The Killing Trade
The Killing Trade: Violence, Exchange and Discourse in Beowulf is a book in progress by Peter Baker. It examines violence as a social practice, especially as an essential element in the heroic system of exchange (sometimes called the Economy of Honor) and as a type of discourse. It situates Beowulf in a northern European political culture where violence was not stigmatized as a breakdown in social order but rather was seen as a good way to get things done; where kings and their retainers saw themselves above all as warriors; where the most successful kings were those who were most predatory; and where Christianity did little to restrain the violent impulses of kings and others. But the practice of violence was governed by rules and customs which were observed, with variations, over a wide area; this book illuminates this practice in works from England, Scandinavia, Ireland and the continent, but especially in Beowulf.
The book is aimed at scholars, graduate students and undergraduates. Below, as a sample, is a draft of Chapter One. Read it on this page or click the box in the upper-right-hand corner of the viewer for a larger, more readable version. Enjoy, and send comments and suggestions to the author.