![]() ![]() The Danish warriors, who had fled the hall in fear, return singing songs in praise of Beowulf‘s triumph and performing heroic stories in Beowulf‘s honour. He tears off the monster’s arm at the shoulder, but Grendel escapes, only to die soon afterward at the bottom of the snake-infested swamp where he and his mother live. That night, Grendel appears at Herot, and Beowulf, true to his word, wrestles the monster bare-handed. Before retiring for the night, Hrothgar promises Beowulf great treasures if he meets with success against the monster. During the banquet that follows Beowulf‘s arrival, Unferth, a Danish soldier, voices his doubts about Beowulf‘s past accomplishments, and Beowulf, in turn, accuses Unferth of killing his brothers. Hrothgar welcomes the arrival of the Geats, hoping that Beowulf will live up to his reputation. The Geats are greeted by the members of Hrothgar’s court, and Beowulf boasts to the king of his previous successes as a warrior, particularly his success in fighting sea monsters. Hrothgar and his advisers can think of nothing to appease the monster’s anger.īeowulf, prince of the Geats, hears about Hrothgar’s troubles, and gathers fourteen of his bravest warriors, and sets sail from his home in southern Sweden. For the next twelve years the fear of Grendel‘s potential fury casts a shadow over the lives of the Danes. However, provoked by the singing and carousing of Hrothgar’s followers, Grendel, a monster in human shape who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, appears at the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. He builds a lavish hall, called Herot (or Heorot), to house his vast army, and when the hall is finished the Danish soldiers gather under its roof to celebrate. Hrothgar is well loved by his people and successful in war. The poem begins with a history of the Danish kings, starting with Shild (whose funeral is described in the Prologue) and leading up to the reign of the current king Hrothgar, Shild’s great-grandson.
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