BEOWULF
Beowulf is the first surviving epic written in the English language
though its author remains mysterious. The circumstances of the poem’s
creation are hotly debated by scholars. Many also believe the story was
conveyed orally before it took the form of a manuscript. Since the only
existing copy dates back to the late 10th century originally composed in
old English. The epic draws from early Germanic legend and is set in
Pagan, Scandinavia.
It recounts the saga of Beowulf, a great warrior who defends the
Danish kingdom and then his own from various bloodthirsty monsters.
The poem opens on Hrothgar, the King of the Danes who plans to
celebrate his reign by building a grand hall called Heorot. When the hall
is finished, Hrothgar holds a large feast that attracts the attention of
Grendel, a monster descended from the Biblical cane. Grendel attacks
during the night, leaving Hrothgar and his Danes to discover the
bloodshed the next morning. This marks the beginning of Grendel’s
reign of terror.
12 years passed and news of Grendel’s campaign against the
Danes, spread to another tribe, the Geots. Beowulf, a Geot-Dane decides
to help the Danes. Sailing to Denmark with his best warriors, King
Hrothgar gladly accepts Beowulf’s help. To honor Beowulf’s arrival,
Hrothgar holds another feast at Heorot. Beowulf tells the King he will
either kill Grendel or be killed. Hrothgar promised his gold if Beowulf
should defeat the monster.
Beowulf spend the night in Heorot, sure enough, Grendel arrives
gobbling up one of Beowulf’s men. Beowulf fights Grendel unarmed,
managing to catch the monster’s arm in a death grip. Writhing in pain,
the monster tears away, leaving his arm in Beowulf’s grasp. Grendel
slinks off to his lair where he dies. Overjoyed at the defeat of Grendel,
the Danes nail the creature’s arm to the walls of Heorot as a trophy
battling Beowulf and his men. They hold another feast for Beowulf
where Hrothgar’s minstrel composes songs honoring Beowulf as the
greatest hero in Danish history. However, once the revelers are asleep,
Grendel’s mother arrives, seeking revenge. She manages to snatch one
of Hrothgar’s counselor and retreats to her lair. Hrothgar points Beowulf
the direction of the monster’s lair and Beowulf persuades the King to
accompany him there.
Upon arriving, Beowulf takes a sword from unworthy and dives
into a deep lake. When he reached the bottom, Beowulf finds Grendel’s
mother waiting to attack. He uses farthest sword but finds it useless
against the creature and wrestles with the monsters until he spots another
sword which he uses to slice off Grendel’s mother’s head. Before
leaving, he notice Grendel’s dead body and cut off its head too.
Meanwhile, the Danes have given up all hope of Beowulf’s return. But
to their shock, Beowulf surfaces carrying Grendel’s head and the hilt of
his sword which melted in heat of Grendel’s blood. The men bring
Beowulf back to Heorot where yet another celebration takes place.
Before returning to Geatland, Beowulf promises alliance with Hrothgar
forever which the King gratefully reciprocate. Beowulf and his men
returned home regaling the great King. Impressed with Beowulf’s
bravery, the King gives him half of the kingdom. When the King was
killed in battle, Beowulf becomes the King of the Geats. In the 50 th year
of his reign, a new monster begins to terrorizing his kingdom. A fire
breathing dragon seeking revenge on a Geot servant who stole a golden
cup from its lair which houses ancient treasure trove. Finding the cup
missing, the dragon goes on a fiery rampage destroying Beowulf’s great
hall. With a heavy heart, Beowulf decides to face the dragon alone
knowing this battle may be his last. The servant who stole the cup leads
him to the dragon’s lair where Beowulf attempts to defeat the beast but
is outmatched. All of his warriors flee except one, Wiglaf, who vows to
stay by Beowulf’s side. Together, they face the dragon but as Beowulf
manages to behead the monster, the dragon bites him, sending a lethal
poison through his body. With his dying breath, Beowulf tells Wiglaf
that he should inherit the dragon’s treasure. Wiglaf returns to the Geots
with the news of their King’s death. Declaring that no one should inherit
the treasure and scolding the warriors who fled for their cowardice.
Throwing the monster’s body into the sea, the Geots placed the treasure
trove inside Beowulf’s funeral mound, mourning the ablest of all world
Kings.
