Beowulf questions

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.