Beowulf (composed between 700 and 750 A.D.) has a formal scene of mourning for the hero:

rode round the barrow, sorrowing; they

mourned their king, chanted an elegy, spoke

about that great man: they exalted his heroic life,

laudedhis daring deeds; it is fitting for a man,

when his lord and friend must leave this life,

to mouth words in his praise and to cherish

his memory.