When you think of a good king, most people imagine a loving leader whom is admired and honored by his people. In the Anglo-Saxon culture especially, kings are revered and looked up to by all. A king should be someone who the people can depend on to lead them the right way. Similarly, people look up their heroes and honor them as they would do for a king. Both kings and heroes have fame and fortune. Beowulf excellently combines the two. Before he was a king, Beowulf was a great young warrior who was revered by his people. All the people, whether it be from Gateland or Daneland, cheered Beowulf on in his quest to defeat the vicious Grendel and conquer Grendel's mother. Beowulf holds the experiences of an all mighty warrior as well as the wisdom of a king. Beowulf had to overcome a lot to go from warrior to king. Kings and leaders lead their people in different ways just as their people admire them in different ways. Beowulf was able to bring his kingdom riches from his time as a warrior and intimidate his enemies which brought his land peace for a period of time. His past as a warrior carried over with him when he assumed leadership, particularly his enemies and rivals from before. His experience as a warrior gives him knowledge that some kings don't possess and make him a more effective leader with a greater foundation. Beowulf is eager to fight and defend his kingdom, even when he reaches old age as a king. In my opinion, Beowulf should have left the fighting to a younger warrior and he stay back and lead his kingdom. Beowulf chooses to prove himself once again, despite his old age and best the dragon. It is his excessive pride that get him killed; he believes that he will can conquer the dragon without the help of the Danes which leads to his death. This one quality which believe does not make him a good leader. I think that a good leader should be humble and as we know Beowulf doesn't quite fit that description. One would think that as he matures and progresses in life, from warrior to king, he would have learnt to be humble by now. I think a king should be learning new things every day, about himself or about his people, I expected Beowulf to have learnt the obvious and tried to correct his flaw. Overall I think that Beowulf is a good leader with his vast knowledge of war strategy and the wisdom of his people. Clearly, Beowulf cares for his people as he goes time and time again,, even when he is old, to protect them which I think makes a good king.
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