Thor vs. Beowulf, a comparison

This blog is for my English class. We are reading Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon poem from around the 6th century A.D that took place in Geatland (now called Sutton Hoo) and Denmark.

The main character is Beowulf, whose name literally translates to "Bee-wolf", and is understood to mean "Bear".  "Bear" is not the first thing I though of.

This is:


"You'll release the dogs, or the bees? Or the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark, they shoot bees at you?" 
Note: Credit goes to Matt Groening and the show The Simpsons.

Now onto a somewhat more serious topic of discussion. I am a fan of Norse mythology (not the Stan Lee version, the real version). I have a copy of the prose Edda, which consists of all the Norse myths that survived. 

My favorite myths were about Thor. Thor was kind of the everything god. He had a part to play in just about every part of life. He was the protector of man, the god of storms, the god of agriculture, the god of healing, the god of law, the god of marriage, the god of commoners and probably a lot of other things that branch off from these.

The myth that should probably be mentioned is Thor's death during Ragnarok.       

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ragnarok, it's basically the gods' last battles with their various foes and against the Jotuns in general. Thor's foe is Jormungandr, also known as Jormungand or the Midgard Serpent (and is technically his cousin. Godly families are a bit odd). Jormungandr is the ultimate serpent, he is so large that his body wraps around the entire Earth. Thor kills Jormungandr in their last battle, but is fatally poisoned in the process. Even more insane, Thor knew he would die this way, and did so anyway, because he needed to protect people from it. Thor's sons, Magni and Modi, inherit Thor's weapon, Mjolnir. 

Now onto the story of Beowulf. Beowulf was human, not a god. Beowulf's main story revolves around his defeat of Grendel, Grendel's (otherwise unnamed) mother and a dragon. It is the dragon I'd like to focus on.
A dragon is also a type of ultimate serpent, one that can breathe fire and fly. In Beowulf, they are also venomous. Beowulf is an old man when he faces the dragon, and. aside from Wiglaf, is alone when he does so. 

Anyway, given that Wiglaf doesn't seem to take any part in the actual fight until the very end, Beowulf fought the dragon alone. He managed to get close enough to stab it in it's weak spot, the stomach, but not before the dragon bit him in the neck. This is when Wiglaf steps in and stabs the dragon a second time in the stomach.Beowulf stabs it again- with a dagger this time- in the side. The wounds, combined, kill the dragon. Beowulf is fatally poisoned and dies. Wiglaf becomes his heir, and gains the kingdom and so on. Now, Beowulf couldn't have known for certain that the dragon would kill him, but it had to be a distinct possibility in his mind. He seems to realize his chances aren't good, because he seems sad and reflective before the fight, and he was probably around 70 years old when he fought the dragon. 

Now for the less obvious parallels: The Norse Edda and the Story of Beowulf were written down at roughly the same time.

Thor's death represents the end of the old gods, and Scandinavia being taken over by Christianity.

After Beowulf's death, it is implied that Geatland is taken over by the Swedes. His death shows the fall of Geats.

Thor, the most human of the gods, dies. His death is the death of Scandinavian religion. Beowulf, the most godly of the humans, dies. His death is the death of Scandinavian sovereignty and culture.

What do you think? please leave a comment and let me know. (Also, please let me know if I used "sovereignty" right. I had trouble thinking of a word to use.)