2016/01/01 by Michael R. Kightley · 4 citations
Arts and Humanities · #Medieval Literature and History
paper · doi:10.1353/elh.2016.0015
openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
Beowulf includes a high number of fraternal relationships, each of which is represented through a reticent style, which either actively performs or unconsciously reveals an anxiety about the role of brothers in the Anglo-Saxon ruling class. A close analysis of the brothers in the poem, with a particular focus on Unferth, demonstrates a pattern of absences, silences, and delays; the poem thus creates added meaning by inviting speculation on what it leaves unsaid. The poem’s reticence about brothers is connected to questions of succession and suitability for rulership, which are potent concerns in a culture lacking a clear inheritance system like primogeniture.