Roles in Beowulf

Role of Queen in Beowulf & Grendel In both texts, Beowulf and Grendel, the main purpose of the Queen's are to serve the courts as "weavers of peace". In Grendel however, Queen Wealththeow is described in much greater detail and serves a further purpose. The reader gains insight to a part Grendel that is not present in Beowulf, his desire for a human. It was not unusual for women to be offered as tokens of peace …

…two texts are fundamentally the same, there is a significant difference in how Queen Wealhtheow is portrayed. In the novel Grendel, the reader is given not only further insight to the beauty and charm of Wealhtheow, but the sensitivity and needs of Grendel. Both texts allow the reader to gain a further understanding to the position of women in the Anglo-Saxon society by means of the development of the characters, Queen Wealhtheow and Queen Hygd.