What are the qualities of a good king that were exhibited by both Hrothgar and Beowulf and can you provide some specific examples/quotations?

Several qualities of good kingship are outlined almost
immediately in the Old English poem Beowulf. The opening lines, for
instance, announce that

readability="9">

. . . The Spear-Danes in days gone
by

and the kings who ruled them had courage and
greatness.

We have heard of those princes’ heroic
campaigns. (Seamus Heaney
translation)

These lines
suggest several traits of good kings, including courage and heroism.  Beowulf certainly
displays both of these qualities frequently throughout the poem, as in his fights with
the three monsters. Hrothgar’s courage and greatness are much less emphatically
stressed, although they are implied in the lines noting
that

Friends
and kinsmen flocked to his ranks,

young followers, a force
that grew

to be a mighty army.
(65-67)

During much of the
poem, however, Hrothgar seems impotent and humiliated because he cannot protect his
people from the terrors of Grendel and Grendel’s
mother.

Hrothgar does, however, display another key trait
of good kingship: he is generous.  Thus, even before Hrothgar appears on the scene, the
poet remarks that a young prince ought to give

readability="11">

freely while his father
lives

so that afterward in age when fighting
starts

steadfast companions will stand by
him

and hold the line
(22-24)

Evidently Hrothgar is
a good king in this respect, since the poet notes
that

. . . he
would dispense

His God-given goods to young and old
(71-72)

Ironically, although
Beowulf is also a generous king (even after he dies), he is ultimately deserted by most
of his men (except Wiglaf) in his time of need. The poem is full of similar ironies.
Thus, Hrothgar's power is emphasized soon after he is introduced, but no sooner is his
power stressed than it is quickly undercut by the appearance of
Grendel.