Beowulf was a Swedish hero made famous by an eighth century English epic poem of the same name. Young Beowulf was a fearless warrior of the Geats, the people of southern Sweden.
When Heorot (modern day Denmark) was attacked by a monster called Grendel, King Hrothgar summoned Beowulf who had a reputation as a monster slayer.
Beowulf was the nephew of Hygelac, the king of the Geats, and he rushed immediately to Heorot bringing with him 14 of their bravest warriors. When he entered the palace in his body armour, along with his men, King Hrothgar welcomed him warmly.
“Your uncle tells me you have killed many monsters,” said Hrothgar, “I hope you will be able to rid us of this vile Grendel who is terrorising my people.”
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty I’ve killed many a monster... so I’m sure we’ll be able to put an end to your troubles,” said the warrior.
“Really?” asked Unferth one of Hrothgar’s warriors who thought the young man was boastful. “How many have you vanquished?”
“Five giants and a sea monster,” came the reply.
“Ah... but I hear you lost a swimming contest with Breca, one of your own people...” Unferth said.
Beowulf smiled. “Well, I admit it was my fault. Got distracted by a sea monster in the middle and was forced to engage with him. Luckily, I was swimming in full armour and with my sword, fully equipped for combat. I had been separated from Breca so he was not even aware this was going on in the middle of the contest! But in the end I managed to kill the sea creature and swim back to the shore...”
Unferth did not say anything but King Hrothgar responded warmly. “Bravo! I’m sure you will be able to kill Grendel too. He steals into the palace in the middle of the night and kills my warriors. Some of them he carries away to his lair to eat later. Grendel carries no weapons. His brute strength alone is enough to overpower our men,” he said.
“In that case, I‘ll not use my sword too,” declared Beowulf. After supper, the King and his men retired, leaving Beowulf and his men to stand guard.
Late in the night Grendel left his underwater lair to hunt his prey. Soundlessly he entered the palace hall where Beowulf and his men were sleeping. His warriors had dropped off to sleep in the absence of any excitement so far but Beowulf lay silent and watchful.
Grendel quietly killed one of the sleeping warriors and as he turned to his next victim, he was in for a nasty surprise! The monster screamed in pain as his giant hands were held in an iron grip. He had never known fear or pain before so this was something he had not bargained for. As Beowulf proceeded to crush his hands and fingers, Grendel was helpless and could only cry out loud in agony.
The monster’s roar woke the rest of the warriors and as they watched, Grendel tried in vain to break Beowulf’s iron grip. Beowulf’s men joined him and tried to hack the monster to pieces but their swords couldn’t pierce through the monster’s tough hide. Beowulf tore off an arm of the monster who fell back with a scream. Blood rushed out in a flood from the hole in his arm. Rising slowly, Grendel knew this was the end. Somehow he made his way back to his watery home. Death was certain but he wanted to die in his own home.
Beowulf’s men rejoiced as he stood with Grendel’s bleeding arm in a large pool of blood. All of Heorot rejoiced as their tormentor was now dying.