Monster and man: The contrasting enemies of epic heroes

Extract

[...] As Roland fought his enemies, he had no need to vanquish foes that came from a pagan past; those creatures were already defeated and Christianity had fully replaced paganism. As he was fighting men that were from another religion, the battle that was taking place on a metaphorical level was between the two religions, and as the epic came from a Christian country, obviously the Muslims were going to be the enemies and Roland the big hero. With paganism and monsters dead in Roland's world, the only enemies left to fight were other religions. [...]

[...] The ways in which Beowulf and Roland were defeated by their enemies shows how different the enemies they fought were. At the end of Beowulf's long reign as king, he meets his end as he faces off against a dragon that is attacking his kingdom. He did not send his men to do it for him; Beowulf had to face off against the dragon himself: “This is not your venture, nor is it right for any man except me alone that he should spend his strength against the monster” (60). [...]

[...] The Muslims were then supposed to be able to defeat the Christian army without Roland; Ganelon's betrayal was not only of Roland, but he betrayed his faith also, and for this he was punished by death. The other aspect of Roland's downfall had to do with pride: “Said Oliver: That would be a great disgrace,/ a dishonor and reproach to all / It is not acting bravely to sound it (1219). Unlike Beowulf who died because he was protecting his people, it was more important that help shouldn't be called upon in order to save the lives of his men; pride was by far more important. [...]