Beowulf

## **Biography**

Beowulf, today, is known as the greatest Viking king of his era, and one of the instrumental figures in early Viking unification. Ethnically, he was a combination of Swedish and Geatish blood; his father Ecgþeow was a warrior of the Swedish Wægmundings, while his mother was the daughter of Hreðel, King of the Geats. He was raised among the Geats, and spent much of his childhood along with Breca the Bronding, a close friend; the two would often compete in challenges of strength and skill, and both sharpened their skills throughout their adolescence.

It was not until adulthood, however, that Beowulf became known as a hero. Renowned far and wide for his raw power, he traveled to aid the Danes, who had been terrorized by a monster for many years. Their king, Hroðgar, had been a close friend of Ecgþeow, and Beowulf had come to repay his father's debts. The monster, Grendel, was related indirectly to a nearby tribe known as the Wendols. Descended from Cain, the first murderer, the group was monstrous in appearance, and incredibly sensitive to sound. Heorot, capital of the Danish world, was known far and wide for its merriment and celebration. Grendel was less than enthused, and attacking the mead hall whenever the noise became too loud.

On his first night in Heorot, Beowulf did what no other hero had, fighting Grendel to a standstill. Their battle was relatively quick; Geatish warriors first charged the beast, while Beowulf waited for him to draw near. Once there, he grabbed onto the monster's arm, and in his struggle to escape, Grendel's arm was torn off from the shoulder. He escaped into the woods, and to his mother, where he soon died.

Grendel is an interesting figure; his exact origins are unclear, though rumors persist that Hroðgar was his father. Many modern scholars point the blame not on Grendel, but the Danes, who had offended the monster with their revelry, and liken the beast to a child, unable to understand the consequences of his own actions. In any case, his mother, Grinhilda (though generally referred to only as Grendel's Mother, blamed the humans, and sought revenge. In the night, she attacked Heorot, killing many Geats and Danes in the cover of darkness.

Roughly a year beforehand, Beowulf had come across the traveler, Xena who was seeking a Rheingold ring, and aided her in this quest. Though of little consequence at the time, Beowulf again found Xena, and learned she had a personal rivalry with Grinhilda again, the two worked to hunt down the creature. Eventually, the Geats discovered her at the bottom of an icy lake; Beowulf alone dove down to combat her. Armed with the blade Hrunting, he fought various monsters and It is unclear exactly what happened beneath the water. Beowulf claimed that he had slain her with a sword crafted by giants, but contemporary accounts differ. Some postulate that Beowulf and Grinhilda made love, an act that may have come back to haunt the warrior during his kingship. In either case, the witch never seemed to harm the Danes again, so most assumed Beowulf's story was true. Despite their apparent deaths, accounts from the early 21st Century speak of beasts similar to Grendel and his mother living in Scottish lochs, and others, in the 2020s, off the coast of Los Angeles; some assume they are entirely unrelated, or, perhaps, other descendents of Grinhilda.

With the thanks of the Danes, Beowulf returned to Geatland as a hero. He aided the current king, Hygelac, in his raids on the Franks; unfortunately, their forces were defeated, and Hygelac was killed. Upon his return, the queen offered Beowulf the throne; however, remembering advice from Hroðgar, he refused, allowing the young prince Heardred to ascend instead. Soon after, two Swedish princes arrived in Geatland, asking for sanctuary; their uncle, Onela, had been usurped in the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern. In retaliation, the Swedes invaded Geatland, killing Heardred in the process. Beowulf accepted kingship to avenge his death and install the rightful heir to the Swedish throne.

For the next fifty years, Geatland became the most prosperous region in Scandinavia, with Beowulf renowned as their greatest king. The riches obtained in his conquests helped the Geats become an economic as well as military power, and Beowulf, a Christian convert, helped it become a moral nation, as well. This all came to a close half a century after Beowulf's ascension, as a dragon from nearby mountains began to attack his homeland.

Gathering his finest warriors, the aging king marched toward the dragon, and entered into mortal combat with it. During the battle, all but a single warrior abandoned Beowulf to his fate; his loyal friend and servant, Wiglaf, was the only warrior to aid him. The battle was fierce, and Beowulf weak, but in the end, he was able to slay the beast and claim its nearby treasure. Unfortunately, the poisonous bite of the dragon had infected him, and his death was imminent. With his final breath, he declared Wiglaf the new king, as he had no heirs of his own. Some warriors at the scene claim to have seen a golden man in place of the dragon, Wiglaf, the only one with a clear view of the entire battle, never spoke of it, or of what Beowulf told him in his final breath, and likely took his king's secrets to the grave.

Beowulf was given an honorable funeral, and a large tower built in his memory. Wiglaf became another renowned Geatish king, despite his own foreign blood, but he never claimed the same legacy as his predecessor. During his reign he never took a wife, though some reported seeing him with a dark-haired woman; curiously, he also adopted Christianity, despite the greater Geats rejecting it. Before becoming king, the Geats were forced to leave their homeland by Swedish invaders; they settled near Sutton Hoo, where he was officially crowned. In this period, the Geats attempted a more peaceful lifestyle, though they were eventually conquered and again forced to relocate by the Saxons. Buried in England, Wiglaf's gravesite is now lost, as is Beowulf's. only the memories of their people preserved the name Beowulf for the modern world.