In early the earliest of Medieval epics, ”Beowulf”, which recently was made into a movie, money meant very little. The old English word for cash was “feoh”. Beowulf was promised treasures for finding and killing Grendel, a dragon. He dives into the monster’s lake, and his first concern was him men. He then asked that they send his property to his family. When Beowulf received his gifts for the feat he performed, the poet remarks “he had no reason to feel shame before warriors.” He had attained the important things to be esteemed by his fellow man–gleaming helmets, bright shields, stacked spears and chainmail. However great all these weapons were, the ultimate status symbol was his sword–which had its own life.
Medieval Weapons
A blog filled with information about Medieval times.