reminding him that Grendel would not be such a prob-
lem if Unferth’s words matched his deeds. The com-
pany laughs, and Hrothgar’s queen, Wealhtheow, fi lls
their cups. The banquet ends, and all depart for safer
quarters except the Geats, who bed down in the hall’s
entrance.
Grendel, meanwhile departs for Heorot and, arriving
at the hall, immediately seizes one of the Geats and
devours him on the spot. Then he steps forward and
encounters Beowulf. A mighty struggle follows, which
ends when Beowulf tears off Grendel’s arm before he
fl ees. In the morning, all follow a blood-stained trail out
to the mere (lake) where Grendel has his home, and
they praise Beowulf as peerless. On the way, the SCOP
tells stories of Sigmund, his nephew Fitela, a dragon
fi ght, and the terrible king, Heremod (who reigned
before Scyld Scefi ng) (ll. 874–915). Hrothgar thanks
God both for the end of his troubles and for sending
Beowulf, whom he will love as a son. Another banquet
is prepared, and Beowulf receives splendid gifts. The
scop tells the story of the Dane, Hnæf. While visiting
his sister, Hildeburh—who was married to Finn, king
of the Frisians—as a peaceweaver, Hnæf was killed, as
was Finn’s son, and though a truce was patched
together, the Danes attacked in the spring, killing Finn
and taking Hildeburh (ll. 1068–1159). After this recital,
Wealtheow again pours drinks, but she also reminds
Hrothgar that he already has two sons.
That night, Grendel’s mother seeks revenge by car-
rying off one of the senior Danes. In the morning,
Hrothgar challenges Beowulf to deal with her (“seek
her out if you dare,” l. 1379). Beowulf readily accepts
the challenge and heads off to Grendel’s mere. This
time he is fully armed, and Unferth loans him a hafted
sword called Hrunting. All of this is just as well, for
when Beowulf gets to the bottom of the mere, he has a
much more diffi cult time with Grendel’s mother than
he had with Grendel. Hrunting turns out to be useless.
As Beowulf lies trapped under Grendel’s mother, he
sees a weapon on the wall made by giants. He gets free,
wields it, kills Grendel’s mother, and then cuts off
Grendel’s head. The monstrous blood causes the blade
to melt, so Beowulf returns to the surface with the hilt
and Grendel’s head to fi nd that, except for his Geatish
companions, all have left, thinking him dead.
Beowulf returns to Heorot, where the evening ban-
quet is already underway, with the head and the hilt
for Hrothgar. As he hands them over, the poet reminds
us that Hrothgar was the “best of those kings of the
world who have distributed treasure in Denmark” (ll.
1684–87). Hrothgar responds in a long speech that is
sometimes termed “Hrothgar’s sermon” (ll. 1700–84).
He thanks Beowulf for having helped the Danes, unlike
Heremod, who abandoned them. Hrothgar warns
Beowulf to take heed: God sometimes allows a man to
achieve everything until “the whole world goes accord-
ing to his desires” (ll. 1738–39). Then a portion of dis-
dain (oferhygd, l. 1740; the word is an exact synonym
of OFERMOD) begins to grow in Beowulf, and nothing
seems suffi cient; he is pointedly warned not to heed
oferhygd. For the present, he may glory in his strength,
but eight different possibilities are listed by which
death may overwhelm him. Hrothgar continues by
reminding his audience what happened to him after 50
years of successful rule, and he thanks God (not
Beowulf) that he has lived to see his misery at an end.
He then charges Beowulf to join in the feasting, and
Beowulf does so. Hrunting is returned to Unferth, and
Beowulf asks permission to return to Geatland. This is
granted, but not before Beowulf is given further mag-
nifi cent gifts.
The Geats return home, and Beowulf comes to
Hygelac’s court, where the queen, Hygd, is introduced
with the story of Thryth (or Modthryth as she is also
called), the imperious princess who kills the men who
even dare look at her. Finally she is married to Offa,
who puts an end to this kind of behavior, and Thryth
becomes a model queen (ll. 1931–62). Hygelac is full
of curiosity to hear about Beowulf’s exploits. In his
response, Beowulf discusses numerous matters for the
fi rst time, such as introducing Hrothgar’s daughter,
Freawaru, who has been betrothed to Ingeld, ruler of
the Heathobards. Beowulf does not think this will work
out, and the reason he gives echoes the narrative of
Hnæf and Finn that was told earlier: The enmity
between the two groups is too deep and bitter for a
peace-weaver to be able to bridge it. Beowulf tells
about his encounters with Grendel and Grendel’s
mother, and he displays the treasures that Hrothgar
had given him, which he in turn gives to Hygelac. For78 BEOWULF