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1-Page Summary of Beowulf

Overall Summary

An anonymous author wrote Beowulf in Old English around the year 1000 CE. Some of it had been destroyed, likely burned in a fire. The 1999 translation by Seamus Heaney won the Whitbread Award and was praised for its freshness and accessibility.

The poem is presented in a facing-page translation, with the Old English to the left and the modern to the right. The guide reflects this, so that for instance a quotation on “Pages 3-5” will reflect two pages of the modern translation not three.

Heorot is a Danish mead-hall that’s in danger. A monster named Grendel has been attacking the hall and dragging people away to his lair for years. No one can figure out how to stop him or prevent these attacks from happening.

A hero named Beowulf comes from a foreign land to help Hrothgar. Unferth, one of Hrothgar’s men, doesn’t trust Beowulf and doubts his ability to defeat Grendel. However, Hrothgar trusts him and gives him all the support he needs to fight Grendel. He does so successfully by ripping off Grendel’s arm in hand-to-hand combat. The people rejoice at this victory but are soon attacked again by Grendel’s mother who is even more vicious than her son was.

Beowulf vows to kill Grendel’s mother and dives into the swamp where she lives. Beowulf is given a sword, but it does not work on her. He must kill her with a special sword from her own hoard of treasures that was forged in times past by giants. The Danes are overjoyed when they hear about this second victory because he is their hero now. Hrothgar adopts Beowulf as his son and gives him gifts before sending him home to King Hygelac, who also rewards him for his valor.

When Hygelac falls in battle, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats. He has a successful 50-year reign and is beloved and respected by his people. However, monsters once again disturb the peace when a slave steals a goblet from a dragon’s hoard. The dragon wakes up and begins to destroy everything in sight because he’s angry that someone stole something from him. Beowulf vows that he will defeat this dragon singlehandedly as well as all other dragons who dare to attack his kingdom. He brings along some of his men to watch him fight the dragon so they can report back if anything happens to him, but it doesn’t work out: Beowulf gets badly wounded and most of his men run away—all except one warrior named Wiglaf who rushes over there to help Beowulf kill the dragon together.

Beowulf dies from his wounds. Wiglaf delivers Beowulf’s will to the Geats, and they mourn for more than their leader: They know that without him, their enemies will destroy them.

Pages 1-15

The first few verses of Beowulf set the stage for a heroic world where pagan traditions and Christian beliefs were prevalent. The author uses an Anglo-Saxon word, “Hwaet,” to begin his epic poem.

The story begins with a genealogy. It traces the descent of Hrothgar, who is now the king of Denmark, through his ancestors Shield Sheafson and Beow. These ancestors were heroic kings because they had great funerals that honored them greatly.

The Geats are a people who live in the area of modern Sweden. Their culture is based on pagan beliefs and Christianity. They revere valor, ancestry, and honor their dead ancestors with rituals inspired by both paganism and Christianity. In this poem, we see Hrothgar as king of the Geats build Heorot (a mead-hall) to showcase his power and legacy to future generations. However, there is one problem: Grendel, a monster from Cain’s lineage attacks it at night killing 30 men each time he comes around for 12 years. No one knows what to do about him until…