Hygelac and Beowulf: Cenwulf and Beornwulf
This chapter uses charters and other varied evidence to supplement the parallels between the Offas and their queens in Chapter 8 with nine more, to do with Hygelac and his nephew Beowulf on one hand, and Kings Cenwulf (796-821) and Beornwulf (823-6) on the other: both Hygelac and Cenwulf are shown to save their people but then rob them of land; Beowulf is a friend and kinsman of Hygelac, as Beornwulf appears to have been of Cenwulf; both Hygelac and Cenwulf endow the younger men; both Beowulf and Beornwulf reveal a lesser royal blood; both Hygelac and Cenwulf die on raids in pursuit of treasure, to be avenged by the younger men; both Beowulf and Beornwulf are made king after the failed reigns of their elders' kinsmen; and both restore stolen land to its previous owners; die unmarried, childless and officially free of intrigue; but likewise in pursuit of treasure.
Keywords: Beowulf, Beornwulf, Cenwulf, charters, Hygelac
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