f Barbarossa, of Hiawatha, even of
Napoleon--has the tradition grown that he is not dead, but has passed
away into the deathless land, whence he shall come again in his own
time. As Tennyson has sung,

"Great bards of him will sing
Hereafter; and dark sayings from of old
Ranging and ringing through the minds of men,
And echoed by old folk beside their fires
For comfort after their wage-work is done,
Speak of the King."

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Lightfoot.

[2] Swinburne.

[3] Gerald Massey.

[4] J. R. Denning.

[5] W. W. Campbell.

[6] _Ibid._

[7] C. Roberts.

[8] T. Darcy McGee.

[9] Tennyson.

[10] Shakespeare, _Julius Caesar_.

[11] Tennyson.

CHAPTER I: BEOWULF

Introduction

The figure which meets us as we enter on the study of Heroes of the
British Race is one which appeals to us in a very special way, since
he is the one hero in whose legend we may see the ideals of our
English forefathers before they left their Continental home to settle
in this island. Opinions may differ as to the date at which the poem
of "Beowulf" was written, the place in which it was localised, and the
religion of the poet who combined the floating legends into one epic
whole, but all must accept the poem as embodying the life and feelings
of our Forefathers who dwelt in North Germany on the shores of the
North Sea and of the Baltic. The life depicted, the characters
portrayed, the events described, are such as a simple warrior race
would cherish in tradition and legend as relics of the life lived by
their ancestors in what doubtless seemed to them the Golden Age.
Perhaps stories of a divine Beowa, hero and ancestor of the English,
became merged in other myths of sun-hero and marsh-demon, but in any
case the stories are now crystallized around one central human figure,
who may even be considered an historical hero, Beowulf, the thane of
Hygelac, King of the Geats. It is this grand primitive hero who
embodies the ideal of English heroism. Bold to rashness for himself,
prudent for his comrades, daring, resourceful, knowing no fear, loyal
to his king and his kinsmen, generous in war and in peace,
self-sacrificing, Beowulf stands for all that is best in manhood in an
age of strife. It is fitting that our first British hero should be
physically and mentally strong, brave to seek danger and brave to look
on death and Fate undaunted, one whose life is a struggle against
evil forces