Editing Beowulf (section)

=== Politics and warfare ===
[[Stanley B. Greenfield]] has suggested that references to the human body throughout ''Beowulf'' emphasise the relative position of [[Thegn|thanes]] to their lord. He argues that the term "shoulder-companion" could refer to both a physical arm as well as a thane (Aeschere) who was very valuable to his lord (Hrothgar). With Aeschere's death, Hrothgar turns to Beowulf as his new "arm".{{sfn|Greenfield|1989|p=59}} Greenfield argues the foot is used for the opposite effect, only appearing four times in the poem. It is used in conjunction with [[Unferð]] (a man described by Beowulf as weak, traitorous, and cowardly). Greenfield notes that Unferð is described as "at the king's feet" (line 499). Unferð is a member of the foot troops, who, throughout the story, do nothing and "generally serve as backdrops for more heroic action."{{sfn|Greenfield|1989|p=61}}

Daniel Podgorski has argued that the work is best understood as an examination of inter-generational vengeance-based conflict, or [[feud]]ing.<ref name="Podgorski 2015">{{Cite web |url=http://thegemsbok.com/art-reviews-and-articles/book-reviews-tuesday-tome-beowulf/|title=Ending Unending Feuds: The Portent of Beowulf's Historicization of Violent Conflict |last=Podgorski |first=Daniel |date=3 November 2015 |website=The Gemsbok |access-date=13 February 2018}}</ref> In this context, the poem operates as an indictment of feuding conflicts as a function of its conspicuous, circuitous, and lengthy depiction of the [[Swedish–Geatish wars]]—coming into contrast with the poem's depiction of the protagonist Beowulf as being disassociated from the ongoing feuds in every way.<ref name="Podgorski 2015" /> Francis Leneghan argues that the poem can be understood as a "dynastic drama" in which the hero's fights with the monsters unfold against a backdrop of the rise and fall of royal houses, while the monsters themselves serve as portents of disasters affecting dynasties.<ref>Francis Leneghan, ''[https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781843845515/the-dynastic-drama-of-ibeowulfi/ The Dynastic Drama of Beowulf]'' (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2020)</ref>