Short Essay Assignment: Women, Peace, and Power in Beowulf

Course Context

Course: HIS/PHIL  – Gender, Power, and Conflict in Early Medieval Europe (Australian university, second‑year elective)

Assessment type: Individual critical essay

Length: 1,500 words (±10%), excluding reference list

Weighting: 25% of final unit grade

Due: Week 6, Sunday 11:59 p.m. (AEST/AEDT), via LMS (Turnitin enabled)

Assessment Overview

Recent scholarship on Beowulf argues that women stand at the centre of its social and political world, even though the poem foregrounds male warriors. Studies of queens, hostesses, and peace‑weavers show that women such as Wealhtheow, Hygd, Hildeburh, and Freawaru act as political figures who shape alliances, succession, and the memory of conflict. This assessment invites you to examine the roles of women in Beowulf as a way of understanding how gender, peace‑making, and power interact in early medieval Northern Europe.

You will write a 1,500‑word essay that analyses the political and ethical significance of at least two female figures in the poem, with particular attention to how their actions support or disrupt efforts to manage feud, maintain alliances, and secure the future of their communities.

Essay Question

Write a 1,500‑word essay in response to the following question:

• How do women in Beowulf exercise power through roles such as hostess, peace‑weaver, and avenger, and what does this suggest about the relationship between gender and political stability in the poem?

Guidance for Your Essay

• Select at least two women from the poem (for example, Wealhtheow, Hygd, Hildeburh, Freawaru, Grendel’s mother, or Thryth) and describe their main roles and actions.

• Analyse key scenes, such as Wealhtheow’s speeches in Heorot, Hildeburh’s grief in the Finnsburg episode, or Grendel’s mother’s attack, and show how these moments reveal different forms of influence, negotiation, and resistance.

• Consider how peace‑weaving through marriage and hosting is meant to secure alliances, and why it often fails.

• Discuss how the poem’s narrator and later critics judge these women: do they appear as marginal figures, as central agents, or as sources of anxiety about gender and power?

Research and Referencing Requirements

• Use a reliable translation of Beowulf and provide specific line or episode references when you analyse scenes.

• Engage with at least three secondary sources, including at least two peer‑reviewed articles or book chapters on women, peace‑weaving, or gender in Beowulf or early medieval Europe.

• Use the School’s required referencing style (for example, Harvard) consistently in in-text citations and in the reference list.

• Write in clear, formal academic English suitable for an Australian university humanities or social-science context.

Marking Criteria (100 marks)

1. Understanding of Women’s Roles and Context (25 marks)

i. High Distinction (85–100): Shows excellent understanding of the specific roles women hold in Beowulf (hostess, queen, peace‑weaver, avenger); accurately explains how these roles operate within early medieval kinship and feud structures; situates analysis securely in the poem’s cultural context.
ii. Distinction (75–84): Demonstrates strong understanding of several women’s roles and their social significance; minor gaps or simplifications in contextualisation.
iii. Credit (65–74): Provides a sound description of women’s roles; some awareness of context but limited depth.
iv. Pass/Below (0–64): Offers a mainly descriptive or general account of women in the poem; context is thin or inaccurate.

2. Analysis of Power, Gender and Political Stability (25 marks)

i. High Distinction (85–100): Develops a clear argument about how women’s actions affect alliances, succession, and conflict; shows how success or failure in peace‑weaving and hosting reflects broader tensions in the political order; draws out implications for thinking about gender and power in early medieval societies.
ii. Distinction (75–84): Presents a strong, coherent argument that links gender and political stability; some aspects could be developed further.
iii. Credit (65–74): Makes relevant connections between women’s roles and stability; analysis may remain at a general level or treat examples separately.
iv. Pass/Below (0–64): Limited or unclear discussion of how gender relates to political order; focus remains on isolated character descriptions.

3. Close Reading and Use of Evidence (20 marks)

i. High Distinction (85–100): Offers detailed close readings of key passages (for instance, speeches, rituals, moments of grief or vengeance); interprets language, gesture, and setting in ways that support the argument; integrates quotations smoothly.
ii. Distinction (75–84): Provides relevant textual evidence with clear commentary; some passages treated in less depth.
iii. Credit (65–74): Includes textual references but with limited analysis; some reliance on paraphrase.
iv. Pass/Below (0–64): Sparse or inaccurate evidence; heavy dependence on summary.

4. Engagement with Scholarship (20 marks)

i. High Distinction (85–100): Engages critically with at least three secondary sources, including work on peace‑weaving, women’s centrality, and gender politics; summarises arguments accurately; positions the essay’s claim in relation to this scholarship.
ii. Distinction (75–84): Uses relevant scholarship effectively; integration is mostly strong, with occasional brief or descriptive use.
iii. Credit (65–74): Incorporates some scholarship; tends to report rather than analyse secondary views.
iv. Pass/Below (0–64): Limited engagement with academic work; heavy reliance on unspecialised web content or general summaries.

5. Structure, Writing and Referencing (10 marks)

i. High Distinction (85–100): Essay is well‑structured with a clear introduction, logical progression and effective conclusion; writing is clear and well‑edited; referencing and formatting follow unit guidelines precisely.
ii. Distinction (75–84): Organisation and writing are strong overall; minor issues with expression or layout; referencing mostly accurate.
iii. Credit (65–74): Structure is adequate; some repetition or unclear passages; referencing uneven but present.
iv. Pass/Below (0–64): Organisation is weak; frequent language errors; referencing inconsistent or missing.

Sample Essay Opening

Women in Beowulf occupy positions that allow them to influence politics, memory, and peace, even though the poem foregrounds male warriors and kings. Wealhtheow moves carefully through Heorot with words and rituals that shape succession and loyalty, while figures such as Hildeburh and Freawaru carry the heavy burden of marriages meant to hold feuding groups together. An influential analysis of the poem argues that hostesses, peace‑weavers, and even monstrous mothers belong at the social centre of the story rather than at its margins, because their choices often determine whether alliances hold or collapse. When the narrative shows peace‑weaving failing and vengeance returning, the pattern suggests that gendered roles designed to stabilise political life cannot fully contain the anger and fear that drive early medieval conflict.

The presence of women as active agents in Beowulf demonstrates that leadership and influence were not limited to warriors and kings. Their decisions reveal the intersection of ethics, social responsibility, and political calculation in maintaining or destabilising early medieval communities (Braun 2014).

Reference List

• Anonymous 2000, Beowulf, trans. S Heaney, Faber & Faber, London.

• Braun, M 2014, ‘The Women of Beowulf: Power and Duty in Anglo‑Saxon Society’, Paper Shell Review, University of Maryland, viewed 2 February 2026, https://english.umd.edu/research-innovation/journals/paper-shell-review/paper-shell-review-spring-2014/women-beowulf-power.

• Porter, D 2000, ‘The Social Centrality of Women in Beowulf’, The Heroic Age, viewed 2 February 2026, https://jemne.org/issues/5/porter1.html.

• Gardner, JM 2006, ‘The Peace Weaver: Wealhtheow in Beowulf’, MA thesis, Western Carolina University, viewed 2 February 2026, https://paws.wcu.edu/bgastle/students/Gardner-Peace-Weaver-Thesis.pdf.

• Smith, L 2022, ‘Gender, Power, and Alliance in Early Medieval Epics’, Journal of Medieval Studies, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 45–67.