Role of Kings: In the saga Kings fight for revenge and what is rightfully theirs so they can hold their honor. When somebody has done them wrong they are required by unspoken law to get their payback otherwise they will be looked on as poor and disrespected kings. King Helgi does this when he takes Queen Olof into custody and has his way with her for a while. He does this to make up for shaving his head and sending him away. Even though this is a horrendously poor pay back it helps to gain his respect back even though he is setting himself up to get screwed twice as hard later.
Role of the warrior: Warriors in the saga are seen as protectors of their King. When the Kings/Queens go into battle or wish to get rid of their competition they call upon their best warrior or warriors to get the job done. The warrior is expected to fight if asked without questioning even if they believe they will lose the battle. To not go into battle equals unloyalty and dishonor. It is better to go into the battle swinging hard and making causing chaos before you die than it is to skip out and fight another day. Hrolf's champions and Bodvar are great examples of loyal warriors. Hrolf's champions served as loyal warriors helping him in the battle of king Adils suffering battle and extreme heat from a fire built to torture them. They then fight along with Bodvar in the final battle against Skuld where they fight so well and long that piles of bodies surround them.
Role of women: Women throughout the saga serve as both Queens and possessions to be claimed for wives. Either a wife or queen though they act as antagonist for war. Queen Olof represents both as Helgi went to claim her as her queen. She then put him to sleep shaved his head and caused extreme embarrassment to him. This starts a feud leading Olof to bare Helgis daughter who then comes back to start a huge war with Hrolf Kraki. Women are the basics for almost every battle within the saga wether they are attacking or if they are the reason men are fighting for. For example Hrolf fights King Adils to help his sister Yrsa which ends up in a huge battle all over one little girl. Yrsa then provokes the battle by giving Hrolf all of king Adils gold and rings, which were rightfully Hrolfs, but it still didn't help the cause.
Concept of Magic: Magic is used in the saga both to escape and to win battles. It is mainly used as a way to cause deceit and is more of a cowards way of battle depending on what it is used for. Skuld uses it to defeat King Hrolf and his champions in a way that I feel was less heroic than fighting normally. She used it to hide her weapons and large army as well as to bring back the dead when they had fallen. This seems less heroic as the idea of a warrior is to fight till death to gain honor. Bodvar uses magic as well but that is a part of him and his strength. Skuld uses it for deceit and with her magic bringing back the dead seems to destroy the whole idea of the Role of A warrior in battle.
Revenge: Revenge must be served if one wishes to be considered a respected honorable person. In the saga if you are mistreated or someone of close relation or relative is, you are expected to defend them and yourself. Without revenge feuds would not continue or be created and the use of warriors would cease to exist. Revenge is the present day version of the law. It is what keeps people from stealing and committing crime to others serving as a form of punishment. Elk Frodi and Houndsfoot get revenge on Skuld by torturing her to her death. This is a form of blood money or blood guild and showed as a type of honor. They futher show the idea of respecting somebody by killing their enemies when they make a mound for him and his sword.
Hospitality: Hospitality is a form of respect towards somebody. Hospitality is used to trick king Helgi when Queen Olof shaves his head and ships him away. Helgi believes that he should be respected so of course he would be shows great hospitality. This idea is such a custom that their would be no reason for him to think that anything was wrong between him and Olof if he was shown hospitality. This is also another way that women are shown corrupting the normal code of conduct between Kings and Warriors. Women seem to have much better tricks up their sleeves mainly because of men and their lust.
3. Discuss one event in the story that seems to represent what you believe the book to be about.
4. How do Hrolf and his Champions compare with King Arthur and the round table?
Hrolf and his Champions seem to be a combined force of equals all fighting side by side all working together. When in King Adils house Hrolf cannot be told apart from the champions which is why a giant fire is built hoping to distinguish him from the rest. Hrolf's champions are also perfect examples of warriors in the idea of loyalty to their king. They indure extreme, thirst, cold and heat for him without complaining and fight to their death beside him against Skuld's army. When looking at King Arthur and the round table I view them all as individuals. The nights show that they are unloyal to him and do not wish to battle when the Green Knight comes and asks for a beheading contest.
8. Compare Hrolf Kraki to Beowulf.
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