Heroic identity in the world of Beowulf - Gwara, Scott 1962- (Brill, 2009)
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references (pages 375-396) and indexes
A contested Beowulf -- The wisdom context of the Sigemund-Heremond and Hunferð digressions -- The foreign Beowulf and the "Fight at Finnsburh" -- The rhetoric of Oferhygd in Hroðgar's "sermon" -- Beowulf's dragon fight and the appraisal of Oferhygd -- King Beowulf and Ealdormonn Byrhtnoð
In exploring the identities of foreign fighters seeking glory abroad, this revisionist book challenges the traditional view of Beowulf as a 'hero', who emphasizes the obligations attending excellence and the temptation of power, both personal and civic