Prologue
Beowulf begins with the story of the first king in the Danish
dynasty, Scyld Sceafing. We learn that the king was abandoned as a
baby and later went on become a successful, powerful leader of the
Danish people. After many years without an heir to the throne, Scyld
eventually fathers Beowulf (not the Beowulf of this story), who will
also achieve much success as King. The Prologue ends with the death
and funeral of Scyld
1
Following the death of Scyld Sceafing, his son Beowulf (not the
Beowulf of this story) becomes ruler of the Spear-Danes and much
like his father, Beowulf is respected and beloved by his subjects.
After a reign of many years, Beowulf dies and his son Healfdene
inherits the throne. Healfdene fathers four children including
Heorogar, Hrothgar, and Halfga. Hrothgar succeeds his father and
after achieving much glory and fame as ruler of the Danes, he
decides to build a great mead hall as a monument to his success and
symbol of his greatness. He names it Heorot. After the completion of
Heorot, Hrothgar holds a banquet for his subjects where scops sing
of the creation of the Earth by God and the Danes celebrate the
peaceful, festive times in which they live.
After the festivities continue for many years, the singing and
music awakens an evil, part-human monster named Grendel who is a
descendant of the biblical Cain.
2
Angered by the noise and apparent happiness of the Danes, Grendel
travels to Heorot at night when the soldiers within are sound asleep
after their day celebrations. Grendel kills thirty warriors and
escapes into the night satisfied with his evil deed. Hrothgar is
deeply saddened by the deaths and fears the attack may be the
beginning of a long war with the monster. Grendel continues his
murderous rampage the following night and a war with Grendel ensues
which lasts twelve years. Stories of the Danes' suffering at the
hands of Grendel spread to foreign lands. The Danes exhaust all
means of defense against Grendel and attempts to pay the monster to
cease his harassment are useless. The Danes' desperation becomes so
great, they abandon their Christian beliefs and begin worshipping
ancient deities from their pagan past.
3
When news of the Danes' troubles reaches Geatland, Beowulf, thane
of Hygelac, gathers fourteen of his strongest, bravest men to voyage
across the seas to help Hrothgar and his people. Upon arriving,
Beowulf and his men are greeted by a Danish coast guard sentinel.
The sentinel is alarmed to see armed men approaching the Danish
coast and directly asks Beowulf to state his business. The guard is
clearly impressed by the Geat's armor and weapons and conveys his
respect for the noble men.
4
Beowulf informs the soldier that he and his men are followers of
Hygelac from the clan of the Geats and explains that he is the son
of Ecgtheow, a respected and renowned leader known throughout the
land. Beowulf explains that he has come to help Hrothgar and the
Danes. After learning that the Geat's intentions are noble, the
guard agrees to escort the men to Hrothgar.
5
Wulfgar, a Danish soldier and advisor to Hrothgar, interrupts the
men's journey to see Hrothgar and interrogates them about their
identity and intentions. Beowulf introduces himself and explains his
purpose. Wulfgar, impressed by Beowulf's confidence and the
appearance of his men, welcomes the visitors and encourages Hrothgar
to meet them.
6
While receiving Beowulf, Hrothgar explains that he remembers
Beowulf as a boy and recounts several experiences shared with
Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow. Hrothgar views Beowulf's prescence as
a blessing for the Danes because of his reputation as a great
warrior and his noble ancestry. He offers treasures to Beowulf and
the Geats if they can end Grendel's terror and return Heorot to its
previous glory. Beowulf expresses his desire to challenge Grendel to
a battle to the death and says he will trust in God and will thus
refuse weapons or shields.
7
Reassured by Beowulf's confidence, Hrothgar recalls further
stories of Ecgtheow. He explains how while new to his throne he
helped Ecgtheow avoid a battle by sending treasures to his enemies.
Hrothgar then immediately begins discussing his troubles with
Grendel and explains his displeasure in seeing his mead hall
abandoned by his warriors. The Danes and the Geat warriors then go
to Heorot where they are entertained by scops and drink mead.
8, 9
During the banquet, a courtier of Hrothgar named Unferth is
overcome by jealousy of Beowulf's reputation and challenges the
merit of his courageous feats. Unferth tells of a swimming
competition from Beowulf’s past in which Beowulf was defeated by a
warrior named Breca. Beowulf explains that both warriors were armed
only with swords to protect them from sea monsters and that after
match had lasted five nights, the two men became separated. Beowulf
was then attacked by a monster and was forced underwater where he
slayed the monster with his sword and later killed nine additional
monsters before ending the competition. Beowulf asserts that the
hindrances with which he was forced to contend during the race
justified his late finish and that his acts of strength and courage
validate his reputation. Beowulf also accuses Unferth of murdering
his brothers and explains that he will assuredly suffer the fires of
Hell for his crimes.
After being offered mead by the Hrothgar's wife, Beowulf once
again affirms his desire to either defeat Grendel or lose his life
in the battle. Hrothgar is encouraged by Beowulf's boastfullness and
confidence and proclaims his willingness to put the fate of Heorot
in the hands of such a worthy and noble warrior. He also offers
treasures to Beowulf if he is victorious.
10
The Danes then leave Beowulf and his men alone in Heorot to face
the monster. To prepare for the confrontation, Beowulf expresses his
confidence in God, removes his armor, and relinquishes his weapons.
Beowulf's men, who do not share his confidence, join him in retiring
to bed to await the monster's arrival.
11-12
After breaking down the door, Grendel enters the hall and
immediately seizes one of the sleeping Geat warriors and dismembers
and consumes him. Beowulf rushes to attack. He firmly grasps
Grendel's arm and the creature instantly realizes the strength of
his attacker. As Grendel tries to escape, his deafening shrieks
frighten the Danes outside the hall.
The Geat warriors, now awakened by the battle, rush to Beowulf's
defense but find their weapons useless due to a spell cast on their
swords by Grendel. In the struggle to escape, the monster loses his
arm to Beowulf's mighty grip. Aware that his wound is fatal, Grendel
retreats into the night to die. To commemorate his victory, Beowulf
places the arm on the wall of the mead hall and the triumphant
Beowulf celebrates his victory.
13, 14
Upon learning of Beowulf's victory, Danish warriors travel to the
hall to view the monster's severed arm and follow the monster's
footprints from the hall to the boiling, steaming swamp which has
become his grave.
Hrothgar enters the hall to see the arm and is beside himself
with gratitude. He exclaims that he will henceforth consider Beowulf
a son and will provide him with whatever earthly possessions he
should desire. Beowulf tells of his struggle with Grendel and
asserts his belief that the monster will suffer in Hell for his
crimes against the Danes.
15
Damage to Heorot done during the struggle is repaired and the
hall is prepared for a great banquet to celebrate the death of
Grendel and the end of his reign of terror. Hrothgar presents
Beowulf with various gifts including armor, weapons, horses and
ornate saddles.
16, 17
Hrothgar also offers gifts to Beowulf's men and offers
compensation for the loss of the Geat warrior to Grendel's
monster-sized appetite. A poet in the hall entertains the warriors
with the story of Finn, a Frisian king. The story begins with the
death of many Danes including a man named Hnaef by followers of
Finn. Finn's wife, the sister of Hnaef and mother of yet another
victim, is angered by the battle and pressures Finn to end the
conflict . The poet vividly describes the cremation of the men and
the sadness of the grieving survivors. Hengest, a follower of Hnaef,
does not return home with the other Danish warriors after the
battle. He stays and waits all winter for reinforcements to return
in the spring and avenges the killings by murdering Finn.
18, 19
Wealhtheow, Hrothgar's wife presents Beowulf with a valuable
necklace and praises Beowulf and graciously asks Beowulf to mentor
her two sons. After her oration about Beowulf's courage and honor,
the Danish warriors retire to the mead hall as they had often done
before Grendel's attacks.
Grendel's mother, enraged by the death of her son, enters the
hall after the warriors are asleep, steals her son's arm from the
hall's rafters and kidnaps a Danish warrior who is a close companion
of Hrothgar. Beowulf, unaware of what has transpired, is called to
Heorot and politely and innocently asks the king if he has had a
quiet night.
20, 21
Hrothgar is visibly overcome with emotion over the loss of his
friend and relates to Beowulf that the troubles of the Danes have
begun again. Hrothgar tells Beowulf of the abduction of his friend
and of the bottomless pool where legends say the two monsters lived
for many years. Hrothgar again calls upon Beowulf to save the Danes
and promises riches for avenging the attack.
The warriors travel to the pool and find the head of the
kidnapped Dane and discover sea serpents swimming in the pool. After
killing one of the serpents, Unferth offers Beowulf his sword called
Hrunting and apologizes for questioning Beowulf's courage
22, 23
After explaining to whom his treasure should be sent if he
perishes in the pool, Beowulf descends for several hours displaying
no apparent ill effects from lack of oxygen and upon reaching the
bottom is confronted by the monster. She grasps him and forces him
into her lair where Beowulf learns his sword has no effect on his
attacker.
Beowulf, near death, then miraculously discovers a giant sword
and beheads the monster. He finds Grendel's body and also severs its
head. The toxic blood of the dead monster dissolves the giant sword.
Beowulf chooses Grendel's head from his new collection of severed
heads and returns to the surface with the head and the hilt of his
dissolved sword. Beowulf discovers the Danes had given up hope that
he was still alive and had returned home. The hero then returns to
Heorot and presents his trophies to Hrothgar.
24, 25
Hrothgar examines the sword hilt and learns that it was created
by a race of giants from before the biblical flood. He delivers a
long sermon to Beowulf in which he praises him and warns the hero
not to let his success inflate his ego beyond its already
unfathomable proportions. He also tells the story of the king
Heremod and warns Beowulf not to end up like this evil king. The
grateful Hrothgar holds another banquet and Beowulf returns Hrunting
to Unferth with his gratitude.
26, 27
The following day Beowulf thanks the king for his generosity
showing a new found modesty and graciousness learned from Hrothgar's
sermon. He tells the king he will come to the king's aide if ever
again his assistance is required. Hrothgar thanks the hero for
saving the Danes from the two monsters and expresses his profound
sorrow about Beowulf's imminent departure.
As the Geats travel to their ship with their treasures, they
again meet the coast guard sentinel who wishes the men well and
assures them that their homecoming will be greatly anticipated by
their friends in Geatland. Beowulf rewards the kind words with the
gift of a sword and the men board their ship.
Upon returning home, Beowulf gives the treasure to Hygelac,
Beowulf's lord. We then learn of Hygd, the queen of Hygelac, a
benevolent queen who divides the treasure among her subjects. Their
daughter Offa, however, is sadistic and cruel until marrying Thryth
of the house of Hemming. The marriage ends her evil ways and makes
her a fair and respected princess.
28
Hygelac and his queen welcome Beowulf home and express their
elation in his safe return. The king then asks Beowulf to describe
his adventures with the Danes. Beowulf recounts his feats of courage
and describes several of gifts given to he and his warriors and
begins to explain of Hrothgar's efforts to end a conflict with the
Hathobards, a rival clan.
29, 30
Hrothgar continues telling of Hrothgar's plan to make peace with
the Hathobards. The King, Beowulf explains,
has offered his daughter's hand in marriage to Ingeld of the
Hathobard clan. Beowulf fears, however, that the two people's
differences are too great and that Hrothgar's strategy with fail.
31
Beowulf then expresses his eternal loyalty to his Hygelac and
explains that the king is one of his few close companions. His
fondness and respect for Hrothgar, he explains, is overshadowed by
his allegiance to Hygelac, his true king. The treasures obtained for
the king in Denmark are then brought before the king and formally
and presented to him. Beowulf's devotion is rewarded by the gift of
a sword, a mead hall of his own, and other lavish gifts.
After the death of the king and his son, Heardred, Beowulf
inherits the throne of Geatland. After a successful reign of fifty
years, a dragon begins to terrorize the Geats much like Grendel's
aggression against the Danes.
32
The Dragon's hatred for the Geats begins when a thief, who is a
transient serf, enters the dragon's cave and steals a jeweled cup
from his hoard of treasures within. The theft awakens and angers the
dragon. The treasure, which had existed for hundreds of years, had
previously belonged to a noble race and had been discovered by the
dragon. The beast spreads his fury over the Geatish countryside and
Beowulf is deeply disturbed by the suffering of his people inflicted
by the evil dragon.
33
The dragon's wrath soon reaches Beowulf's home which is destroyed
by its fiery breath. Beowulf immediately vows vengeance and prepares
for battle. We then learn of the circumstances by which Beowulf
became ruler of the Geats. During a war with the Frisians, Hygelac
is killed and his kingdom is offered to Beowulf. The hero graciously
refuses the throne, believing the rightful heir to be the king's
son, Heardred. In a war with the Swedish king Ongentheow, however,
the new king is killed and Beowulf agrees to take his place on the
throne.
34
Ready for battle, Beowulf instructs the thief who had stolen the
dragon' s cup to lead he and twelve warriors to the dragon's lair.
As the warriors reach the cave, Beowulf becomes fearful that his
strength may have deteriorated in his old age and begins to fear
that the battle with the dragon could bring about his death. His
sorrow is compounded by his telling of the story of the death of
Herebald. He explains that Herebald, the eldest son of Beowulf's
adoptive father, was accidentally killed by an arrow fired by one of
Herebald’s other sons. Beowulf regrets the inability of his
beloved father to ever avenge the death of his son.
35
As if sensing that his death is at hand, Beowulf continues to
tell stories of his past and relives battles with his companions in
which he achieved glorious success. He then bids farewell to his
fellow warriors and enters the dragon's cave to meet his fate. The
dragon attacks and Beowulf finds his specially made iron shield is
little protection against the dragon's breath of fire. Beowulf
strikes the dragon with his sword but finds the dragon's scale armor
too strong to fatally wound the beast.
36, 37
Wiglaf, one of the warriors outside the cave, realizes the peril
which faces Beowulf and berates his fellow warriors for failing to
assist their king. He prepares for battle and rushes to the hero's
aid. The dragon responds with a burst of flames which destroys
Wiglaf's wooden shield. After Beowulf's sword breaks in the battle,
the dragon advances upon the wounded hero and strikes him in the
neck with his poisonous fangs.
Wiglaf skillfully strikes the dragon below the head where the
dragon is defenseless and pierces the beast's skin. Realizing the
dragon has been injured, Beowulf quickly slices the belly of the
beast with his dagger, delivering a mortal wound to his mighty foe.
Wiglaf treats the wounds of the hero, but Beowulf knows he will soon
die. He reflects on the worthiness of his accomplishments and asks
to see the treasure he has gained in his struggle with the dragon.
38, 39
Wiglaf brings the treasure to Beowulf and the hero admires the
immense fortune he has gained for his people. Beowulf orders the
construction of a monument to honor his greatness and achievements.
He then praises Wiglaf for his courage, gives him the helmet
necklace, and armor he is wearing, and dies.
As the Geat warriors return from the woods where they had run in
cowardice, Wiglaf scolds them for abandoning their king who had
armed them with superior weapons for the fight. He exclaims that
they will be forever known as traitors and cowards.
40, 41
Wiglaf sends word of the outcome of the battle to the Geat
soldiers awaiting the news. As the messenger informs the warriors of
the death of Beowulf, he conveys his belief that their enemies will
assuredly take advantage of the news and attack. The messenger tells
of the many conflicts which have existed in the violent history of
the Geats and predicts the conflict may begin again with unfortunate
death of their king. The warriors travel to the cave to see the
corpses of Beowulf and the dragon.
42
We learn that the nobles who had placed the treasure in the cave
had placed a curse on it which would last until the last day of the
earth. Wiglaf orders the construction of a funeral pyre for Beowulf
and selects seven strong men to throw the dragon's body off a cliff
and load the treasure onto a wagon.
43
After placing shields, helmets, and armor around Beowulf's
funeral pyre, the great king is cremated to the crying of his
mourning people. They place the ashes of Beowulf and all of the
dragon's treasures inside a giant mound of sand where they would be
safe from the enemies sure to attack after hearing of the tragedy.
The Danes are left feeling uncertain about the future of their
kingdom after the loss of their great king.
