The Heroic Age

by H. Munro Chadwick

Again, it is by boasting of much the same kind that warriors make themselves known to one another when they meet in battle. A typical example occurs in Finn 24 ff.: "Sigeferth is my name. I am a prince of the Secgan and a rover known far and wide. Many hardships and stern encounters have I endured. Here too thou shalt have for certain (i.e. I shall not draw back from) whichever course (i.e. war or peace) thou dost prefer to take with me." We may compare Il. XIII 448 ff., where Idomeneus makes himself known to Deiphobos: "Now stand forth thyself to face me, that thou mayest see what sort of a scion of Zeus is come here. First Zeus begat Minos to be ruler of Crete, and Minos again begat the blameless Deucalion; and Deucalion begat me to be lord over many men in broad Crete. But now have ships brought me hither with consequences evil to thee and to thy father and the rest of the Trojans."

It will be seen that in this passage Idomeneus prides himself as much on his ancestry[497] as on his own prowess. The idea of inherited valour finds expression again in Il. V 252 ff., where Diomedes says to Sthenelos: "Exhort me not to flight, for I am sure thou wilt not persuade me. Nowise inbred in me is it to fight a runaway battle, neither to cower in fear. My courage is steadfast still." Practically the same idea appears in Beow. 2694 ff.: "Then, as I have been told, in the national king's dire need the knight stood upright and showed forth his prowess—strength and valour such as was inbred in him."

The feeling of pride in a noble family becomes clearly noticeable also on occasions when the family is threatened with extinction. Beowulf's farewell words to Wiglaf are (v. 2814 ff.): "Thou art the last remnant of our house, even of Waegmund's line. All my kinsmen in their knightly prowess has Fate swept off to their doom. I myself must follow them." We may compare Od. XIV 180 f., though here the speaker, Eumaios, is only a dependent of the house: "On his return home the illustrious suitors are lying in wait for him, in order that the seed of godlike Arceisios may vanish nameless from Ithaca."

Lastly, the heroic spirit shows itself in the exhortations of princes to their followers. As an instance we may quote a verse which occurs several times, in speeches of Hector and Patroclos: "Be men, my friends, and set your minds upon impetuous valour." The same exhortation, though in a more elaborate form, occurs in Finn 10 ff.: "But awake now, my warriors, have your hands ready (or 'take your mail-coats'), be mindful of your prowess, leap forth in the forefront (?), be stout of heart."

It is true that these last two passages would in themselves be appropriate in any martial poetry. But we must take the context into account. Patroclos immediately (XVI 271 f.) adds the words "in order that we may do honour to the son of Peleus, who is by far the best of the men of Argos." So in Finn 40 f. we are told that "never was a nobler recompense paid for sweet mead than was (then) rendered to Hnaef by his bachelors." The same thought occurs elsewhere in the English poems, e.g. in Beow. 2634 ff., where Wiglaf is exhorting his comrades: "I remember the time when we were receiving mead, when in the beer-hall we pledged ourselves to our lord who gave us these bracelets, that if need like this befell him we would repay the battle-harness, the helmets and sharp swords." And again, shortly afterwards (v. 2646 ff.): "Now is the day come that our liege-lord needs the strength of brave warriors. Let us draw near to help our war-chief, so long as the heat of the fierce and terrible flames shall last."

The underlying idea is clearly that which is described by Tacitus (Germ. 14) in his account of the comitatus of the ancient Germans: "The principes fight for victory, but the comites fight for their princeps[498]." And this description is probably true of the Homeric Greeks just as much as of the Teutonic heroes. The terms used in the two sets of poems (θεράπων—þegn, i.e. comes; ἄναξ—dryhten, i.e. princeps), seem to correspond to one another almost exactly, though it is not easy to find a satisfactory rendering for them in modern English. For kings too, especially such as are of preeminent position, we find in each case a very similar expression (ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν—eorla dryhten), which properly denotes the relationship of liege-lord.

In both cases alike the leading idea of the Heroic Age may be fittingly summed up in the phrase κλέα ἀνδρῶν. This is practically equivalent to the Anglo-Saxon dom, with which we have dealt above (p. [87] f.). It is essential to notice that the object so much prized is personal glory. In Hector's speech before his combat with Aias (cf. p. [325]) the glory which would result from the combat to the hero or his opponent is the only subject touched upon. No consideration is taken of any effect which might be produced thereby upon the fortunes of the war.

The same characteristic appears throughout the passages which we have quoted and countless others. Occasionally we hear also of pride of family, but scarcely ever of any truly national feeling. Patroclos exhorts his men to bravery (Il. XVI 270 ff.) in order that they may win glory not for the Achaean nation but for their own personal lord; and he adds further that by so doing they will bring shame upon the national leader. Achilles himself retires from the conflict owing to a personal wrong, and only returns to it in order to avenge his friend. The same phenomena appear in the English poems. That Wiglaf whose bravery is said to be 'inbred' (cf. p. [328]) was the son of a certain Weohstan, whose great achievement was the slaying of the Swedish prince Eanmund. Yet Eanmund was at this time apparently under the protection of Heardred, king of the Geatas, who also lost his life in the same war. Weohstan however, though he belonged to the Geatas, was in the service of Onela, their enemy. It would seem then that he was fighting against his own nation. Such cases appear to have been by no means uncommon in the Teutonic Heroic Age. For it was customary at that time for young noblemen to take service under foreign princes; and the obligations which personal service imposed were held to be superior to all others.

Love of home and zeal in its defence are of course frequently mentioned in both groups of poems. We may refer to the common phrase φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν. Most frequently however, as we might expect, these features appear in connection with the Trojans. In Il. XII 243, when Pulydamas has urged retreat in consequence of an omen, Hector replies: "The best of all omens is to fight in defence of our country." Priam uses the same expression (ib., XXIV 499 f.) when he comes to plead with Achilles for his son's body: "He preserved my city and its inhabitants, even Hector whom thou hast now slain as he fought in defence of his country." These feelings may be regarded as forms of patriotism; but it is patriotism of a distinctly practical kind, as may be seen from Il. XV 494 ff., where Hector is addressing his followers: "Now fight in close formation at the ships. Whosoever of you through shot or blow meets with death and fate, let him die. Not unseemly is it for him to die fighting in defence of this country. He will leave his wife and children in safety, his house also and his estate unharmed, if the Achaeans depart with their ships to their own dear fatherland." Much the same feelings are expressed in the English poems. As an example we may take Beow. 520 ff., where Unferth is describing the return of Breca after his swimming contest: "Welcome to his subjects was he when he made his way to his own dear home, the land of the Brondingas and his beautiful sacred city[499] where people, city and treasures belonged to him." We may refer also to Widsith, v. 119 ff.: "I have visited Wulfhere and Wyrmhere. Often enough did they wage war unceasing, when around the forest of the Vistula the Gothic army with their sharp swords had to defend their ancient domain[500] from Attila's subjects." And again (ib., v. 127 ff.): "Often enough did the spear fly whistling and shrieking, from that troop into a hostile army, when Wudga and Hama guarded their golden treasures and (the lives of) their men and women."