Beowulf - Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia

Figure 30. The use of the word good in Beowulf (Part II).
Except for these two examples of a usage which is divergent from a Pagan point
of view the word crops up in quite a commonplace way, and it never structures a
speech with a framework and an underlying theme, on the contrary it is used for the
sake of convenience. Despite the fact that we see a change in the use of the word, it
must be pointed out that it is not employed outright ironically even though we may
note a tendency towards this kind of usage in vv. 2641 and 2648 when Wiglaf
mocks his fellow retainers. Not until we reach Hávamál (vv. 39–46) do we find a
clear case of an ironically mocking attitude towards the word good (cf. below p.
157).
To sum up, we may say that Maldon describes the events leading up to a crisis of
the good, the critical climax and an eventual restoration in a relatively realistic setting,
allowing for one or two surprisingly well-phrased statements, considering the massive
slaughter that takes place around the speakers. In contrast, Beowulf describes
either the complete victory of the quintessentially good Pagan (Part I) or his total
destruction (Part II). The setting is often supernatural especially in the second part,
where the Pagan usage of good does not structure the narrative. This part is in many
ways a tale of grotesque and arabesque.
In a larger perspective it is interesting that around 1000 AD readers and listeners
found pleasure in poems about what it meant to be good, and about the victories as
well as the defeats of good people in such different settings. The theme and its settings
show the need for society to come to terms with the complicated ideal of being
good, not least in its warrior sense, and with Beowulf (Part II) in mind we can conclude
that Maldon is archaic, or an example of a revival of an ideal after a period in
which it had been criticised.
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