Both of the stories, Beowulf and the 13th Warrior, seemed very different; but if you thought deeply about it, they were actually quite similar. First of all, Beowulf and Bulwyf were alike in many ways. Next, the Wendel and Grendel were the enemies to the kingdoms. Also, there were “mother-like” figures in both stories that were comparable in many ways. But, the dragon was an actual beast in the story of Beowulf, yet in the 13th Warrior, the dragon was the Wendel holding torches, and not a real life creature. These are just a few of the similarities and differences that stand out in both of these epic stories.
To start with, Beowulf and Bulwyf were heroes that were modeled after one another. They both were great warriors, and they both had to save a kingdom from its doom. Also, they both eventually died at the end of each story. Even their names sound very homogeneous. The lives of both these men were very parallel in each respective story.
Another likeness was the Wendel in the 13th Warrior and Grendel in Beowulf. Even though the Wendel was an army of people, and Grendel was just one monster, they both tormented a kingdom. A fact that was very odd was that the Wendel had weapons that looked like claws, that could possibly symbolize Grendel, for he likewise had claws for killing. Both the Wendel and Grendel are defeated by the heroes in the stories. Even though all the Wendel did not die, they were soundly defeated, just as Grendel was. As in our previous similarity, it is also notable that the names of both these characters are rhyming and sound alike.
One last similarity between these two stories was the “mother-figure” of the villains, the Wendel and Grendel. In the 13th Warrior, the Wendel had one lady who acted as the mother of all the Wendel. In Beowulf, the mother figure was actually Grendel’s mom, who was a terrible monster just like her son. Lastly, in both stories, the heroes end up killing these mother figures. Both these “mother-figures” suffered similar fates.
One obvious difference in the stories was how the heroes died. Beowulf was killed while fitting the dragon. Bulwyf died as a result of poison inject into him by the mother-figure of the Wendel in the story. This is probably the main difference in comparing the two story lines.
Despite the above mentioned difference, the similarities between Beowulf and the 13th Warrior far outweight any differences. The characters in both stories follow similar destinies. Even their names were chosen to sound alike. It is easy to see, that with all these similar aspects, the stories of Beowulf and the 13th Warrior were modeled after one another.
