"Beowulf" is known as "the crystallization of ancient Germanic culture, the first national epic in medieval Europe, and the pioneering masterpiece of English literature". Feng Xiang, a Ph.D. in medieval literature at Harvard University, once said: "Beowulf is about the death of heroes and nations, the most concerned issue of the ancient Germans." Funerals always seem to be accompanied by death. After the beginning of the epic points out the merits and life experience of the sage king of Denmark, "Son of the Wheat Bunch" Hilde, his sea burial is described in great detail: a curved-neck canoe is his spiritual ship, decorated with armor and swords, and the funeral objects except jewelry , gold, and a war flag embroidered with gold thread, and then the boat was handed over to the sea, and no one knew where it would sail.
Compared with burial at sea, cremation has a more prominent position in epics. Beowulf went to the Deer Hall of Rothergar, King of Denmark, and destroyed the monster Greed, who had been killing the Deer Hall for many years. After the generation, Rothergar held a feast for Beowulf. During the banquet, the Danish singer sang such a story: Be half-Danish Schneeff led his retinue and was besieged by the Frisians when he was a guest with his brother-in-law, King Fienne of Frisian. During the bloody battle, both Fienne's son and Schineff himself were killed. After the armistice between the two sides, a cremation was held. , Iron helmet and gold, Queen of Finn, Sylbert's sister, ordered that his son's body should also be carried on the pyre, placed side by side with his uncle Shineph, and burned with the dead of both sides of the enemy, Sylbert Weeping and singing lamentations. After the feast, not wanting the demon mother of Gregdai to take revenge for her son, she attacked the deer hall again at night, and kidnapped Aishele, the counselor of the Danish king Rothergar, the "Army of Spears". In the early morning, the relatives could not lift Ashele's body to the high pyre for incineration, because the demon mother of the Gekudai had made Ashele's head in a different place, and the head was abandoned on the cliff beside the deep pool. The body was carried back by the demon mother to the bottom of the icy mountain stream. The cremation of Beowulf, the protagonist of the epic, is the climax of the description of the funeral. It is layered through Beowulf's last words, the messenger's retelling, Willough's orders, and finally, the language of direct line drawing: the top of the whale cliff, from far and near. The firewood transported by the noble nobles of Gott was built into a huge pyre, which was covered with helmets, round shields, and armor. The burial objects included not only weapons but also gold. They burst into tears, and the Gothic woman tied her blond hair, and sang over and over again, the lamentations, the smoke rose, the flames roared, and the Goth's lord went.
After Beowulf was cremated, he was buried according to his will, at the top of Whale Cliff, where he was cremated. The Goths built a tall tomb in 10 days, carefully crafted, with thick stone walls to seal Beowulf's ashes, put collars, golden rings in the tomb, and slaughter the dragon at Beowulf. After that, all the treasures confiscated from the Dragon Cave. The 12 sons of the nobles of Goth rode on horses to surround the Great Tomb, mourning for the king, and the sad song resumed to praise a generation of heroes. The mausoleum was named "Beowulf Mausoleum" by Beowulf during his lifetime.
There are also some people in the epic who are associated with crows, vultures, gray wolves and other black beasts after death. Beowulf's second uncle, Hess, accidentally killed his eldest brother Herba when he was shooting an arrow. Since it was his younger brother who killed his own brother by mistake, he could not take revenge. This was considered a debt that could not be compensated, and the most unbearable crime in his heart. Beowulf Fu's grandfather, Rezel, had no way to avenge the eldest son, let alone harm the second son, so he seemed like an old man, watching his own son commit a capital crime at a young age and was hanged on the gallows. The crow's food, and the old man in his twilight years, can't come up with a solution. Rezel, the king of Gott, died because he missed his eldest son Herba every day and died of excessive sadness. The second son, Hess, succeeded to the throne. The Gott first attacked the combative Swedes because of their pride, and kidnapped the Swedish queen, Gott and Sweden. The people restarted the war. King Orgensor of Sweden beheaded Hess, the king of pirates, and recaptured his wife. He chased after the defeated soldiers of the Gott. He led a large army to surround them and threatened the remnants of Gott, who were already frightened birds, all night, claiming that they would be cut open one by one with sharp knives, and hanged one by one on the gallows for the birds to play with. After Beowulf and the poisonous dragon perished together, Willav, who helped him slay the dragon, ordered the messenger to send the battle report back to the court of the Goths. The messenger predicted that after the death of Beowulf, the old enemies of the Goths would come to seek revenge. All around, only the crows roared, boasting to the vultures of its sumptuous feast, snatching with the gray wolves, and hollowing out the corpses. However, this is different from the "artificial burial method adopted under the control of faith" - bird burial, which occurs in the case of execution or war, for the inability to collect the body or carry out punishment.
Death can lead to funerals, especially for heroes, and there will be solemn and solemn funerals as the end of their lives, but funerals do not completely follow death, which is not only related to whether the deceased has remains, but also directly related to the cause of death. .
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