How did the code of loyalty/kinship work in Anglo-Saxon society?

Loyalty and kinship were two very important influences on
Anglo-Saxon society – the society that helped produce the Old English epic poem known as
Beowulf.  It isn’t surprising, for instance, that the poem opens
with a long genealogy describing various Danish kings, beginning with Shield Sheafson
(in the translation by Seamus Heaney) and ending with his descendant Hrothgar. Even
before twenty-five lines have passed the poet explicitly touches on the connection
between loyalty and kinship by declaring
that

. . . a
young prince must be prudent . . .,

giving freely while his
father lives

so that afterward in age when fighting
starts

steadfast companions will stand by
him

and hold the line.
(20-24)

The irony of these
lines, of course, is that Beowulf himself will later prove to be a truly exemplary king,
yet his men will disloyally desert him in his hour of greatest need.  Yet it will be one
of his closest kinsmen – Wiglaf – who will also be his most loyal thane. Such  behavior
indicates how closely loyalty and kinship were often bound together during this period. 
Kinsmen, above all, were expected to be most loyal to one
another.

Beowulf, for instance, is particularly loyal to
the man (Hygelac) who is not only his king but also one of his closest kinsmen. When
Beowulf is first mentioned in the poem, he is introduced as “Hygelac’s thane” (194) –
that is, Hygelac’s loyal follower. Indeed, Beowulf seems to feel an especially strong
loyalty to Hygelac, as when, introducing himself to a Danish coast guardsman, he
identifies himself and his followers by saying,

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“We belong by birth to the Geat
people

and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac.”
(260-61)

Here and throughout
the poem (at least until Hygelac’s death), Beowulf is always more than ready to make
clear his loyalty to the man who is both his king and his closest of
kin.

Interestingly, when Hrothgar hears that Beowulf the
Geat has come to help the forlorn Danes deal with the monster, Grendel, he immediately
assumes that Beowulf is coming to repay Hrothgar for the friendship the latter had shown
to Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow (456-72).  He explicitly explains that “Ecgtheow
acknowledged me with oaths of allegiance” (472). Thus, in Hrothgar’s mind at least,
Beowulf is showing loyalty to his father by showing loyalty to Hrothgar and by offering
Hrothgar assistance in the latter’s hour of need. This moment is just one among many in
the poem in which loyalty and kinship are tightly tied
together.

Another such moment occurs when Beowulf, having
returned from Denmark with gifts from Hrothgar, immediately gives those gifts to
Hygelac, the man who is both his king and his kinsman. The poet explicitly praises this
kind of behavior, saying,

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. . . So ought a kinsman
act

instead of plotting and planning in
secret

to bring people to grief, or conspiring to
arrange

the death of comrades. The warrior
king

was uncle to Beowulf and honored by his
nephew:

each was concerned for the other’s good.
(2166-71)

It would be hard to
ask for a more explicit statement of the ideal connection between kinship and loyalty
than the passage just quoted.