Beowulf and King Arthur The Great Ones Revealed Numerous stories about numerous heroes have been told and then retold. All of these heroes do different things and they all have a different set of qualities that make them heroes. Since adventures and heroic qualities are limited, most are shared in part with at least one other hero. This is the case of the great hero Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf and King Arthur from the story of Morte d'Arthur. These great heroes have strong similarities and many differences. Once their similarities are compared and then dismissed, it is evident that Beowulf is the greater hero of the two. Real heroes do good things for good people. This is the case of Beowulf, Beowulf leaves his homeland to help the Danish people get rid of the human-eating monster, Grendel. This heroic quality is also evident in Morte d'Arthur, as Arthur knowingly rides into battle to free his people from an evil knight who would not allow others to pass. Both heroes show their concern for others by risking themselves in battle for the greater good. In the same aspect they also seek the love and respect of the people they protect. To gain maximum respect in battle, both Beowulf and Arthur enter battle alone. Beowulf specifically asks: That [he], alone and with the help of [his] men, / may purge all evil from the [hall] (Beowulf, line 165-166). His request is granted by Hrothgar, king of the Danes, so he and his man enter the battle alone and when Grendel is defeated, the glory, love and respect belong exclusively to Beowulf and his men. Arthur does the same, met with his man and his horse, then mounted, dressed his shield, took his spear and ordered his chamberlain to remain there until he returned (Morte d'Arthur paragraph 20). Although Arthur begins his journey alone, he meets Merlin, the court magician and faithful companion, who accompanies him. Much like Beowulf, Arthur gains great respect and praise from all the cult men by fighting alone, even if it's not necessarily the smartest thing to do. The characteristic of being fearless in the face of death is often a characteristic of heroes because it is associated with courage and strength. King Arthur and Beowulf are not afraid to die, thus showing their courage to their opponents and peers. When Arthur is faced with death, he declares, welcome it when it comes, but to yield to you as [coward] I would rather die than be so shamed. (Morte d'Arthur, paragraph 34). Simply put, he would rather die than admit that he was defeated and cowardly. Beowulf feels much the same way about death. He illustrates this by showing no fear for his life but instead expressing concern for King Higlac's honor by requesting that, if death takes him, he send the /hammered mail of [his] armor to Higlac (Beowulf, line 186-187) . By sending his king his armor, he recommits himself to his country and ensures that his king is reminded of his courage every time he looks at it. This is the extent to which Beowulf and King Arthur are similar. Beowulf has much more confidence in his fighting abilities than Arthur has in his. This is evident in the fact that Beowulf fights Grendel unarmed, he says that my hands / Only will fight for me, fight for life (Beowulf, line 172-173). His reasoning behind this is that Grendels, the contempt of men / Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none [so] / Nor [him] (Beowulf, lines 167-169). By facing Grendel unarmed he shows that he is brave and, above all, he is not afraid to be Grendel's equal. Since Grendel will fight without the use of weapons, Beowulf creates equality and therefore more.