1. Benedict and Beowulf each provide images of an ideal leader and an ideal follower. For Benedict, they are the good abbot and the proper monk respectively; in Beowulf, the good warrior-king and the loyal member of his warrior band. Compare and contrast the descriptions of ideal leaders and ideal followers in these texts. What qualities should a good leader and a good follower possess? What should the chief concerns of leaders be? Of followers? How should leaders and followers relate to one another? Do the texts provide examples of bad leaders and bad followers [NOTE: for Benedict I am referring here to bad monks living within a monastic setting, NOT the other kinds of monks listed in Chapter 1 – do not use those other kinds monks listed in Chapter 1 (anchorites; sarabaites; gyrovagues) discussed there as your model for bad monks!]? What makes them bad? What do the similarities and differences between the images of leaders and followers presented in these texts tell us about the value systems of the societies depicted in the texts? 2. At their deepest level, both The Rule of St. Benedict and Beowulf deal with the essential question of how one can go about using one’s short time on earth to achieve a form of eternity in the face of a dangerous, threatening, unpredictable world. What is the form of eternity – that thing that lives on after one dies – that is to be sought after in each of these texts? How can it be gained? How can it be lost? What is the relationship between seeking eternity and functioning within the world in the here-and-now? What do the similarities and differences between the images of eternity presented in these texts tell us about the value systems of the societies they describe? In answering this question, remember the characters in Beowulf were not Christians, and the form of eternity they were pursuing was not the same form of ‘life after death’ pursued by Christians! ***Be sure to support all of your claims with specific, properly cited evidence taken from the primary source texts. The more precise you can be in connecting the points you make with specific passages from the text(s), the better your paper (and thus your grade) will be. Please use the specific versions of each text listed on our course syllabus (these are the same versions that were ordered for class via the University Supply Store.) If you must use an alternate version (which we discourage whenever possible), be certain it is a full-text rather than abridged version. You will then have to provide a full bibliographic reference to the version you used on your paper.