Beowulf And Eaters Of The Dead

            After reading Beowulf and Eaters of the Dead, it is easy to see that both stories are very similar. It seems to be one story that has been changed in some aspects, but for the most part it carries the same big events in the story line. They both deal with monsters, sea serpents, dragons, a great hall and one fearless warrior named Beowulf in Beowulf and Buliwyf in Eaters of the Dead. Even though the two stories are similar in structure, they are told in two different ways. Beowulf is written as a poem and was meant to be told as a source of entertainment in a king's court. Eaters of the Dead was written as a manuscript by Ibn Fadlan about his encounters with the Northmen. When it comes to gathering evidence about the medieval past for historic evidence about the Vikings life styles, women, myths, burial procedures or fighting styles, Eater of the Dead is a better source to get information than Beowulf. The reason for this is that Eaters of the Dead provides us with better details of the events that happen in these similar stories. .
             First of all, Eaters of the Dead gives us a better picture of the everyday life style of the Northmen. Ibn Fadlan describes the Northmen as being dirty and having no shame. He tells us that they do not clean themselves daily or after they use the washroom and that they will have sex with their women in front of everybody. Fadlan says:.
             "They are the filthiest race that God every created. They do not wipe themselves after going to stool, or wash themselves after a nocturnal pollution, any more than if they were wild asses It was common to deport with a slave girl in full view of his fellow." .
             After reading a passage such as this, one can draw a very good picture of what life was like in the Viking society. In Beowulf, nothing about the condition in which they lived is mentioned because it is a Viking story and they probably did not view anything strange about their appearances and actions.