A bēot is Old English for a ritualized boast, vow, threat, or promise.[1][2] The principle of a bēot is to proclaim one's acceptance of a seemingly impossible challenge in order to gain tremendous glory for actually accomplishing it.
Anglo-Saxon warriors would usually deliver bēots in the mead hall the night before a military engagement[3] or during the battle itself.[4] For example, a typical warrior may boast that he will be the first to strike a blow in a battle, that he would claim a renowned sword from an enemy warrior as spoil of battle, that he will slay a particular monster that has been wreaking havoc on a town or village, and so on. Bēots were usually accompanied by grand stories of one's past glorious deeds. Although other cultures and times might disdain boasting as a sign of arrogance, or sinful pride, the pagan Anglo-Saxons highly regarded such behaviour as a positive sign of one's determination, bravery, and character.
Examples of the bēot can be seen throughout the epic poem Beowulf, such as when Beowulf vows to fight Grendel without using any weapons or armour.[5]
- ^ Einarsson, Stefán (1934). "Old English Beot and Old Icelandic Heitstrenging". PMLA. 49 (4): 980. doi:10.2307/458120. JSTOR 458120.
For these and other instances of different meaning, see the dictionaries. They give three chief meanings: (1) a threatening, menace; (2) danger; and (3) boasting promise. It seems that the third one is the most usual, and logically the meanings would seem to have developed in the order: promise—boasting—threatening—danger.
- ^ Clark Hall, John R. A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Cambridge University Press, 1960, p. 42.
- ^ Einarsson, 1934, p. 976-978
- ^ Einarsson, 1934, p. 978-979
- ^ Einarsson, 1934