Summary

     The epic poem begins with Beowulf, the prince of the Geats, answering a distress call for help against the evil monster Grendel from Hrothgar, King of the Danes. Grendel has been waging war on Hrothgar and his people for years because of his jelousy of them and since Grendel is charmed by a dragon no man-made weapon can harm him, making Grendel even harder to defeat. Hrothgar has managed to survive Grendel's nightly massacres for all these years because of a magical charm he possesses but although Grendel can't directly harm Hrothgar the stress he has caused Hrothgar has been taking it's toll on the already aging King. Hearing his plee for help Beowulf makes the journey to Herot with some of his best men in order to aid Hrothgar and slay Grendel.

     Once Beowulf arrives his presence is celebrated and woes are left behind. Beowulf vows to kill Grendel with his bare hands because he knows Grendel cannot be harmed by any man-made weapon and promises an end to his reign of terror. However Unferth, a hero long past his time and whose reputation is cursed because he killed his brother is jealous of Beowulf. Although he tries to discredit Beowulf with a certain competition he lost with another hero named Brecca, Beowulf tactfully evades his insult and proves himself all the more noble by gracefully handling the challenge.

     That night Beowulf waits laying in bed pretending to sleep with the intent of surprising the overconfident monster. As anticipated Grendel makes a nightly raid snatching a few geats from their sleep and gobbling them whole. However when he reaches Beowulf's bed Grendel finds himself in the struggle of his life. Beowulf grabs Grendel's arm with the fierce clamp like power of a God. Grendel squirms to free himself of Beowulf's deadly embrace but can't. Finally, Grendel gives it his all in one burst to escape and succeeds however with the loss of his arm, torn ferociously by Beowulf right from it's socket. Grendel flees in terror, screaming and crying as he retreats. Beowulf having vanquished Grendel keeps the severed arm in Herot as a trophy of his victory.

     The Danes rejoice Grendel's defeat and years of agonizing horror relinquished. Beowulf is celebrated by all and given Hrothgar's eternal gratitude, even Unferth is apologetic for his earlier reaction of Beowulf. However it is short lived as that night Grendel's Mother, enraged at the death of her son takes her revenge. Attacking Herot in the comfort of the shadows she first kills Aeschere, the chief advisor of King Hrothgar, then reclaims her son's arm. Beowulf realizing his duty is not yet done sets out to slay Grendel's Mother. In the dark of the night Beowulf and some other's search out and discover the foul death stenched mere that served as the entrance to the monster's den. Aeschere's head is found on the edge of a cliff nearby, clearly a sign of Grendel's Mother's revenge. Before his disent into the mere however Unferth offers Beowulf his sword, Hrunting as a token of reconciliation for his past actions, recognizing him as the true hero he is. Plunging down into the darkness Beowulf ventures into the underwater palace of Grendel's den seeking out Grendel's Mother, to finally put an end to all the horror and death they caused so many Danes.

      In an underwater battle Beowulf combats Grendel's Mother. Grendel's Mother is also charmed with some power that makes man-made weapons useless against her and so Hrunting, upon Beowulf's first strike, is broken. Beowulf fends her off with hand-to-hand combat before seeing some heavenly God forged sword within the den. Using it's power Beowulf manages to slay Grendel's Mother and thus restoring peace to King Hrothgar and the Danes. His quest complete he returns home.

     Beowulf returns home and years pass before he becomes King. Under his rule peace is established between the waring tribes as a result of his leadership and no one would dare challenge him because of how powerful of a King he was. But while everthing seems organized and in place something terrible happens. A Geatish slave breaks into the lair of a dragon and steals from the treasure horde a golden goblet in hopes of buying his freedom from his master. The dragon angered from the disturbance of his treasure awakens in a fury and lays waste to the countryside leaving in his path a wake of devastation. Beowulf, although an old aging King, decides he will face the dragon in order to defend his country.

     Like the noble hero he is Beowulf vows to slay the dragon alone however he brings along some retainers to finish the job in case he fails. Once they reach the lair Beowulf tells the retainers to wait for him outside while he goes in alone to vanquish the dragon. Armed with a sturdy iron shield which will defend against the dragon's fire breath better than a wooden shield and a sword in hand Beowulf seeks out the Dragon within the lair. The battle that pursues goes bad for Beowulf as the Dragon's hard scales prove unpiercable and his fiery breath melts the iron shield right from his very arm. The retainers who had boasted their allegence to Beowulf just a night ago at the tavern run in fear, like the cowards they are. However one very brave and loyal retainer stays to help Beowulf and triumphantly enters the lair to aid his King.

     His name is Wiglaf and with his assistance King Beowulf manages to defeat the dragon. During the battle however the dragon was successful in poisoning Beowulf with his venomous fangs and Beowulf has little time left. With his last breath Beowulf tells Wiglaf to make the dragon's lair his final resting place and he offers all the treasure inside to his people. King Beowulf's grave becomes a great monument henceforth for all the heros of the future to marvel at.