Beowulf and Charlemagne: The Hero in Medieval Literature
by Zach Watkins
Instructor, Leslie Donovan
Fall 2003

Throughout literary history, the best heroes are those who accomplish great deeds and overcome the greatest obstacles. Ranging in style from Homer’s Odysseus to the mythological Sigurd to Twain’s Huck Finn, these characters always manage to grab an audience’s attention and impress it in some way before the final ending. In medieval times, the hero usually fought epic battles and was some sort of ruler or leader of people. Beowulf and Charlemagne, as presented in Beowulf and “Life of Charlemagne” by Einhard, represent two distinct types of heroes who employ different tactics, yet both nevertheless similarly emerge as leaders who exhibit universally recognized heroic traits.

As the main heroes of their respective works, Beowulf and Charlemagne share some universal traits of good rulers. For instance, both men manage to attain a strong sense of stability during their reigns. This becomes clearest in Beowulf after the title character meets his doom, for as is often the case, the true strength of a ruler and his realm becomes apparent only after his death. During his time on the throne, Beowulf manages to secure his kingdom from outside threats because of his widely known skill in battle, for he “survive[s]/ every extreme, excelling himself/ in daring and in danger” (lines 2397-9). However, once Beowulf is slain by the dragon, his one stoutly loyal knight, Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, predicts that all of Beowulf’s subjects “with freeholds of land, our whole nation,/ will be dispossessed, once princes from beyond/ get tidings of how you turned and fled/ and disgraced yourselves” (lines 2887-90). The instability caused in the land of the Geats by Beowulf’s demise makes itself almost immediately evident, for the fastness and security of the region during Beowulf’s time is most perceptible only when it begins to disappear after he meets his doom.

Like Beowulf, Charlemagne also manages to stabilize the lands under his control, although this becomes apparent in quite different ways. The true mark of a firm government is not the expansion of territory, but rather improvements within the society; throughout Charlemagne’s reign, such enhancements are plentiful. Charlemagne “undert[akes] also very many works calculated to adorn and benefit his kingdom, and br[ings] several of them to completion” (17). These include several religious works, such as the basilica of the Holy Mother of God at Aix-la-Chapelle, that serve to demonstrate his strong Christian faith. Besides merely beautifying his country with architecture, Charlemagne takes into strong account the well-being of his people. He commissions the building of a fleet of warships to protect his people from the Northmen along the coasts of Germany and Gaul, “and in the South, in Narbonensis and Septimania, and along the whole coast of Italy as far as Rome, he [takes] the same precautions against the Moors, who ha[ve] recently begun their piratical practices” (17). With only a couple of small exceptions, the naval practices employed by Charlemagne effectively and efficiently protect not only his people, but also his lands and territories, from the threat of an outside attack, thereby securing his possessions and his domain. On an economic level, all of these building endeavors employ a large amount of the population, which financially strengthens Charlemagne’s empire and, by contributing to the overall happiness of his people, makes it less vulnerable to a political revolution. In essence, the contributions Charlemagne makes to his empire are the very things that allow it to be so stable.

However, there is one noticeable difference in the responsibilities of Beowulf and Charlemagne. Generally speaking, Beowulf is known as a protector of the people, while Charlemagne is identified as a conqueror. While each hero certainly partakes in both defending and obtaining land and citizens, each tends to be associated with only one of these. Beowulf primarily specializes in protecting his own kingdom as well as others from supernatural enemies. In his youth, before he ever ascends the throne, Beowulf sails to the hall of King Hrothgar to rid it of the creature Grendel; as soon as he lands on Hrothgar’s shores, Beowulf declares his mission to the coast-guard: “I come to proffer/ my wholehearted help and counsel./ I can show the wise Hrothgar a way/ to defeat his enemy and find respite--/ if any respite is to reach him, ever./ I can calm the turmoil and terror in his mind” (lines 277-82). Beowulf comes to Denmark not to gain wealth or glory for himself, but to protect the people of King Hrothgar; the rulers emphasize that the purpose of defeating Grendel is to ensure the safety and salvation of the Danes and not solely to conquer the monster. Even in his homeland, Beowulf focuses on shielding his own people more than subduing others and acquiring prosperity. With his dying words, the king professes his joy at providing for his subjects. “To the everlasting Lord of All,/ to the King of Glory, I give thanks/ that I behold this treasure here in front of me,/ that I have been allowed to leave my people/ so well endowed on the day I die,” Beowulf declares to Wiglaf after defeating and being defeated by the dragon (lines 2794-80). Rather than dwell on his triumph or lament his passing, Beowulf voices concern only for those in his kingdom down to his very end. Clearly, Beowulf’s purpose for fighting battles and slaying his enemies is not to obtain land for the throne, as Charlemagne does in Europe.

In fact, Charlemagne seems so obsessed with increasing his boundaries that during his reign, he conquers so much land for France “that more than double its former territory [is] added to it” (15). While Charlemagne certainly concerns himself with safeguarding the people within his boundaries, as is seen in the building of the previously mentioned fleet, he is clearly preoccupied with the acquisition of foreign lands, either by downright submitting them to his will or by “gaining the good will of several kings and nations” to be allied with him (16). Certainly other nations and groups in Europe during Charlemagne’s time recognize his penchant for subjugating bordering lands to his control. “`Have the Frank for your friend,’” runs a Greek proverb contemporary to Charlemagne’s reign, “`but not for your neighbor’” (16). It certainly benefits nations to have Charlemagne’s France as an ally, the proverb basically says, but only if those countries are not at risk for losing control to the French ruler. Such precautions surely are not uncalled for; the extent of France at the time of Charlemagne’s death is far greater than the lands of “Gaul included between the Rhine and the Loire, the Ocean and the Balearic Sea, to that part of Germany which is . . . bounded by Saxony and the Danube, the Rhine and the Saale, . . . and to the country of the Alemanni and Bavarians” that he holds at the beginning of his reign (15). As his might grows, fewer people challenge Charlemagne to open war and more succumb “to him of their own accord” and are added to his empire without a struggle (15). Surely the Emperor Charlemagne, who earns this title from the Church for his accomplishments, views this expansion of his domain as his duty toward his people and toward his God, just as Beowulf senses that his responsibility is to protect the people from foreign threats.

The two main heroes of Beowulf and “Life of Charlemagne” also differ in exactly what types of heroes they are. Beowulf is certainly more of a mythological hero than Charlemagne, for his actions and deeds are far less realistic than the Emperor’s. His feats alone are none that any living man could attempt, for his foes possess such unearthly forms that even if they did exist in reality, none could even hope to survive in combat against them. This makes itself clear when Beowulf reveals that not one of the men in Hrothgar’s kingdom can match Grendel for the “twelve winters, seasons of woe” that the monster plagues the land (line 147). However, the heroic Beowulf faces and defeats Grendel in one night without the use of weapons; for as he says in the hall of Heorot, “When it comes to fighting, I count myself/ as dangerous any day as Grendel./ So it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield/ to mow him down, easily as I might” (lines 677-80). Beowulf possesses superhuman strength that no other mortal man can equal, and this is further noticed when he combats Grendel’s mother in an undersea battle. In this episode, he accomplishes a number of abnormal feats that set him apart from his peers. For instance, Beowulf spends the better part of a day clad in full armor and submerged in a mere infested with “writhing sea-dragons/ and monsters . . . serpents and wild things such as those that often/ surface at dawn to roam the sail-road/ and doom the voyage” just to get to the lair of Grendel’s mother (lines 1426-1430). Once there, he manages to defeat the beast and bear her son’s head back to the surface, all without sustaining serious injury. However, in his old age, Beowulf and his extraordinary abilities meet their doom at the hands of the dragon. Despite the fact that he dies from wounds given to him by the worm, he still manages to overcome his supernatural opponent, once again proving his mettle. Beowulf is most certainly an idyllic hero, one that no one can actually compare to but that all can strive to equal in courage, tenacity, and strength.

On the other hand, Charlemagne is a much more realistic hero than Beowulf. Aside from the fact that he exists historically (unlike the legendary Beowulf), Charlemagne’s accomplishments are much more grounded in reality than those of his counterpart from Geatland, although they possibly may be equally impressive. Unlike Beowulf, Charlemagne does not face his enemies alone; and, unlike Beowulf’s, Charlemagne’s opponents are entirely human. Charlemagne is very effective at leading large armies into strange territory, and this is precisely how he makes a name for himself. He fights a staggering number of wars and is victorious in the vast majority of them. However, Charlemagne also faces defeat in the midst of his conquests, and this helps to portray him as a very human (and therefore flawed) hero. For instance, on his Spanish Expedition, Charlemagne has “cause to rue the treachery of the Gascons,” for they “attacked the rear of [his] baggage train and the rear guard in charge of it, and hurled them down to the very bottom of the valley,” handing his “disadvantage[d]” army a defeat (9). Yet despite the occasional setback, Einhard considers Charlemagne a success, not only for his military exploits but also for his Christian deeds. Case in point: In his will, Charlemagne designates among whom his wealth should be divided; these partitions include donations to the clergy within his empire, contributions to several metropolitan areas, and one part, “in accordance with the custom common among Christians, shall be devoted to the poor” (33). Whether Charlemagne is indeed a sincere believer in Christ or he merely employs the religion to contribute to his empire is uncertain; the important fact is that his outward Christian faith serves to bolster his image as a good ruler and hero to the Franks. Charlemagne seems human to those in his empire and to those who read Einhard’s account. He doesn’t seem to possess any strong superhuman abilities like Beowulf does; he just somehow seems greater than any other humans of his time. The acts he completes in his lifetime and his devotion to religion and to ruling the people contribute to this image, but the appeal of Charlemagne is that he is indeed human and somehow real.

Despite their inherent differences, the characters of Beowulf and Charlemagne both fit the bill of a hero as defined by medieval society and today’s culture. While one seems to be the flawless Superman of Anglo-Saxon literature and the other appears to be the devout Christian conqueror for France, both are effective rulers of their kingdoms and serve a purpose in the cultures they influence. A true literary hero sparks the imagination and inspires its readers and listeners, and Beowulf and Charlemagne, regardless of the variations in their characters, continue to do just this for people throughout the world.

Works Cited
“Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne.” Trans. By Samuel Epes Turner. 13 September 2003.
     <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/einhard.html>
Heaney, Seamus, trans. Beowulf. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.