Beot
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]
Etymology
[edit ]The Old English word bēot comes from earlier bíhát meaning 'promise'. The original noun-form of bēot corresponds to the verb bi-, be-ˈhátan. A shifting of the stress from bíhát to bi-ˈhát, on analogy of the verb, gave the late Old English beˈhát, from which the Middle English word behote derives.[6] The second element of the term is cognate with Old Norse heit, also meaning 'promise'.
Structure of a bēot
[edit ]- Pledge - The individual pledges to endeavour a specific challenge[7] [8] [9]
- Speculation of outcomes - The individual predicts two possible outcomes—success or failure—and elaborates the effects of either outcome.[10] [11]
- Commissioning to a higher power - The individual commissions the outcome of the challenge to a higher power (e.g. God, fate).[12] [13]
See also
[edit ]References
[edit ]- ^ 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
- ^ "Home : Oxford English Dictionary". oed.com. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ^ Beowulf, lines 679-685
- ^ Beowulf, lines 2510-2525
- ^ Einarsson, 1934, p. 975-976, "In both instances we have to do with a solemn promise to carry out a feat—a fight—under very difficult circumstances, partly self-imposed to add glory"
- ^ Beowulf, line 687
- ^ Beowulf, lines 2535-2537
- ^ Beowulf, lines 685-687
- ^ Beowulf, lines 2526-2527