At last the raucous laughter stops and only the gentle snores of the sleeping bodies can be heard. Quickly Grendel slinks out of his lair and falls upon the unknown warriors, thinking he will have another easy meal. Then all of a sudden a hand grips him tightly, and soon he finds himself locked in combat with Beowulf. Grendel seizes his magic to make the warrior's weapons fail, then he realizes that the warrior is seeking to kill the demon with his bare hands! Grendel is scared now, and struggles to escape his death. Finally Grendel manages to break free, but he is forced to tear his arm off to get rid of Beowulf's death grip. Beowulf and the people of Herot cheer and soon hold another feast to mark the end of terror's reign.
But that very night, evil again sneaks into the hall to bring tragedy to those who sleep. This time Grendel's mother seeks revenge for her son, who is hiding in their lair slowly dying of his mortal wound. Being smaller and weaker than her son, Grendel's mother only kills one man before leaving the hall. But that one man was the close companion of King Hrothgar.
Beowulf, in a fit of rage, jumps into the black lake that hides Grendel's lair, armor and all. During his descent, Grendel's mother, a she-wolf, intertwines herself around the hero, hoping to sink her teeth through the armor and into the soft flesh underneath. The two fight furiously, and then Beowulf spies a magical giant's broadsword hanging on the cave wall. Gripping the pommel tightly, Beowulf decapitates the head of the she-wolf and then goes searching for Grendel himself. He finds the beast dead, still clutching his wound, in the far reaches of the cave. Beowulf severs the head to take as a trophy, along with the pommel stone of the giant's broadsword.
He returns to the world above to find that everyone had thought him dead. Soon another celebration is started in Herot, one that can be finished without waking to find a nightmare. The evil had finally left the land of Hrothgar and the people could live without fear.
Many years later, when Beowulf has become an aged king, a dragon comes upon his kingdom like a black plague, causing destruction and death wherever he travels. Taking up his responsibility to protect his people, Beowulf heads off to kill the creature, accepting armor and a sword to compensate for his age.
Upon reaching the dragon's cave, Beowulf roars a challenge and the dragon meets him in a clash of strength. The battle seems to be going well, until one notices that Beowulf's armor is melting in the heat of the dragon's flames. The band of warriors that had accompanied their liege flee as the prospect of defeat becomes a reality. All except for Wiglaf, who runs to help his friend. Together they defeat the dragon, but at the expense of a mortal wound to Beowulf. Keeping to the wishes of his king, Wiglaf rushes into the lair to gather the finest of the dragon's treasure hoard so that Beowulf might die in all the glory he is merited. In his final moments, Beowulf passes his right of kingship and everything he owns to Wiglaf.
Wiglaf builds a lighthouse for Beowulf's cairn, and every lord under his rule pay homage to their great leader, Beowulf. |
