Royal ship burials, at sea or on land, were also part of the Scandinavian culture from at least the fifth century through the ninth. Another significant archaeological discovery was at Oseburg in southern Norway, just one of several in Scandinavia. The tribal feuds of the fifth and sixth centuries are well documented historically, and the death of King Hygelac in battle (circa 520) is a recorded fact.
Another custom was the concept of wergild, literally, “man-payment,” the price set on a person’s life according to his social or political station. If a lord or one of his top thanes (sometimes called a retainer) were killed in a feud, the fighting might go on indefinitely, one side killing for vengeance and then the other. However, the fighting could be stopped by a payment of wergild. If a leader were killed, the offending party could pay a certain amount to have the matter settled. Long before the opening of the poem, Hrothgar apparently made such a payment to buy Beowulf’s father out of a feud, and part of Beowulf’s motivation in coming to fight Grendel is to pay off this family obligation.
Still, getting too wrapped up in historical parallels is dangerous. While some things are realistic, others are not. The world in Beowulf is one of the imagination. We should not be too concerned about whether Beowulf can hold his breath all day or swim five nights without rest, or, for that matter, whether dragons keep treasure-troves. In Beowulf’s world, they do.
