BEOWULF CHARACTER LIST
Principal Characters
Beowulf - The protagonist of the epic, Beowulf
is a Geatish hero who fights the monster
Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing
dragon. Beowulf’s boasts and encounters reveal
him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around.
In his youth, he personifies all of the best values
of the heroic culture. In his old age, he proves a
wise and effective ruler.
King Hrothgar - The king of the Danes.
Hrothgar enjoys military success and prosperity
until Grendel terrorizes his realm. A wise and
aged ruler, Hrothgar represents a different kind
of leadership from that exhibited by the
youthful warrior Beowulf. He is a father figure
to Beowulf and a model for the kind of king that
Beowulf becomes.
Grendel - A demon descended from Cain,
Grendel preys on Hrothgar’s warriors in the
king’s mead-hall, Heorot. Because his ruthless
and miserable existence is part of the
retribution exacted by God for Cain’s murder of
Abel, Grendel fits solidly within the ethos of
vengeance that governs the world of the poem.
Grendel’s Mother - An unnamed swamp-hag,
Grendel’s mother seems to possess fewer
human qualities than Grendel, although her
terrorization of Heorot is explained by her
desire for vengeance—a human motivation.
The Dragon - An ancient, powerful serpent,
the dragon guards a horde of treasure in a
hidden mound. Beowulf’s fight with the dragon
constitutes the third and final part of the epic.
Other Danes
Shield Sheafson - The legendary Danish king
from whom Hrothgar is descended, Shield
Sheafson is the mythical founder who
inaugurates a long line of Danish rulers and
embodies the Danish tribe’s highest values of
heroism and leadership. The poem opens with a
brief account of his rise from orphan to warrior-
king, concluding, “That was one good king” (11).
Beow - The second king listed in the genealogy
of Danish rulers with which the poem begins.
Beow is the son of Shield Sheafson and father of
Halfdane. The narrator presents Beow as a gift
from God to a people in need of a leader. He
exemplifies the maxim, “Behavior that’s
admired / is the path to power among people
everywhere” (24–25).
Halfdane - The father of Hrothgar, Heorogar,
Halga, and an unnamed daughter who married
a king of the Swedes, Halfdane succeeded Beow
as ruler of the Danes.
Wealhtheow - Hrothgar’s wife, the gracious
queen of the Danes.
Unferth - A Danish warrior who is jealous of
Beowulf, Unferth is unable or unwilling to fight
Grendel, thus proving himself inferior to
Beowulf.
Hrethric - Hrothgar’s elder son, Hrethric stands
to inherit the Danish throne, but Hrethric’s
older cousin Hrothulf will prevent him from
doing so. Beowulf offers to support the
youngster’s prospect of becoming king by
hosting him in Geatland and giving him
guidance.
Hrothmund - The second son of Hrothgar.
Hrothulf - Hrothgar’s nephew, Hrothulf betrays
and usurps his cousin, Hrethic, the rightful heir
to the Danish throne. Hrothulf’s treachery
contrasts with Beowulf’s loyalty to Hygelac in
helping his son to the throne.
Aeschere - Hrothgar’s trusted adviser.
Other Geats
Hygelac - Beowulf’s uncle, king of the Geats,
and husband of Hygd. Hygelac heartily
welcomes Beowulf back from Denmark.
Hygd - Hygelac’s wife, the young, beautiful, and
intelligent queen of the Geats. Hygd is
contrasted with Queen Modthryth.
Wiglaf - A young kinsman and retainer of
Beowulf who helps him in the fight against the
dragon while all of the other warriors run away.
Wiglaf adheres to the heroic code better than
Beowulf’s other retainers, thereby proving
himself a suitable successor to Beowulf.
Ecgtheow - Beowulf’s father, Hygelac’s brother-
in-law, and Hrothgar’s friend. Ecgtheow is dead
by the time the story begins, but he lives on
through the noble reputation that he made for
himself during his life and in his dutiful son’s
remembrances.
King Hrethel - The Geatish king who took
Beowulf in as a ward after the death of
Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father.
Breca - Beowulf’s childhood friend, whom he
defeated in a swimming match. Unferth alludes
to the story of their contest, and Beowulf then
relates it in detail.
Other Figures Mentioned
Sigemund - A figure from Norse mythology,
famous for slaying a dragon. Sigemund’s story is
told in praise of Beowulf and foreshadows
Beowulf’s encounter with the dragon.
King Heremod - An evil king of legend. The
scop, or bard, at Heorot discusses King
Heremod as a figure who contrasts greatly with
Beowulf.
Queen Modthryth - A wicked queen of legend
who punishes anyone who looks at her the
wrong way. Modthryth’s story is told in order to
contrast her cruelty with Hygd’s gentle and
reasonable behavior.

BEOWULF SUMMARY

King Hrothgar, the ruler of the Danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon
named Grendel. Every night, Grendel attacks King Hrothgar's wealthy mead-
hall, Heorot, killing Danish warriors and sometimes even eating them.
Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now he's an old king and can't seem
to protect his people. Fortunately, a young Geat warrior named Beowulf travels to
Heorot Hall from his own lands overseas to lend a helping hand—literally.

After explaining that he owes Hrothgar a favor because Hrothgar helped out his
father, Beowulf offers to fight Grendel himself. King Hrothgar gratefully accepts his offer.
The next time Grendel attacks Heorot Hall, Beowulf is waiting for him. Choosing to fight
Grendel in hand-to-hand combat, Beowulf wrestles the demon into submission and
eventually tears off his arm at the shoulder. Mortally wounded, Grendel flees into the
wilderness and dies. Beowulf, Hrothgar, and their followers throw a wild party to
celebrate. Hrothgar also gives Beowulf many presents and treasures to reward him for
his heroic defeat of the demon.

Unfortunately, Grendel has an overprotective mother who decides to avenge her

son. While all the warriors are sleeping off the party, she attacks Heorot Hall. But when
the warriors wake up, she panics and flees back to her lair, a cave underneath a nearby
lake.

Beowulf, his Geatish warriors, and some of Hrothgar's Danish warriors track her
there. Beowulf dives into the lake and finds the cave, where he takes on Grendel's
mother in another one-on-one battle. Seizing a nearby sword from Grendel's mother's
stash of treasure, he slays her, even though her poisonous demon blood melts the
blade. When Beowulf returns to the surface, carrying the sword hilt and Grendel's
severed head, the Danish warriors have given him up for dead, but his own Geatish
followers are still waiting patiently. When everyone sees that Beowulf has survived this
second challenge, there's even more partying and gift-giving.

Finally, the Geats take their leave of the Danes; Beowulf says goodbye to King
Hrothgar and sails back to Geatland, where he is a lord in the court of King Hygelac.
Eventually, Hygelac and all his relatives are killed in different blood-feuds, and Beowulf
becomes the King of the Geats. Beowulf reigns as king for fifty years, protecting the
Geats from all the other tribes around them, especially the Swedes. He is an honorable
and heroic warrior-king, rewarding his loyal thanes (warrior lords) and taking care of his
people.

But one day, Beowulf finally meets his match: a dragon, woken by a thief stealing
a goblet, begins attacking the Geats, burning villages and slaughtering people. Beowulf
takes a group of eleven trusty warriors, plus the thief who knows where the dragon's lair
is, to the barrow for a final showdown with the monster. When they see the dragon, all
but one of the warriors flee in terror. Only one man, Wiglaf, remains at Beowulf's side.
With Wiglaf's help and encouragement, Beowulf is able to defeat the dragon, but he is
mortally wounded in the process.

After Beowulf's death, the Geats build an enormous funeral pyre for him, heaped
with treasures. Once the pyre has burned down, they spend ten days building an
enormous barrow (a large mound of earth filled with treasure) as a monument to their
lost king.

1. Beowulf is the longest epic poem in Old
English.
Despite being the longest poem in Old English,
the action is all set in Scandinavia. In fact
archaeologists believe they have found
the remains of Heorot Hall in eastern Denmark,
which is terrorized by the monster Grendel in
the epic. Ironically, the British Isles, where Old
English was spoken, aren't mentioned
anywhere in the story.
2. The original manuscript of Beowulf was
damaged in a fire.
The original copy of the Beowulf manuscript was
badly damaged in a fire on October 23, 1731, at
Ashburnham House in Westminster,
England. Now housed at the British Library in
London, the remains of the poem are incredibly
fragile.
3. J.R.R. Tolkien quoted Beowulf with his
classmates.
J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of
the Rings trilogy, fell in love with Beowulf during
his school years. During meetings of the literary
club he and his classmates formed, Tolkien would
quote lines of the epic poem in its original Old
English.
4. Beowulf includes some 36 different words for
"hero."
The language used in Beowulf is a mash-up of
dialects from four different areas of medieval
Britain: Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, and
Wessex. The result shows just how developed
and complex a language Old English was at the
time the poem was written. For example, the
poem uses a total of 36 different words for
"hero." "Hæle" and "eorl" are just two of the Old
English words that can be translated to "hero"in
Modern English.
5. There is only one
surviving Beowulf manuscript.
Beowulf was an oral tale passed down for years
before being written down sometime in the
10th or 11th century. Today, there is only one
remaining manuscript. This manuscript has
survived both age and a 1731 fire. Today, the
manuscript is kept safe at the British Library in
London.
6. Beowulf may have been influenced by Virgil or
Homer.
Some scholars believe Homer's The Iliad and The
Odyssey or Virgil's The Aeneid may have inspired
the North European epic, as all are epic poems
that follow a hero's grand voyage. These works
also share similarities in structure and texture.
The epic poem form may have been brought to
England by a Greek named Theodore who
became Archbishop of Canterbury in 638 and
taught Greek language and literature to English
clergy.
7. Irish poet Seamus Heaney's translation
of Beowulf became a surprise best seller.
Beowulf might seem like a dense text with little
appeal for a broad, modern audience, but the
translation by the Irish poet Seamus
Heaney released in 1999 proved otherwise.
Heaney's translation made the New York
Times and Wall Street Journalbestseller lists.
Source:
https://www.shmoop.com/beowulf/summary.html
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beowulf/characters/
https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Beowulf/things-you-didnt-know/
8. One film adaptation deviates heavily from
the plot by introducing an affair between
Beowulf and Grendel's mother.
The 2007 film Beowulf featured motion capture,
creating a digitized effect by using computer
animation to overlay a live-action performance.
The film makes many changes to the poem,
such as featuring an affair between Beowulf and
Grendel's mother (played by Angelina Jolie).
9. The author Michael Crichton wrote a novel
inspired by Beowulf.
Michael Crichton, the American author
of Jurassic Park, made a bet that he could spin an
entertaining tale out of Beowulf. The result was
his 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead. The book was
eventually adapted into a movie, The 13th
Warrior (1999).
10. A 1971 novel tells the story of Beowulf from
Grendel's perspective.
Grendel is unquestionably the villain of Beowulf,
but American novelist John Gardner saw more
to the character than pure evil. Gardner's 1971
novel Grendel tells the epic story from the
monster's perspective. Through Gardner's eyes,
Grendel becomes a fascinating protagonist.