Beowulf seeks her out in her lair at the bottom of a deep, dark lake filled with sea serpents. Grendel’s arm becomes a victory trophy, and Heorot rejoices, but the next night Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son, killing Hrothgar’s most favourite lord. King Hrothgar lamented that the most courageous men who tried to fight Grendel before, were all slain by the beast, because they possessed courage, but not strength enough.īeowulf vows to take on Grendel with nothing but his own strength, and when Grendel devours one of his sleeping men, Beowulf grapples him with all his might, and in his fight to free himself, Grendel’s arm is torn off and he dies from his mortal wound. For twelve years King Hrothgar’s mead hall (feasting hall, also the residence of a lord and his followers), was attacked and ravaged by Grendel, presumably because he couldn’t stand their celebrations. When King Hrothgar and his people were terrorized by the monster, Grendel, Beowulf sailed to Zealand with fourteen warriors in order to pay his father’s debt. The Danish king Hrothgar generously paid the weregild, and had Ecgtheow swear an oath. Ecgtheow had previously slain a man from another clan, and apparently, because the victim was from a prominent family, the weregild ( man price – a value placed on every being and piece of property, that had to be repaid if property was stolen or someone was injured or killed as restitution by the offender) was set too high, and so Ecgtheow was banished and had to seek refuge among the Danes. In this Germanic myth, Beowulf was the son of king Ecgtheow. Later the poem was named after the Scandinavian hero Beowulf, and the author was titled “The Beowulf Author”.

The story of Beowulf is a retelling based on the original Old English, untitled poem, written by an unknown author.

Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo