Beowulf and North European Myth
In the beginning, it can be noted that both myths were written in the early eras since they elaborate on stories that do not exist in the present day. Many people nowadays consider myths to be real as they involve stories told from one generation to another. They are said to be fiction tales and meant for scholars, but this can be argued otherwise. The article, Beowulf, links Danish and Anglo-Saxon society.
It is evident that what Heaney says about the Norse society in the introduction to Beowulf is consistent with what Davidson tells us about the North European gods in the myths. The article indicates the gods are the leader in the hierarchy of living since they contain much power than others (such as Loki and Thor). In Haney’s introduction to Beowulf, the Christian-pagan encounter shows that the humans believed in God and as in the case of the article there is a king on earth and Asgard. The king in Heaney myth was known as Beowulf
In both cases other than god there are other powerful creatures such as the man-eating monster in Beowulf’s myth and the giants that assist Thor in his journey to Asgard. These creatures are portrayed as more powerful than humans and also contain power closer or equal to that of the god but can be defeated. The giant gave Thor a magic mallet, iron gloves and a belt.
To further show consistency in the two myths, it is evident that wars were present as a way to solve disputes in both cases between humans and the supernatural. In Beowulf’s case, the King had to battle the man-eating Grendel, and this made him rule for fifty more years after winning the battle. Similarly, Thor went to Geirrods hall where he fought his daughters and Geirrod himself and thus managed to return to Asgard unharmed. Therefore, both cases show that war is used wherever there are disagreements.
From the above reasoning, it is highly evident that the two myths are consistent and have closer arguments though from different perspectives.