Beowulf

BeowulfSection SummariesThe Wrath of Grendel pg. 40-44An evil demon, Grendel, an offspring of Cain is introducedWallowing in his own misery, Grendel wishes to interrupt the joy at Herot hallHe begins to scheme and work his wickedness

The Wrath of Grendel pg. 40-44Grendel soon put his plan into actionOne night, after beer-drinking and feasting, everyone in the hall went to sleepGrendel proceeded to attack the hall, killing thirty thanes (the kings warriors) in their sleep

The Wrath of Grendel pg. 40-44The following morning -- great sorrow among the king and his menSurprised by the extent to which this stranger caused such damageGrendel is not finished with the destruction of everyone and everything at HerotThe following night -- came back to the hall to commit more havoc and murder

The Wrath of Grendel pg. 40-44King Hrothgar and his men fought Grendel for several more years; miserableTheir time was taken up figuring out what to do about this menace The kings council often sat for hours considering the best way to defend themselvesGrendel did not want peace, nor did he compensate for his many killings (customary in this society)His ceaseless violence kept Hrothgars kingdom on their toes.

The Coming of Beowulf pg. 44 - 48Meanwhile in Geat, Beowulf heard of the horrible attacks by Grendel at HerotBeowulf decided to offer his assistance to the Danish kingHe then chose fourteen of his bravest warriors to accompany him on his expeditionThe Coming of Beowulf pg. 44 - 48The warriors packed the ship with many weapons and suppliesSet sailEventually arrived off the Danish coast where a coastguard troop approached themThe Coming of Beowulf pg. 44 - 48To the guard, Beowulfs expedition looked peculiarsomewhat threatening (weaponry and troops aboard)Protected by chain mail, shields and weapons, the lone guard feared an attack by this forceImmediately demanded to know their business exclaiming, haste would be best for you to make known your home and your nationThe Coming of Beowulf pg. 44 - 48Beowulf answeredTold them they came to help the king, to counsel him on how the Danes could defeat GrendelAfterwards, the guard judged the expedition as friendlyProceeded to escort the Geats to see King HrothgarThe Coming of Beowulf pg. 44 - 48Beowulf greeted the kingContinued to tell the king his plan to cleanse Herot of Grendel Since Grendel did not use conventional weaponsonly his handsBeowulf also informs the king that he will be fighting Grendel in hand-to-hand combatBeowulf thought his father might take even more pride in his sons expeditionThe Battle with Grendel pg. 49-51Grendel attacked the hall that nightHe forced himself into the hall searching for preyBefore Beowulf could engage in a fight with the monster, Grendel devoured one sleeping warriorNext, he came for BeowulfBeowulf leaned up from his bed and placed a tight grip on Grendels fingersThe creature never experienced such pain beforeWith fingers broken, Grendel tried to flee, but Beowulf pursuedA great fight ensued until Grendel finally succumbed to his fatal wounds

The Battle with Grendel pg. 49-51Beowulf's followers are all ready to fight, but their weapons are no match for GrendelGrendel's arm is torn off his body by Beowulf and he flees, woundedBeowulf hangs the arm high in the hall as proof that he has defeated GrendelThe Battle with Grendel pg. 49-51The Danes celebrate Beowulfs victoryThat night, Grendels mother kills Hrothgars closest friend in vengeance and carries off Grendels clawNext day, Hrothgar tells Beowulf about the monsters and their underwater lairThe Monsters Lair pg. 51-52Hrothgar realizes that Grendel's mother is bound to avenge the death of her sonHrothgar tells Beowulf about a legend among the local people ---two huge monstrous demons, one male and one female, who roam the countryside together.Grendel and his mother live on the moors, where streams disappear into the mistA strange, eerie lake; it's bottomless, and at night the water burnsHrothgar thinks this lake must be the place where Grendel's mother livesPuts his faith in Beowulf, asking him to seek the monster if he dares, and offering more treasures as a reward if he succeeds in killing it and coming back aliveBeowulf swears to track down Grendel's mother and kill her.The Battle with Grendels Mother pg. 52-56Beowulf says goodbye to Hrothgar, reminding him that he promised to take care of the Geat warriors if Beowulf is killed in battle and to send the treasures Beowulf won to the Geat kingBeowulf also announces that, if he is killed, Unferth will get Hrunting backBeowulf leaps into the churning lake; takes most of a day before he can see the bottomThe Battle with Grendels Mother pg. 52-56GM senses that a human being has penetrated her lair; catches himHis body is protected by his chain-mail armor, which she can't tearGM touches the bottom of the lake, she carries BW to her "court; doesn't have a chance to fight her with his swordClusters of sea-monsters attack BW, tearing his chain-mailBW isn't impeded by the water, because the roof of Grendel's mother's lair protects him from the force of the current (might be in a pocket of air in an underwater cave, perhaps, although the poem is ambiguous on this point)The Battle with Grendels Mother pg. 52-56BW catches sight of Grendel's mother again, and swings his sword down onto her head with a blow of great force; fails to cut herRemembering his reputation, BW throws his sword aside and fights Grendel's mother with his bare handsBW and GM wrestle and struggle together; BW stumbles and fallsGM whips out a huge knife and stabs at BWs shoulder, but the chain-mail turns the blade and saves his lifeBW spots a huge, heavy, ancient sword from the days of the giants; swings it toward GM in a wide arc, cutting deeply into her neck and killing her.The Battle with Grendels Mother pg. 52-56The lair becomes brighter after GM dies, and Beowulf is able to inspect his surroundingsFinds Grendel's body and, to take further revenge, he decapitates the corpseBack on the surface, the Geat and Dane warriors are watching the surface of the lake, waiting for BWs return or a sign of his fateWhen Beowulf cuts off Grendel's head, the water heaves and surges, and they can see bloodThey bow their heads and assume that Beowulf has been killedDanes go home, but the Geat warriors stay where they are, waiting and wishing for BW to returnThe Battle with Grendels Mother pg. 52-56The giant sword that Beowulf found melts (apparently, the blood of Grendel is so poisonous that it destroys metal)BW sees enormous amounts of treasure in GM's lair, but all he takes are the jewel-inlaid hilt of the melted sword and Grendel's severed headBW swims back to the surface of the lake, where his warriors are overjoyed to see himGeats return to Herot Hall, taking Grendel's enormous severed head with them -- so large that they need four strong men to carry itBW tells Hrothgar all about his fight with Grendel, giving most of the credit to God for helping himThe Battle with Grendels Mother pg. 52-56After being honored by the king, BW returns home; eventually becomes king; rules for 50 yearsDragon menaces his kingdomBW is determined to slay dragonThe Last Battle pg. 56-61BW makes his last boast (Boasting was a formal part of warrior culture and especially important for great men)Says he won battles often in his youth and that even in his old age he is going to fight the dragon "for the glory of winningBefore leaving them, BW says a few words to his followers; he wishes he could fight the dragon hand-to-hand, the way he fought Grendel when he was young, instead of using his swordHowever, even BW realizes that would be suicide, so he goes out to fight with a sword, a mail-shirt, and a shieldThe Last Battle pg. 56-61BW steels himself and goes into the barrow to fight the dragon; shouts out a challenge and the dragon, recognizing a human voice, bursts forward, breathing fireBW tries to use his shield, the dragon writhing around and trying to burn him to a crispBW swings his sword; a minor cut; angers the dragon; BW has to retreat, humiliatedDragon hits BW with another blast of fireTen of BW's hand-picked men break ranks and run for their lives into the woods nearbyOne remains Wiglaf, who remembers how well Beowulf has treated him and his family; bearing his father's sword and mail-shirt, Wiglaf will enter battle for the first time at BWs side, fighting the dragonThe Last Battle pg. 56-61Before rushing to Beowulf's aid, Wiglaf lectures his companions, reminding them of how good a king BW has been and how generously he rewarded them for their loyaltyWiglaf says that, even though Beowulf wanted to face the dragon alone, he clearly needs their helpSays he would rather die fighting the dragon than go home to the rest of the Geats in cowardly safetyGoes to BW's side and encourages him, reminding him of his boasts, his great deeds, and his fameThe Last Battle pg. 56-61Wiglaf and BW kill the dragon (Wiglaf stabs stomach with sword; BW stabs side with daggar)BW mortally wounded (dragon bit his neck; blood rushed everywhere)As he dies, BW asks Wiglaf to bring him the treasure that the dragon was guardingThe Spoils pg. 61-62BW orders Wiglaf to go into the barrow (mountain), look at the treasure, and bring back some of it for him to see before he diesWiglaf obeys BW's dying wish and goes down into the barrow, where he finds amazing piles of treasure, all of it rusting and decayingHe's able to see everything because of a glowing golden standard high overhead.

The Spoils pg. 61-62Wiglaf fills his arms with gold and treasure and takes the standard, too; hurries back to BWWiglaf begins to clean the king's wounds again as BW gazes on the treasure; thanks God for his last glance of the treasure and the fact that he is going to die "well endowed" with goldBW orders Wiglaf to build a barrow for him on the coast after his body has been burned on a funeral pyre; barrow will be visible to ships and remind people of BW's great deedsBW takes off his golden collar and gives it to Wiglaf, the last member of his clan now that BW is dyingBW diesThe Spoils pg. 61-62Wiglaf denounces the warriors who deserted BWGeats burn BWs body on a funeral pyre and mourn his death

The Farewell pg. 63-64After the pyre burns down, the Geats build a barrow over itThe barrow is an enormous memorial to BW which takes ten days to build, and it can be seen from the seaThe Geats bury jewels, gold, and treasures in the barrow to honor BWTwelve Geat warriors ride around the tomb singing dirges, honoring BW by describing his heroic deeds