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia

was a child. Today we would not count that as a reason. Similarly, when the King
consents to Beowulf using the hall, he says:
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Hafa nú ond geheald húsa sélest,
gemyne mærþo, mægenellen cýð,
waca wið wráþum!
Have now and hold the best of houses
remember your fame, show mighty valour,
keep fiercely watch! (Beowulf vv. 658–660)
From our point of view the King mentions the least important point first and the most
important one last, however without emphasising it, and he does not mention the real
problem, i.e., how to get rid of Grendel. His reference to Beowulf’s fame shows that
the real reason for letting Beowulf use the hall is that he is a good man.
When the King has reached a decision, this decision cannot be questioned even if
there were reason to do so. In the Beowulf case nobody says that killing Grendel is
not enough although many must have known that Grendel’s mother would try to
avenge the attack on or the killing of her son. We can therefore conclude that in the
courtroom format those who speak, those who are spoken to and those who listen
are clearly defined and expected to act within the rather strict limits of given roles.
The parallel between the hall and the church is obvious if we substitute the fire for
the altar and the central part played by the Pagan meal for the equally central Christian
communion. It is, moreover, significant that what is said from the upper part of
the hall is most often a narrative that we can easily transform into a sermon or a
homily, and that goes for Venantius as well as the Beowulf and the Maldon poet.
The usage of good is clearly linked to the church production format and several of
the narratives belonging to this format are structured by the word. The church format
is first and foremost didactic, but it can naturally also be applied in the other formats.
The same is true of the other formats, and that means that a change in a format may
involve a fragment from another format. Hall competence is partly a matter of coping
with different formats and people in the hall are in all probability expected to reflect
on the homily even if it occurs in a courtroom format.
The church format may also contain the talk that is involved with food activities.
This is indicated by the fact that these activities are matched with the notion of eloquence
as well as with ability to listen and negotiate. The talk in connection with
handing out food invites comments from the guests in the hall and from Maldon we
can infer that serving beer to the guests results in mutual promises to follow the code
of the hall and to die for one’s master. This kind of response from the congregation
no doubt belongs to the church format. Even the rib from a cow, found in Sigtuna
with the inscription: The King gave most ... ...., may well be an example of the talk
in the lower part of the hall during and just after events connected with the church