With the arrival of Queen Wealhtheow the formal aspects of the gathering move into a heightened dimension. Here I borrow a theme presented by Garman Lord in his "The Way Of The Heathen". Garman says that when a woman presents the drink it takes on a more magical quality. He points out that a woman's Spiritual influence is valued. Hrothgar's hall is no army barracks warrior society. There is an inclusive Kindred quality to the meeting that occurs in this Old English account of a Scandanavian tale.

Wealhtheow offers the cup to the king first, then each of the others, and lastly Beowulf. It seems this is so that Beowulf can make another formal boast about what he intends to accomplish. "This formal boast by Beowulf the Geat pleased the lady well and she went to sit by Hrothgar, regal and arrayed with gold." (pg. 43). The connection between wealth and the quality of benificient order could be noted here as part of my own theme of prosperity of the people.

The sumble continues with good cheer. We will look more at some formalities of Sumble. With the presentation of the symble cup we have the words, "With measured words, she welcomed the Geat and thanked God for granting her wish.". (pg. 43). It must be remembered that in the time of the Danish king's hall this would be a Heathen God. The Old English word for this before translation is 'Gode'. The word Gode as descriptive of Divinity is knowledgably explained in Edred Thorsson,s book, "Futhark : A Handbook of Rune Magic".

With the sumble in progress there is the remembrance of better times. (pg. 43). Eventually the King and his wife retire to bed. There is love and the good life. This aspect of life is not Beowulf's purpose for the evening. He has a ferocious battle with Grendel awaiting him which he has promised to fight honorably. We won't go into details about the action scene of Beowulf and his battle because this is not an essay about about fighting but rather about the atmosphere of a sacred gathering where intentions are made known and Tradition is continued. Any of us have a battle of our own to fight, less lethal maybe, than the one in Hrothgar's hall, yet as important to win. Maybe the battle is against the forces of manipulation and oppression that are inflicted by Middle Eastern cults of Christianity or even Buddhist institutions that have unsatisfactorly filled a void left by a lack of information. Maybe one's battle is against poverty or lonliness. It is in making the affirmation in the Tradtional gathering that we gain strength to win victory in life.

At this point in my Beowulf essay I would like to again acknowledge that I am using the Seamus Heaney translation that includes the original Old English in its content.