2.)
Role of kings: In the story of Hrolf Kraki, there are many kings. These are, in no particular order: Helgi, Frodi, Elk-Frodi, Adils, Hrolf, Hring, Thorir, and Hroar. They are all important to this theme, yet some represent what a king is not supposed to be, and some represent good kings. Hrolf is a good king because he does what he's supposed to by protecting his men. When they are in the hall of King Adils, he sits close to the fire and jumps over it even though he should not be physically able, because he knows that it will keep his men safe. He fights in a battle at the end against his sister, Skuld's, army and he dies next to his warriors because of it. King Adils, on the other hand, is a bad king. He ends up getting injured and not being able to fight along with his men because of his own greed (when he got his butt sliced off after leaning down for the ring). Previously, when King Hrolf and his men were in Adils' hall, Adils' men ambushed them. When it appeared that his men were losing, Adils pretended he knew nothing about the ambushed and denounced it as the bad bahviour of his men. He is not loyal or honorable. The reason the "good" kings and the "bad" ones are contrasted in the story is to show us, the readers, what kings were supposed to act like according to the honor code. If a king does his duty, his men will be victorious and it will reflect well on his country. If a king makes bad choices, his men don't have much of a choice in the matter, and they must carry them out. A strong country starts with a strong king.
Role of kings: In the story of Hrolf Kraki, there are many kings. These are, in no particular order: Helgi, Frodi, Elk-Frodi, Adils, Hrolf, Hring, Thorir, and Hroar. They are all important to this theme, yet some represent what a king is not supposed to be, and some represent good kings. Hrolf is a good king because he does what he's supposed to by protecting his men. When they are in the hall of King Adils, he sits close to the fire and jumps over it even though he should not be physically able, because he knows that it will keep his men safe. He fights in a battle at the end against his sister, Skuld's, army and he dies next to his warriors because of it. King Adils, on the other hand, is a bad king. He ends up getting injured and not being able to fight along with his men because of his own greed (when he got his butt sliced off after leaning down for the ring). Previously, when King Hrolf and his men were in Adils' hall, Adils' men ambushed them. When it appeared that his men were losing, Adils pretended he knew nothing about the ambushed and denounced it as the bad bahviour of his men. He is not loyal or honorable. The reason the "good" kings and the "bad" ones are contrasted in the story is to show us, the readers, what kings were supposed to act like according to the honor code. If a king does his duty, his men will be victorious and it will reflect well on his country. If a king makes bad choices, his men don't have much of a choice in the matter, and they must carry them out. A strong country starts with a strong king.
Role of the warrior: The soldiers that we see in the story are mostly Hrolf's champions. These include Bodvar and Hjalti. The story focuses on these types warriors because they are the examples of what a good warrior is. They show courage, intelligence, strength, honor, and an unwavering loyalty to their king. When they were in Adils' court, they tried to shelter their king from the fire as much they could. They decided no to reveal his identity, probably not out of selfish motives, but to protect Hrolf. They live and die in battle by their king's side. Even when they know they will lose, they keep going. These are the marks of good warriors.
Role of women: I believe that most of the women in this book are strong, a notable difference to other stories of this time such as Beowulf. The women in the story are all more pronounced than was "proper" for a woman at this time. What is more, they don't seem to be treated as outcasts because of it. Yrsa, for example, gets married to King Adils out of necessity when she finds out she has been married to her father. Yet, she still loves him and the rest of her family. She refuses to let her new husband, Adils, treat her family badly. When he does anyway, she gets revenge on him by helping her family get away and by giving them some of Adils' treasure. Oddly, we never see the negative repercussions of her decision. Other women such as Yrsa's mother and Skuld are also strong female characters.
Concept of magic: Skuld and the god Odin are two of the most noticeable magical characters in this story. Odin disguises himself as a farmer and gives Hrolf's army a rest on their way to see King Adils. he then convinces Hrolf to diminish part of his army, telling Hrolf that those men are weak and will be more a hindrance than a help. He does this a few more times, each time magically moving his farm closer to Adils' residence so he can continue to give Hrolf and his army help along the way. We do not discover his exact motives for the blatant display of magic, because he is gone from the story almost as suddenly as he appeared. Skuld, however, sticks around, and probably longer than anybody wants her to. Under the guise of helping her husband, she seeks revenge on her brother (Hrolf) and their father. During the final battle of the story, she uses magic to help her army win. She brings the dead back to life to continue fighting Hrolf's army. This could also relate to the role of women, as she is obviously a powerful female character.
Revenge: Queen Olaf and King Helgi meet, and the rest of their relationship consists of trying to get revenge on one another. When Olaf turns down Helgi's marriage proposal, he avenges his humiliation by raping her. In turn, Olaf does not tell Helgi he has produced a daughter (Yrsa), orchestrates the marriage of Helgi and Yrsa. This is a great revenge because, only when Yrsa and Helgi have been married for years and have had children, does Olaf come and tell the truth, prompting Yrsa to leave Helgi heartbroken and depressed. This tells us the background of Hrolf's twisted family tree, and sets up the other great revenge of the story. Skuld, another child of Helgi, wants to get revenge on Hrolf and on their father. It is suggested that this is because of their dysfunctional family and the fact that she didn't get the life she deserved. The revenge theme could also be suggesting that the idea of revenge is bad as, except in Skuld's case, it never seems to turn out as planned.
Hospitality: Hrani, actually Odin in disguise is, as I mentioned earlier, very hospitable to Hrolf and his men. Not only does he shelter them on their way to see Adils', but he gives them food and anything else he might need. He also, indirectly, helps them win the battle. They then make the bad decision of pissing of Hrani by denying his hospitality, suggesting that this is the cause for their later failure and ultimate death.
3.) There are many themes, motifs, and possible meanings to this story. I believe that Hrolf Kraki is ultimately about relationships, both familial relationships and those between a warrior and his king. Elk-Frodi, upon meeting Bodvar, promises to avenge his death, because that's what families are supposed to do. When Bodvar is slain Elk-Frodi will keep his promise even though he did not know Bodvar that well. Similarly, warriors in this story show selfless loyalty to their king, even if it means losing their own lives. Bodvar, Hjalti, and countless others die in the final battle at Hrolf's side, even though they know that their attempts are futile. The fact that these two relationships parallel one another so much suggests that a warrior and his king were supposed to be like family.
4.) I don't recall the whole story of King Arthur from past reading, but I remember enough to know that, while Hrolf and Arthur may be similar, their men have completely different characteristics (with the exception of Gawain, who I believe might be based on the same character ideal as Bodvar). Hrolf's warriors are always loyal to him and are willing to fight to their own potential death to protect the life of their king. Arthur's knights, to use the example you gave us in class, won't even fight the Green Knight for him. So reluctant are they that Arthur, enraged, is prompted to take up the challenge himself. This contrast is to perhaps to show that warriors got weaker after the conversion to Christianity. While warriors adhered almost single-mindedly to the heroic code, the Christian knights did not seem to abide so strictly by the Rules of Chivalry.
8.) The stories themselves are similar, but I don't believe that Hrolf and Beowulf as people are. The stories are alike because they are both about the struggles that king and warrior alike face, and the relationship between the two roles. Though there is this small similarity, there are also some striking differences. In Hrolf Kraki we see strong female characters, not women beaten down by a patriarchal society like in Beowulf. The warriors in Hrolf Kraki, even those who do not belong to him, never run away in battle. In Beowulf, we hear of a few accounts of warriors deserting the battle field. Whereas in Beowulf magic is in the story but isn't focused on, in Hrolf Kraki the existence of magic is prominent and even celebrated. This is due to the fact that Hrolf Kraki is written as a completely Pagan story. If you believe the idea that a Christian monk edited Beowulf before it was released to the masses, this would suggest a Christian influence on the story. The differences between the Christian and Pagan cultures also suggest that a Pagan culture was more free and allowed people to be more individualized.
Revenge: Queen Olaf and King Helgi meet, and the rest of their relationship consists of trying to get revenge on one another. When Olaf turns down Helgi's marriage proposal, he avenges his humiliation by raping her. In turn, Olaf does not tell Helgi he has produced a daughter (Yrsa), orchestrates the marriage of Helgi and Yrsa. This is a great revenge because, only when Yrsa and Helgi have been married for years and have had children, does Olaf come and tell the truth, prompting Yrsa to leave Helgi heartbroken and depressed. This tells us the background of Hrolf's twisted family tree, and sets up the other great revenge of the story. Skuld, another child of Helgi, wants to get revenge on Hrolf and on their father. It is suggested that this is because of their dysfunctional family and the fact that she didn't get the life she deserved. The revenge theme could also be suggesting that the idea of revenge is bad as, except in Skuld's case, it never seems to turn out as planned.
Hospitality: Hrani, actually Odin in disguise is, as I mentioned earlier, very hospitable to Hrolf and his men. Not only does he shelter them on their way to see Adils', but he gives them food and anything else he might need. He also, indirectly, helps them win the battle. They then make the bad decision of pissing of Hrani by denying his hospitality, suggesting that this is the cause for their later failure and ultimate death.
3.) There are many themes, motifs, and possible meanings to this story. I believe that Hrolf Kraki is ultimately about relationships, both familial relationships and those between a warrior and his king. Elk-Frodi, upon meeting Bodvar, promises to avenge his death, because that's what families are supposed to do. When Bodvar is slain Elk-Frodi will keep his promise even though he did not know Bodvar that well. Similarly, warriors in this story show selfless loyalty to their king, even if it means losing their own lives. Bodvar, Hjalti, and countless others die in the final battle at Hrolf's side, even though they know that their attempts are futile. The fact that these two relationships parallel one another so much suggests that a warrior and his king were supposed to be like family.
4.) I don't recall the whole story of King Arthur from past reading, but I remember enough to know that, while Hrolf and Arthur may be similar, their men have completely different characteristics (with the exception of Gawain, who I believe might be based on the same character ideal as Bodvar). Hrolf's warriors are always loyal to him and are willing to fight to their own potential death to protect the life of their king. Arthur's knights, to use the example you gave us in class, won't even fight the Green Knight for him. So reluctant are they that Arthur, enraged, is prompted to take up the challenge himself. This contrast is to perhaps to show that warriors got weaker after the conversion to Christianity. While warriors adhered almost single-mindedly to the heroic code, the Christian knights did not seem to abide so strictly by the Rules of Chivalry.
8.) The stories themselves are similar, but I don't believe that Hrolf and Beowulf as people are. The stories are alike because they are both about the struggles that king and warrior alike face, and the relationship between the two roles. Though there is this small similarity, there are also some striking differences. In Hrolf Kraki we see strong female characters, not women beaten down by a patriarchal society like in Beowulf. The warriors in Hrolf Kraki, even those who do not belong to him, never run away in battle. In Beowulf, we hear of a few accounts of warriors deserting the battle field. Whereas in Beowulf magic is in the story but isn't focused on, in Hrolf Kraki the existence of magic is prominent and even celebrated. This is due to the fact that Hrolf Kraki is written as a completely Pagan story. If you believe the idea that a Christian monk edited Beowulf before it was released to the masses, this would suggest a Christian influence on the story. The differences between the Christian and Pagan cultures also suggest that a Pagan culture was more free and allowed people to be more individualized.
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