Now that Beowulf has been acknowledged, he can address the king. "Beowulf strode forward and stood on the hearth." Maybe a better translation would be, "Beowulf strode forward and stood near the hearth.". We know that the hearth was important for warmth and light in the great lodge. Then Beowulf announces his pedigree and states that he is accomplished and worthy. He states his qualifications to help. Then he states excactly what deed he will accomplish, his purpose in arriving. Beowulf requests of the king, "the privelage of purifying Heorot". He then states that he will fight the foe on equal terms and with honor.

There is an excellent study of the literature, history, architecture, and artifacts of the historical culture of humanity and lodge by Pollington. "The Mead-Hall". Someone interested in this subject would do very well to get this book. Pollington is certainly more knowlegable than me and he also has access to archeology and museums for evidence of the era. I wanted to explore the primary sources for myself before thoroughly studying Pollington's work.

Mine is a literary analysis that gives evidence of the structure required to recreate the Old Ways. So far we have the greeting, a preliminary statement of intention, and guidance to the Hall. In the Hall, a place of entry and a place to stack gear is first and then a place for the retinue to sit. The leader would probably remain standing until introduced to the king. A formal introduction between the two parties takes place and then the king and Beowulf make their mutual honor and intentions known. It is important that the intention is spoken into the energy of the gathering. This is how we avoid frittering away into long chatter and not getting down to business. There is a time and place for chat and a time and place for creating the nature of our quest.

When Beowulf and his retinue arrive at the hall they are granted safe entrance, given a place to stack their gear, and a comortable place to be seated. Beowulf remains standing for the formal introduction. They must be formaly introduced to King Hrothgar and then state their purpose. Wulfgar is the king's thejn charged with welcoming Beouwulf and presenting him honorably to the king. Beowulf is aware of the formalities. In Old English this is described by, "cuthe he dugude theow" (pg.24) which means, "he knew the courtesies". "Theow" is the same word as known in modern Asatru as "thew". The thews have a deeper meaning than courtesies or customs in the mere sense of etiquette. The ancient reason for their importance is based on the value of the power of Tradition and past connections to hold a people together in ethics and spirit.

Wulfgar compliments the retinue and points out to king Hrothgar that they have worth. "From their arms and appointment, they appear well born and worthy of respect." The words, 'hider wisade' are used. They seem to mean, 'formidable'. Old English is an area where I have much language to learn so I cautiously propose that 'hider' might be related to the concept of 'hyde' or the etheric force that surrounds a person. A powerful astral force could be perceived by those who still had that concept and perception in their reality.

Here occurs the well kown phrase by Hrothgar, "I knew him as a boy". He recounts his previous interactions with his relatives and describes how they acted honorably with each other.

The Beowulf Narrative Poem As A Model For Traditional Environment And Decorum.

"Its narrative elements may belong to a previous age but as a work of art it lives in its own continuous present, equal to our knowledge of realtiy in the present time." Seamus Heaney. From the introduction to his 2000 translation.

We will be working with the Seamus Heaney translation which includes both the original Angle-Seax and modern English. Beowulf was an oral tale of the scops of England, set in Denmark and Sweden, but written down by English scribes sometime between the 7th to 10th century. The Angle-Seax 'scop' is equivalent to the Scandanavian 'skald' as a poet who has memorized the oral narratives from antiquity and has power to create new tales in a prescribed form. This was believed to have a Magical power and they were regarded as magicians in their own right. Beowulf was a favorite English tale but its setting was in Scandanavia. The Angle-Seax looked to their homeland in continental Europe just south of Denmark as their source on ancient ways.

Beowulf the hero sails from Sweden to achieve his victory for the rescue of the Danish king Hrothgar and his people. This is the first part of the story, which is best known, yet in the second half of the tale Beowulf goes back to Gotland Sweden to become a king himself and honorably rule a prosperous kingdom for 50 years.

When Beowulf's Elders among the Geats heard of his intention to take on the quest they encouraged him and helped him make ready. They inspected the omens. We have established a culture of magic and action and what we are looking for is the environment in which this culture meets. For true formal and even less formal meetings in the home we need to recreate the atmosphere of our Elders. From Beowulf's perspective as the one venturing into a different environment for a challenge we have already looked at how he declared his intention and practiced divination. Once clearly focused on success the retinue sets forth to Denmark.

When landed on the shores, Beowulf and his retinue are met by King Hrothgar's thejn. The formal duty of this watchman is to challenge the visitors and give them the opportunity to express their purpose. Beowulf meets this challenge with his own formal response. Here is one place we can look at the similarities between Old English and modern English. Beowulf unlocked his word-hoard ('word-hord onleac'- pg. 17) which means he began to speak. The power of the spoken word is given great credence in Scandanavian and Angle-Seax culture.