Key Events Beowulf

Beowulf - list of the important events in the order they occur

• Chapter 1-2 - Scyld Scefing was sent by "Odin" on a ship to the land of the Danes. He was a huge person, and ruled the land wisely. When he grew old, he had his men construct a ship for him in which a bed with a sheaf of corn was planted. Scyld was put into the bed (which was going to be burned), and the ship sailed off. One of Scyld's descendants, Hrothgar, later became King. Hrothgar was also a physically strong man. Hrothgar had a dream of a hall that was huge and magnificent. It would be shiny and gold. It would be bigger than any other hall. At the hearing of this, his men set off to make the hall. At last, the hall was finished, and indeed was amazing. It was called Heorot. A hideous and terrible monster named Grendel attacked the hall the first night. He left the hall in a bloody, awful condition.

• Chapter 3-4 - Hrothgar, Wealhtheow, and Unferth came to the conclusion that only one being could have done this terrible deed - Grendel. Hrothgar decided that something needed to be done, so he took action. He gathered 9 brave lords to wait in the hall with him the next night. They were armed with very sharp swords. Grendel came. He attacked all 9 lords, but Hrothgar remained alive because of Wealhtheow. Wealhtheow saw her only chance before Hrothgar was eaten, and thrust herself upon him. This love seemed to be too much for Grendel, so Hrothgar and Wealhtheow were not dead. Poets told stories in many different places about the terrible monster, Grendel. One of these places was the Land of the Geats. Beowulf, who lived there, realized that something more than strength was needed to kill Grendel. He decided he wanted to attempt to defeat Grendel. He arrived in the Land of the Danes with men. He left his sword mounted on a hill, for he thought that the sword would not be useful. Since Grendel was not going to use a sword, he felt he didn't need to either.

• Chapter 5-7 - Beowulf showed Hrothgar and Wealhtheow that he was witty and was strong - a true hero. He showed them this by telling off Unferth and explaining how he did not care that the apple he was eating was witch work. Night came, and Beowulf was ready for Grendel. He was not going to use his sword- but instead, his hands. Grendel arrived, and all Beowulf had to do was hold on to him with his ten fingers. He spoke to Grendel of the light in himself and of the evil that Grendel had. This was way too much for Grendel! He couldn't defeat this amount of warmth and goodness. Beowulf pulled Grendel's arm out of its socket! Grendel died later that night. Grendel's arm was hung like a trophy in the Great Hall. Everyone was rejoicing except for Unferth. Beowulf received many great gifts. There was a big banquet and poets told many stories of heroes- none of which were as great as the feat Beowulf just accomplished. The story of Sigemund and Fitela was told- which Beowulf had particular interest in.

• Chapter 8-9 - Grendel's mother came to Hall Heorot. She too, left the hall in bad condition and killed Aeschere. She also took Unferth. Beowulf set out to the fen to find her. He arrived at a murky pool of blood. A tree near this pool had a head hanging from it, which belonged to Unferth. Beowulf dove into this unwelcoming pool in search of Grendel's mother.

• Chapter 10-11 - Beowulf traveled down into the murky pool, being able to breathe because of the blood bubbles. At once, he saw Her, Grendel's mother. Her tentacles wrapped around him as she pulled him into her den. Grendel's mother felt pure power over Beowulf until he spoke. It was as if he was mesmerizing her with thoughts of goodness, love, and light. She shuddered. He tightened his grip on her and stared into her eyes. He strangled her, and she did not put up a fight. Finally, She was dead. Beowulf found a sword in her den. As Beowulf held it, Grendel's corpse appeared. He seized it at Grendel, slicing off its head. Beowulf emerged from the bloody pool. He received a lot of appreciation. It was uproar of happiness. He brought Grendel's corpses’ head with him.

• Chapter 12-14 - The next day, Beowulf sailed back to the Land of the Geats with many gifts and treasures, and gold! King Hygelac was very proud of Beowulf. With Beowulf's generosity, he gave the King all of his gifts except for the ring he got from Wealhtheow. Because of the thoughtfulness of Beowulf, King Hygelac gave Beowulf a lot of land. For a few years, The Land of the Geats was a tranquil area. The peace was interrupted by an invasion by the Friesans. Hygelac was killed, and the King's son, Hardered, became the next king. Onela attacked The Land of the Geats also. This time, Hardered was killed, so Beowulf became the next king. Beowulf felt bad for the killing of Eadmund, so he saught revenge by joining with Eadgil in battle with Onela. They won the battle by killing Onela. There was peace in the Land of the Geats, but a slave was unhappy. He set off to a cave where there was gold and jewels. These treasures were guarded by a lizard. In panic, the slave grabbed a precious cup and rushed out of the cave. The lizard was Firedrake. He became swollen and upset, but could not catch the thief in time.

• Chapter 15-16 - Firedrake got revenge by destroying the Land of the Geats. Beowulf was old, but still very wise. He went to Firedrake's cave with Wiglaf, some other men, and a bee hive with many bees. Beowulf and Wiglaf used wit to kill Firedrake, like Sigemund and Fitela. He released the bees into the Firedrake's mouth where they stung the beast to death. Then the heroic Beowulf died. When someone asked Wiglaf about Beowulf, all he would say was "Beowulf was Beowulf" and nothing more.