Date: May 15, 2003 - 13:33
A lot was to happen in later daysThe simmering hostility between the Geats and the Swedes is not related in chronological order, and a summary can make the present discussion more clear, especially since later events are recounted earlier in the poem.
in the fury of battle.
After the historical death of Hygelac, who was killed raiding in Friesland (1202ff, 2354ff, 2913ff), his widowed queen, uncertain that her own son Heardred can defend the land, offers the throne to Beowulf. But the hero declines, offering to support the young prince instead. And, indeed, Heardred is not able to defend “against the fierce aggression of the Shylfings: ruthless swordsmen, seasoned campaigners” (2204-2205). He becomes embroiled in a Swedish feud and gives refuge to Eanmund and Eadgils, the sons of Ohthere, whose brother Onela, now the Swedish king, had driven them into exile (2380ff). For this hospitality, Heardred is killed when Onela invades Geatland; later, it is revealed that Eanmund also has been killed (2610ff). Beowulf becomes king of the Geats (2207ff, 2388ff) and avenges his lord by befriending Eadgils, who has returned to Sweden and kills Onela.
Beowulf has ruled the Geats for fifty years and, as he confronts the dragon, there is a sense of foreboding at his impending death. He recounts an earlier time when, from the age of seven, he was in the foster care of his grandfather Hrethel (2425ff). (Bede entered the monastery at Wearmouth and Jarrow at the same age to begin his own education.) The dynasty of the Geats had been founded by Hrethel, who has three sons, Herebeald, Hæthcyn, and Hygelac, and one daughter, the mother of Beowulf. Herebeald was accidentally killed by his younger brother Hæthcyn (a death made all the more bitter because Hrethel was father of both slayer and slain, so no wergild could be paid nor vengeance exacted).
He gazes sorrowfully at his son’s dwelling,The king died heart-broken and was succeeded by Hæthcyn, who is killed by Ongentheow, the Swedish king, when war breaks out between the Geats and Swedes. As is related later in the poem (2922ff), the survivors of the battle are saved when Hygelac, the youngest son, arrives with a relief force. Ongentheow is forced to retreat to his stronghold and is killed. Hygelac now is king of the Geats and, although it is not explicitly stated, Ohthere, the son of the slain Ongentheow, king of the Swedes.
the banquet hall bereft of all delight,
the windswept hearthstone; the horsemen are sleeping,
the warriors under ground; what was is no more.
No tunes from the harp, no cheer raised in the yard.
Alone with his longing, he lies down on his bed
and sings a lament; everything seems too large
the steadings and the fields.
Just as Hrunting, the sword given to Beowulf by Unferth, fails the hero against Grendel’s mother, so Nægling does not pierce the dragon’s scales and finally snaps. It is Wiglaf, the loyal retainer, who strikes at the belly of the beast (just as Sigurd kills the dragon Fafnir), using a sword given to him by his father, who had taken it from Eanumund when he killed him.
From their description throughout the poem, one appreciates the power of swords in an heroic culture. Fearsome double-edged weapons that required two hands to wield them, they are ancient heirlooms, wonderfully crafted by smiths or giants, with decorated hilts and patterned blades. It is only because Beowulf is so strong that they break in his hands. “It never was his fortune to be helped in combat by the cutting edge of weapons made of iron.”
Finally, there is the nature of the dragon, itself, serpentine and, above all, fiery or burning, which occur in almost every reference to the creature. Indeed, it is not so much that Beowulf fights the dragon, itself, as he must combat its fire and heat.