Throughout the poem there is reference to kings and lords. In the first chapter it is revealed that it is a feudal society. “Then Beo was king in that Danish castle, Shild’s son ruling as long as his father and as loved, a famous lord of men.” (Beowulf, 25/53). Kings and lords are the ruling class in this noble society.

It is a male dominated household with the father passing his legacy to the first son at his death. Inheritance was the key to success in the community as Timothy Rueter explains how Charles the Fat gained his titles in the early Middle Ages. “…The Alemannic kingdom which he inherited from his father in 876 and the remainder of the east Frankish kingdom which he inherited from his older brother…in 882.” (Germany, 115).

Whenever Beowulf travels to a land he is always aske

Another value of the community is its jewelry. Gold and gems are held as a sign of your nobility and generosity. King Hrothgar is known throughout the poem as the great ring giver. These riches were guarded with the highest of honor. “Years before by the last survivor of a noble race, ancient riches left in the darkness as the end of a dynasty came. Death had taken them, one by one, and the warrior who watched over all that remained mourned their fate, expecting, soon, the same for himself, knowing the gold and jewels he had guarded so long could not bring him pleasure much longer.” (Beowulf, 93/2233). Hrothgar earned his status among his people and foreigners by his generous giving of his riches and possessions.

The poem also lets us know that not everyone is prosperous like the great warriors who receive gifts from their Kings. Poverty and slavery are also an issue in the story of Beowulf. “But the thief had not come to steal; he stole, and roused the dragon, not from desire but need. He was someone’s slave, had been beaten by his masters, had run from all men’s sight, but with no place to hide; then he found the hidden den.” (Beowulf, 92/2221). This community is organized on the basis of a small elite group who controls the majority of the population. Norman F. Cantor argues that everybody was a slave, legally or empirically, unto a small elite. “In these early societies there were, in essence, only two social groups, or classes. One class was the elite: the aristocratic group that controlled both rural and urban wealth and dominated. The other class was a mass peasantry, who may or may not have been slaves, but in

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Approximate Word count = 1141
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)