At the end of the epic Beowulf, when
the aged king Beowulf goes to fight the dragon, only one of his men stands behind him
when he falters, fighting the dragon. That warrior is Wiglaf. Beowulf is fatally wounded
in the battle, and is only able to kill the dragon with Wiglaf's
help.
The other men who had accompanied Beowulf had turned
and fled. However, when their king is dead, they return. Wiglaf realizes Beowulf cannot
be revived—that he is dead—and then the young warrior turns his attention to these
villains and tells them what their fate will be.
Wiglaf
chides them in that Beowulf had always taken excellent care of them, and always rewarded
them as richly as possible. However, Wiglaf warns them that their spinelessness will
cost them dearly.
Now gift of treasure and girding of
sword,
joy of the house and home-delight
shall fail your folk; his
freehold-land
every clansman within your kin
shall lose and leave,
when lords highborn
hear afar of that flight of yours,
a fameless
deed. Yea, death is better
for liegemen all than a life of
shame!
Wiglaf tells them that
the many blessings they and their families received from the hands of Beowulf are gone.
Everyone related to these men will lose everything, including their land—be driven
off—once other highborn lords hear of their flight in the face of battle. He tells the
men that it would have been better to die bravely supporting their lord or king, than to
live life shamed by their cowardice.
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