The life of the hero Beowulf is depicted in the
great Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name, a
work that champions the values of honour,
valour, and friendship. The poem begins with
the story of young Beowulf, a warrior of the
Geats, a people from southern Sweden. He is aman with the strength and courage to defeat
the most terrible opponents. Beowulf goes on
to describe how the hero slays the monsters
that terrorize the Danes. Later, he becomes the
Geatish king and enjoys a long reign before
facing his final challenge and a heroic death.Beowulf
NORTHERN EUROPEBeowulf, the monster-slayer
During his clash with the monster Grendel,
Beowulf demonstrated his almost superhuman
strength by tearing off one of the
creature’s arms.of his bravest warriors set out to confront the beast.
Beowulf carried a strong metal shield to protect himself from
the dragon’s hot breath, but his sword was unable to pierce
the beast’s scaly skin. His warriors began to desert him one
at a time, fleeing in terror, and it seemed that Beowulf would
be defeated when the dragon grabbed him by the neck.
A faithful warrior named Wiglaf, who had remained by
Beowulf’s side, then stabbed at the monster’s belly with
his sword, while Beowulf attacked the dragon with his
knife. The combined efort weakened the dragon and it
fell down dead. The monster had been slain, but not before
the creature’s hot, venomous breath had poisoned Beowulf,
and he lay dying. With his death imminent, Beowulf
declared Wiglaf as his successor and bequeathed his
treasures, weapons, and armour to the young hero
who had helped him in ending the menace.THE MYTH
As a young man, Beowulf travelled to Denmark. For many
years, King Hrothgar of Denmark and his people had been
terrorized by a monster called Grendel. It would break into
Hrothgar’s palace hall at night, kill some of the sleeping
warriors, and carry them of for food. Beowulf ofered to fight
the monster, and laid a trap for Grendel, mortally wounding
the creature, and eventually killing it. King Hrothgar was
overjoyed and bestowed many gifts on Beowulf.GRENDEL’S MOTHER
Grendel’s death infuriated his monstrous mother,
and she attacked the people in Heorot, seeking
revenge. She lived in a lake, so Beowulf
dived into its murky depths to challenge
and fight her. It was a long, hard struggle
for Beowulf because he could not
manage to penetrate the monster’s thick,
scaly hide with his sword. In the end,
he was able to take a weapon from the
creature’s armoury and stab her with it,
killing the monster and ensuring peace for the
Danes. After this triumph, Beowulf returned to
the land of the Geats, where he was made king
and ruled his people for 50 years.BEOWULF AND THE DRAGON
When Beowulf was an old man, he was faced with the
prospect of battling yet another monster, one that was
attacking the Geats. A dragon had guarded a hoard of
treasure in an ancient burial mound for hundreds
of years. When a thief entered the mound and stole
a precious cup from the hoard, the enraged dragon
went on the rampage. So Beowulf and a group64