I hope you enjoyed getting back into things yesterday. I know that before, I've discussed each section and the teaching of it, but I think I'm going to keep all those discussions until the end of the week (Sundays) so we can have one big discussion of the text and why it's important to teach to our modern students. On that note, I'm going to summarize lines 991-2143. Yay!
At this juncture in the text, another party begins for Beowulf's victory. Everyone eats, drinks, and is merry. Hrothgar then gives Beowulf gifts, such as armor, a sword, and eight horses with gold bridles and a treasured saddle. The narrator takes a moment to give Hrothgar a pat on the back because that's what kings are supposed to do as reward for a hero's deeds. Hrothgar also shares the wealth with the rest of the Geats (I mean, they helped a little bit). Hrothgar and Beowulf also have to discuss the Geat who died. In medieval Scaninavian culture, there was a death-price to be paid when a man dies to prevent tribes from having a feud. It essentially becomes life insurance for the dead man's family. Hrothgar's minstrel then sings of old adventures. He sings of a tale that ends in betrayal and rebellion, but don't worry because in real life everyone is drunk and happy.
Next, Wealhtheow sits between Hrothgar and their nephew, Hrothulf (what wonderful names, right?). Unferth, remember him? That guy that Beowulf insulted for being cowardly? Yeah, he's being praised for his courage even though he killed his brothers recently. Don't worry, you didn't miss any of the summary and I didn't mess up; this is the first time the text mentions that. Anyway, Wealhtheow gives Hrothgar some alcohol and talks about their good fortune and wonderful family. She tells Hrothgar the Hrothulf is a loyal member of the family and he would take care of the tribe and Hrothgar's young sons if Hrothgar died. A goblet is then brought to Beowulf who is sitting in between Hrothgar's sons. Beowulf gets more gifts, one being a gold necklace. The narrator tells us that the necklace will be worn by Beowulf's king in his last battle. The Franks will then steal it from his corpse. Talk about foreboding. Wealhtheow then wishes Beowulf luck in his life and gives him a blessing.
Everyone parties some more, but the narrator knows that something bad is about to happen. Hrothgar goes to sleep and the rest of the warriors sleep in Heorot Hall because Grendel is dead, so they should be safe--right? Wrong. We find out that at least one of the men is going to die. As the warriors sleep, they keep their armor and weapons nearby. Grendel is dead, but did anyone ever think about his parents? Apparently not the Geats or Danes. Grendel's mom is distraught over her son's death and is ready to take revenge on the Geats and Danes. She comes to the hall and attacks the warriors, who are sound asleep. The warriors wake up and grab their gear, but Grendel's mom panics (by the way, she is never named, which is an interesting point to discuss with your students. The following link will take you to a discussion about it: Grendel's Mother.) As she panics, she grabs one of Hrothgar's men and dashes back to the marsh. Why didn't Beowulf fight her? Well, he was off sleeping in another room because Hrothgar didn't want to make the great warrior sleep on the floor. Back in the hall, everyone is freaking out. Grendel's mother killed many men, but also took back Grendel's severed arm. When Hrothgar hears that one of his men was taken, he is beside himself because he was one of his closest friends. Hrothgar ponders if God will ever help him.
He sends for Beowulf, who has no idea what just happened. Hrothgar tells Beowulf they have another demon problem (they need to call GhostBusters). Hrothgar says that they will be haunted by Grendel's mother because the culture they live in endorses the idea that a killing brings another killing and the death of someone leads to violence between the two parties. Hrothgar tells Beowulf that there was a legend of two demons, male and female, who plagued their people, so that must be Grendel and his mother.
Grendel and his mother lived in a place where streams turn to mist. Hrothgar tells Beowulf that a few miles away, there is a strange lake, like one you would see in scary movies. As far as anyone can tell, it's bottomless and at night the water burns. Hrothgar posits that Grendel's mother lives in this lake. He puts his faith in Beowulf (who wouldn't?), and asks him to kill Grendel's mother. If he does, he'll receive more treasure. Beowulf gives some warrior code talk to Hrothgar saying that he shouldn't mourn his friend's death because it's better to avenge the death of loved ones than grieve. All warriors can do is win in battle before they are eventually killed. Beowulf promises to track down Grendel's mother and kill her.
Hrothgar praises God for Beowulf. Hrothgar, Beowulf, and their men leave to track Grendel's mother. She's pretty easy to follow because she's leaving a blood trail from the body of Hrothgar's man. The party follows her up the cliffs and it's a dangerous trek. They wind up at a dead end above the watery den of Grendel's mother. They then see Hrothgar's man's head on the ground, which is pretty disturbing. The group sits down to watch the water, which is filled with creatures. Beowulf puts on his armor so he isn't crushed by the monsters. Unferth actually lets Beowulf use a sword called Hrunting, which has never lost a battle. The narrator suspects that Unferth doesn't remember his drunken speech where he said Beowulf wasn't a great warrior. Unferth just isn't courageous enough to do what Beowulf does. Beowulf says goodbye to Hrothgar, telling him to take care of his men if he dies. Also, Hrothgar must send his treasure to King Hygelac and the Unferth gets the sword back. Beowulf then jumps into the lake.
Grendel's mother feels another human in the water and catches him, but she can't rip him to pieces because of his armor. Grendel's mother carries him to her "court" and he doesn't have a chance to use his sword. Multiple sea-monsters attack Beowulf and tear his armor. Beowulf sees Grendel's mother and swings his sword down onto her head, but it doesn't cut her. He remembers how he beat Grendel with his hands and decides to not use weapons; bare hands are better. The two wrestle. Beowulf trips and falls. Grendel's mother stabs him with a knife, but his armor turns the blade. Beowulf finds a sword that's huge and from the days of the giants. He cuts Grendel's mother's neck and kills her.
The lair becomes brighter after she dies. Beowulf finds Grendel's body and chops his head off. Back on land, the men are anxiously waiting for Beowulf. Hrothgar and his men leave, thinking that Beowulf has been killed, but the Geats stay. The sword that Beowulf used to decapitate Grendel's mother melted because her blood does that (who knew?). Beowulf sees a vast amount of treasure but only takes the hilt of the melted sword and Grendel's head.
Beowulf swims back to the surface where the Geats are overjoyed that he's returned. The men go back to Heorot Hall and it takes four men to carry Grendel's head. Beowulf then recounts the battle, giving credit to God for his victory. Beowulf gives the hilt to Hrothgar, which is engraved with Scandinavian myths. Hrothgar praises Beowulf and gives a lengthy discussion of how God is in charge of their lives and He should be the focus because everyone eventually dies. He says that Grendel made him realize he wasn't all-powerful. They all have another party and feast. Everyone goes to sleep that night and sleeps soundly. The Geats wake up early to go home and Beowulf remembers to give the sword back to Unferth. Beowulf thanks Hrothgar for being so kind to the Geats and asks if there is anything else he can do for Hrothgar. Hrothgar thanks Beowulf and talks about the peace between the Geats and Danes. Hrothgar doles out some more treasure and sends Beowulf on his way, crying that he most likely won't live to see Beowulf again.
The Geats finally leave and go back to their ship. They load up the treasure and set sail for home. They get home and carry their treasure to King Hygelac's hall, where Queen Hygd warmly greets them. They are then greeted by Hygelac and they all sit, drink, and talk. Beowulf is asked to tell the tale of his victory. He talks about his defeat of Grendel and his mother. He also says that Hrothgar was very generous and discusses the kindness of his daughter Freawaru. Beowulf says that Freawaru is engaged to Ingeld, who is the leader of the Heathobards. Hrothgar hopes that this marriage will end the war between the two tribes. Beowulf realizes this isn't as exciting as talking about Grendel so he gets back to that story.
That's it for today. Not too bad, right? Tomorrow I'll finish up the text.
Until then,
Cassy
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