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The Role Of Gift-Giving In Beowulf And Lanval

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The Role Of Gift-Giving In Beowulf And Lanval
Gift-giving is a tradition that pervades in society today. Gifts are given at celebrations, such as weddings and birthdays. There is an assumed reciprocal value associated with giving gifts, but it is not a requirement for our society to continue to run smoothly. However, the giving of gifts in the early Middle Ages helped to stabilize their society. Beowulf and Lanval are two examples of major works of this time that employ this. After reading these works, it becomes obvious how much of an impact the giving of gifts for various deeds performed affected how their societies ran.

In Beowulf, the giving of gifts helps to maintain the stability between kingdoms. This can be seen when Hrothgar is speaking to Beowulf shortly after he arrived in
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