The poem explores his heroism in two separate phasesyouth and ageand through three separate and increasingly difficult conflictswith grendel, grendels mother, and the dragon. The ogre is vulnerable because beowulf uses no weapons, and the hero has the strength of 30 men in his grip. It was composed by germanic people more than twelve hundred years ago. Beowulf and his men go to heorot first for a formal audience with hrothgar, second for a feast and wild party, and third, at the end of the night, for a place to bed down with their armor and weapons right beside them, ready for action. It was also named heort because of its hartantler decoration. Each meadhall is a palace, a cafeteria, a bar, and a barracks all in one a visible symbol of the intense. So instead of arming for the upcoming confronatation the first night in heorot, beowulf disarms and fights grendel barehanded. Heorot or herot is a meadhall and major point of focus in the anglosaxon poem beowulf. Then, as i have heard, the work of constructing a building was proclaimed to many a tribe. The symbol of heorot and meadhalls in beowulf from litcharts. After that, its obviously all downhill, so this is definitely the denouement. The anonymous author of beowulf praises heorot as large enough to allow hro. Below is a summary of all the events that transpire in the old english epic poem, beowulf.
This passage from beowulf describes the battle in heorot, hrothgars wine and feasting hall, between the hellbound creature grendel and the hero beowulf. The hall is generally held to correspond to the great. During those years the monster persecuted the king devouring some of his soldiers. A descendant of cain, grendel is described as a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of god, the. Hrothgars daughter, danish princess, married off to settle a fued. This lesson details the importance of heorot, the mead hall in the epic poem, beowulf. The symbol of heorot and meadhalls in beowulf from. Hrothgars mead hall heorot, as seen in beowulf, is defined in chapter one. Beowulf comes to denmark in order to help hrothgar by killing grendel, the monster that has terrorized heorot for twelve years.
Translated into modern english, heorot means hart, which is a male deer or a stag. The geats give beowulf a splendid funeral and prepare to be attacked by their neighbors. Grendel is a maneating demon never a good sign that lives in the land of the speardanes and attacks king hrothgars meadhall, heorot, every evening. He doubts beowulfs power to defeat grendel, claiming that it is luck that has been helping beowulf in his previous encounters. Beowulf is considered the oldest surviving poem in the english language. As a young man, beowulf was known as the strongest man alive. What does the description of heorot, in beowulf, say about. Beowulf comes to denmark in order to help hrothgar by killing grendel, the monster. The narrator of beowulf claims that grendels motivation is hearing hrothgars bard sing songs about gods creation of the world, which rubs his demonic nature the wrong way whatever the reason, every night grendel slaughters more danes and. Then, as i have heard, the work of constructing a building was proclaimed to many a tribe throughout this middle earth. The chief of the strangers rendered him answer, wartroopers leader, and wordtreasure opened.
Later grendels mother attacks the inhabitants of the hall, and she too is subsequently defeated by beowulf. In many ways, grendel is the most interesting character in the epic. About beowulf beowulf summary character list lines 1193 lines 194709 lines 710915 lines 9161250 lines 12511649 lines 16501887 lines 18882199 lines 22002537 lines 25382819 lines 28203182 related links citations. The only surprising aspect of the depiction of heorot in beowulf is the assertion. Unexpectedly, young beowulf, a prince of the geats of southern sweden, arrives with a small band of retainers and offers to cleanse heorot of its monster. He is a courtier, jealous of beowulf, who feels inferior to beowulf. In the translation of beowulf that weve used, king hrothgars meadhall is called heorot, which is its name in old english. In the poem, he is involved in various activities that are influenced by the fury that is depended on human feelings of jealousy and resentment. Although it is written in old english, it deals with the scandinavian forebears of the anglosaxons, the danes and the geats.
After the monster grendel slaughters the inhabitants of the hall, the geatish hero beowulf defends the royal hall before subsequently defeating him. Beowulf and his men leave geatland to help king hrothgar. As a young man beowulf fought in many battles and as a result showed his great character to others. Beowulf the protagonist of the epic, beowulf is a geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendels mother, and a firebreathing dragon. Heorot was invaded by the monster, grendel, for twelve years.
He rips grendels right claw from its shoulder socket, mortally wounding the beast and sending him scurrying in retreat. The character of grendel in beowulf from litcharts the. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. The hall, located in denmark, serves as a seat of rule for king hrothgar, a legendary danish king. Herot is where hrothgars men were killed by grendel and where grendel was defeated by beowulf. Upon learning of grendels defeat, unferth is impressed by beowulf and. The road to heorot was paved with stone and their stamping feet made it sing out as the men marched along. The guardians of the coast are alarmed by the arrival of elaborately armed men, but beowulf explains the mission.
Heorot is the danish king hrothgars meadhall, which beowulf defends against the monster. Herot hall of the hart is the name of the mead hall, or common gathering. The old english epic poem was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries and is set in scandinavia, where mead halls. Bewoulfs unusually high and internal sense of honor shows most clearly when he refuses the geatish throne because the son of. Beowulf had many characteristics which helped him to succeed in battle. In the beowulf poem, grendel can be described as being among the interest characters, this is because. It may have taken the name heort or heorot meaning hart because it was decorated with deer antlers. Grendel, fictional character, a monstrous creature defeated by beowulf in the old english poem beowulf composed between 700 and 750 ce. When grendel comes to kill them, beowulf fights him. Grendel is described as a very large, very strong, bloodthirsty, and cannibalistic creature. Beowulf is an exemplary human being who functions as an ideal person.
What is the physical description of grendel in the epic. She authored the forward for the complete idiots guide to the crusades. Hygelacbeowulfs uncle king of the geats married to hygd. Beowulf is mortally wounded, but manages to kill the dragon and win its hoard of treasure.
Description essay of grendel in beowulf poem summarystory. He revenges himself upon humans by terrorizing and occasionally devouring the warriors of the danish king hrothgar. The hall heorot is attacked by grendel beowulf is one of the greatest surviving epic poems. Description of heorot from the text battle with grendel. Beowulf lines 194 661 beowulf in heorot summary course hero. In beowulf, heorot is illustrated as a grand hall built by the danish king hrothgar for his village. Heorot tolkiens meduseld, hall of kings stories to.
The 2007 film beowulf, directed by robert zemeckis, depicts heorot as a loud and boisterous place, and suggests that the noise is the source of grendels anger. Everyone drinks and socializes in heorot as part of a daily ritual. Was proclaimed to many a tribe throughout this middle earth. Heorot, also herot, is a meadhall described in the anglosaxon epic beowulf as the foremost of halls under heaven. Hrothgar is king of the danes and saved beowulfs father from certain death, thus earning the loyalty of beowulf. Beowulfs boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. Well go over grendels attack on the mead hall and the. Beowulfs defeat of grendels mother demonstrates remarkable courage and perseverance. He is known as one of the first great kings of the danes. Descended from the biblical cain, grendel is an outcast, doomed to wander the face of the earth. It is described as the foremost of halls under heaven, constructed of timber and gilded in gold.
This is how the description of heorot would have sounded in the days of beowulfs composition. In words, how would you describe beowulf the character. It opens in denmark, where king hrothgars splendid mead hall, heorot, has been ravaged for 12 years by nightly visits from an evil monster, grendel, who carries off hrothgars warriors and devours them. Loaded with battle gear, beowulf and his men board a ship and sail to the danish coast. The description of heorot from the text battle with grendel is a mead hall defined in the anglo saxon epic beowulf as the foremost of halls. Although we can view these three encounters as expressions of the heroic code, there is perhaps a clearer. The giant claw later hangs from heorots roof as a trophy. His courage and effectiveness in fighting is balanced by his love for family, generosity, compassion, and overall avoidance of. Beowulf was distinguished among his people, the geats, for his bravery. The king and his warriors would gather in the hall to eat, plan battles, hear entertainers and drink mead an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and water. Beowulf tears grendels arm off from his body and sticks it on the wall as a trophy. In beowulf, heorot is a mead hall, a gathering place for warriors.
For the danes in beowulf, thats the role of heorot, their mead hall. When they could all see the hall before them, the watchman said now i must go back to guarding the cliffs. Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero. Heorot is mentioned in the epic poem beowulf as meadhalls are in anglosaxon history and can easily be compared to the dining halls of today. Heorot, as the largest meadhall in the world, symbolized the might and power of the speardanes under hrothgar. Beowulf, a powerful, confident, handsome warrior motivated by loyalty and obligation to aid hrothgar, enters the story.
As heorot is a symbol of such society and companionship, being the place where the danes congregate to eat, drink, tell stories, build fellowship among each other, and share in the generosity of their king, grendels attack on heorot is thus symbolic as an attack on the idea of society itself. Beowulf was a good fighter and contained the attributes admired at the time. Then hrothgar was sent success in war, glory in fighting, so gladly his friends. Beowulfs father was ecgneow and his right hand man was wiglaf. From the description of its high towers and gables it is sometimes compared to old scandinavian stave churches. Melissa snell is a historical researcher and writer specializing in the middle ages and the renaissance. Beowulf is a warrior from geatland modern southern sweden. The claw hangs from heorots roof, a macabre trophy. He is one of the poems three antagonists along with grendels mother and the dragon, all aligned in opposition against the protagonist beowulf. Grendel is a character in the anglosaxon epic poem beowulf ad 700. The ensuing battle nearly destroys heorot but ends with a victory for beowulf. From an anglosaxon context heorot means hart, and is equated.