Beowulf (hero)
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An approximation of the central regions of the tribes mentioned in Beowulf. The red area is Västergötland (the core region of Geatland), the yellow area is the territory ruled by the Wulfings, the pink area is the Danish territory. The green area is the land of the Swedes. For a more detailed discussion on the fragmented political situation of Scandinavia during the 6th century, see Scandza |
Beowulf is the hero of the
Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name. He was the son of
Ecgþeow, a banished warrior of the apparently
Swedish Wægmundings. Ecgþeow had slain
Heaðolaf, a man from another clan named the
Wulfings (according to
Scandinavian sources, they were the ruling dynasty of the
Geatish
petty kingdom of
Östergötland). Apparently, because the victim was from a prominent family the
weregild was set too high, and so Ecgþeow was banished and had to seek refuge among the
Danes. The Danish king
Hroðgar generously paid the
weregild, and had Ecgþeow swear an oath.
Later, Ecgþeow was in the service of the
Geatish king Hreðel, whose daughter he married. They had Beowulf, who grew up with the
Geats. Beowulf's childhood friend was
Breca of the
Brondings "supposed to be the inhabitants of the island
Brännö, lying off the coast of
West Gothland in the
Cattegat" [
1]). This would be a realistic location for a childhood friend of Beowulf, and the poem describes a swimming contest between them.
When king
Hroðgar, his wife
Wealhþeow, and his court were terrorized by the
troll-like creature
Grendel, Beowulf left
Geatland (
West Götaland) and sailed to
Zealand with twelve warriors in order to pay his father's debt. During the night, Grendel arrived to attack the sleeping men. Beowulf attacked him without his sword and tore the arm off the beast. Grendel returned to the bog and his arm was attached to the wall of
Heorot. The next day, Beowulf was lauded and a
skald (
scop) sang and compared Beowulf with the hero
Sigmund.
However, during the following night
Grendel's Mother arrived to avenge the death of Grendel and collect
weregild. As Beowulf slept in a different building he could not stop her. He resolved to descend into the bog in order to kill her. They fought beside Grendel's corpse, and Beowulf finally won with the aid of an enchanted
Giant sword stolen from the lair's plunder. Beowulf was recompensed with gold and horses by queen
Wealhþeow, and they returned to Geatland.
Having returned, Beowulf took part in a historic raid against the
Franks with his king
Hygelac. Hygelac died during the raid, and Beowulf swam home in full armour. Back in Geatland, queen
Hygd offered Beowulf the throne but Beowulf declined in favour of the young prince
Heardred. However, Heardred received two Swedish princes,
Eadgils and
Eanmund who reported that they had fled their uncle
Onela who had usurped the Swedish throne. This led to a Swedish invasion in which Heardred was killed. Beowulf was proclaimed king and decided to avenge Heardred and to help Eadgils become king of Sweden.
The event when
Onela was slain was probably a historic event. Even though it is only briefly mentioned in
Beowulf, it occurs extensively in several Scandinavian sources where it is called the
Battle on the Ice. For example,
Snorri Sturluson wrote:
Onela rode Raven, as they rode to the ice, but a second one, a grey one, hastened, wounded by spears, eastwards under Eadgils. [...]
In this fight Onela died and a great many of his people. Then king Eadgils took from him his helmet Battle-boar and his horse Raven (although, in Snorri's text the names are in their corresponding
Old Norse forms).
Beowulf ruled the Geats for 50 years, until his realm was terrorized by a
dragon. He attacked the dragon with his
thegns, but they did not succeed. Beowulf decided to follow the dragon into its lair, at
Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative
Wiglaf dared join him. Beowulf finally slaid the dragon but was mortally wounded and was carried out by Wiglaf. He died after prophesying that the Swedes would attack the Geats once again. He was buried in a
barrow by the sea. The Swedish scholar
Birger Nerman has proposed
Skalunda Hög () in
Västergötland (West Geatland) to be Beowulf's mound.
In Scandinavian sources, Beowulf corresponds in several ways to
Bödvar Bjarki. However, since centuries of
oral traditions have modified a number of events and it is no longer possible to find 100% matches between Beowulf and Scandinavian sources, the
Beowulf-Norse saga alignment is not uncontroversial.
