Beowulf And Grendel
Prologue:
1.
Shield’s rise to power came from the fact that
he was more powerful than the rest of the Danes. They sent Shield away on the
ocean in a boat, along with many treasures. Hrothgar is one of Shield’s
grandsons.
Heorot is Attacked
1.
Hrothgar decided to build a beautiful
mead-house. Grendel later attacked the mead-house, and he took over the meat
house. The attacks lasted for many years, and the Danes tried fighting them off
but were unsuccessful .
The Hero comes to Heorot:
1.
When he heard of Grendel’s doings he gathered 14
strong warriors and sailed to the land of the Danes.
2.
They meet one of Hrothgar’s henchmen. He asks
who they are and why they came over here and told them they should leave.
Beowulf replied they were there to fight Grendel.
3.
Hrothgar’s herald is Wulfgar a proud warrior. He
asks them what their business is. He then goes to Hrothgar and tells them that
these warriors have come to seek a meeting with him. Hrothgar answers that he
has heard of Beowulf and his land. I was
sort of surprised that he knew Beowulf so well.
4.
He tells him how he has defeated 5 giants and
has come to rid Grendel from the land of the Danes. Hrothgar and the Danes had
helped the Geats while they were fighting the Wylfings.
Feast at Heorot:
1.
Unferth accuses Beowulf of not being able to
hand the fight with Grendal. Beowulf rises to the challenge and speaks of his
superior strength and tells of a fight between him and sea creatures. This
episode is relevant because it reveals part of Beowulf’s character and
personality.
2.
Queen Wealhtheow came into the hall with a cup
and allowed each of the men to drink out of it.
The Fight with Grendel:
1.
Beowulf had planned to fight Grendel without
arms or armor, since that was the way Grendel fought.
2.
Grendel finds all of the men sleeping, and then
proceeds to eat some of the Geats. Beowulf, who was awake, gets up and tackles
him, bending his claws back. Grendel tried wriggling out of Beowulf’s grasp,
but Beowulf held him steadfast for awhile longer. He finally did escape,
breaking his arm in the process, leaving his arm, claw, and shoulder.
Celebration at Heorot
1.
Sigemund was more famous for defeating giants
and dragons, getting all the glory from killing them, just like Beowulf had
defeated Grendel. Heremod was “urged to crime” and followed a darker path,
unlike Beowulf.
2.
Hrothgar thanks Beowulf for defeating Grendel
and praises his mother. He promises him treasure for his good deed. Unferth had
nothing to say.
3.
The story was kinda hard to understand, but I think
Finn had a feud with someone, and Hildebruh watched them die. It does not
suggest that it is wise to use women as brides.
4.
Wealhtheow asked Hrothgar not to make Beowulf
the heir to the kingdom.
5.
The men stay in the beerhall to protect Hrothgar
and their land from harm. It was dangerous to stay there though because Grendel
or any other creature like Grendel could easily burst through again.
Beowulf and Grendel’s
Mother
Another Attack
1.
Grendel’s mother went to Heorot in vengeance for
her son, a totally different motive then Grendel.
2.
Hrothgar had tried to fight her off, but she
ended up killing a close friend of Hrothgar’s, causing him much pain.
3.
The mere is like an underwater lair.
Beowulf Fights Grendel’s Mother
1.
Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he should attack in
vengeance, not be sad. They should ride out and fight Grendel’s mother.
2.
Beowulf and his troop see sea creatures, and
shoots one to see how gruesome it looked.
3.
Beowulf prepares by telling Hrothgar of his wish
of sending his armor to Hygelac if he fails, and he takes Unferth’s sword
Hrunting to fight.
4.
Grendel’s mother senses he is there and grabs
him to take to her lair. Surprisingly, there is no water in the lair, even
though it is completely underwater.
5.
Beowulf throws the sword to the side, since he likes
fighting by hand better.
6.
Grendel’s mother tries to stab him, but the
armor protects him from the weapon.
7.
Beowulf uses the sword Eotens to strike
Grendel’s mother, killing her. After she dies, Beowulf sees Grendel’s body on
the floor. He cuts off Grendel’s head, but the sword he uses melted because of
the blood of the monsters.
8.
All the men who were still waiting rejoiced at
seeing Beowulf, even though most believed that he was defeated.
Further Celebration at Heorot
1.
Beowulf gives Hrothgar the hilt of the sword he
used to kill Grendel’s mother.
2.
Hrothgar tells Beowulf that he knows no one with
the honor and bravery that Beowulf has. He tells how Heremod was famous for
defeating enemies, but never shared his treasures with the poor. He was telling
Beowulf to learn from the example of Heremod.
3.
Beowulf returns Hrunting to Unferth.
Beowulf Returns Home
1.
Hrothgar predicts that Beowulf will become a
“worthy and wise king.”
2.
Hygd is the wife of Hygelac, and she was kind
unlike Modthryth who punished any man who looked upon her.
3.
He plans to do that to end a feud between the
two. Beowulf does not believe in marriage, and thinks that men will still fight
over Freawaru. This might be a new side to Beowulf that we have not seen.
4.
Beowulf reports his own adventures accurately,
telling it just like the story is telling it.
5.
Beowulf gives all of the treasure to Hygelac,
and Hygelac in turn gives him Hrethel’s sword, a whole lot of land, a house,
and a throne.
The Dragon Wakes
1.
Part 2 takes place 50 years later. Hygelac and
Heardred have died. A dragon has been awakened.
2.
The dragon is angry because someone came into his
lair and took a cup from his treasure. The man took a cup to appease a king for
some crime that he did. A person who wanted to guard the treasure from a lost
race had left that treasure there to be guarded.
3.
The dragon blew fire onto many homes as it flew
to find the thief.
4.
Beowulf thought he had angered God by breaking
an ancient law. He orders an iron shield because he knew wood would be useless
against fire. He plans to go alone since he has fought many dangerous beasts
since Grendel.
5.
Hygelac fell in hand-to-hand combat, and when he
returned home, he became Regent to Hygelac’s son Heardred who was king.
6.
After giving some exiles shelter, someone came
and killed Heardred, and Beowulf became King. Beowulf planned to avenge him by
assembling an army and pursuing the man who killed Heardred.
7.
Beowulf brought 11 others to search for the
dragon.
8.
Herebreald was killed accidentally by his
younger brother Haethkyn. King Hrethel was heartbroken, for he had to send
Haethkyn to the gallows to be sentenced to death. The Swedes and Geats began to
fight after Hrethel died. Haethycn was killed. Beowulf avenged the death of
Hygelac by killing Daeghrfen.
Beowulf Attacks Dragon
1.
Beowulf told his companions not to interfere
with the battle.
2.
Beowulf at first holds his ground against the
dragon, even when the dragon is breathing fire on him. His companions flee into
the forest. Wiglaf is the only one who stays behind to see Beowulf fight. He
told the others that it was a shame to let their leader fight alone, and then
goes to help Beowulf.
3.
The second time Beowulf tried to strike the
dragon with the sword, but it broke. He was just too strong for swords. The
dragon bit Beowulf on the neck, and Wiglaf ended up killing the dragon.
4.
Beowulf asks Wiglaf to show him the treasure
that they had acquired now that the dragon was dead. When he sees the gold,
Beowulf thanks God for seeing the treasure before he died. Beowulf asks Wiglaf
to mark the place where he was buried as Beowulf’s Barrow.
Beowulf’s Funeral
1.
The companions will not receive any of the
treasure, for it will mean nothing if word gets out that they had run from
battle. Wiglaf said: “for all of the gold that their lord had gifted to them at
the mead-hall, any treasure he could find, was worthless for they had failed
him in battle. In his final hour, *Beowulf wreaked his revenge on the dragon.”
2.
The messenger told the city that their leader
was on his death bed with the dragon dead beside him, with Wiglaf watching over
both. Ongenthow attacked and defeated the king and took the queen as his own.
Hygelac soon came to defeat him, and Ongenthow retreated to his home. He says
the treasure should be buried with Beowulf, and the final image is of the
dragon.
3.
Wiglaf tells the crowd of the death of their
leader, and that they should not keep the gold for themselves.
4.
They tossed the dragon’s body into the sea.
5.
They laid Beowulf’s armor and weapons on his
funeral pyre and lit it on fire. A few days later a monument was built in honor
of Beowulf.
6.
The last three lines say: “quoth
that of all the kings of earth, of men he was mildest and most beloved, to his
kin the kindest, keenest for praise.” This wouldn’t be the kind of words I
would use to describe a military hero.
