The International Congress of Medieval Studies
Share your thoughts on tonight’s performance, and I’ll thank you with an excerpt of the new translation, which you can share with friends, students, and colleagues. If you’re interested, click here!
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Beowulf and the Viking Age →
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Beowulf and Alfred the Great →
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Apotropaic Magic in Beowulf →
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The Riddle of Beowulf’s Villainy →
Story Background
Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, builds a towering golden mead hall to celebrate his success in war. Hrothgar proudly names the hall “Heorot.” But what Hrothgar doesn’t know is that his great hall is doomed. It will one day burn to the ground when his “good” Danish warriors betray each other. From this prediction of doom and kin-killing, a demon warrior emerges: Grendel, the doomed offspring of Cain, the first kin-killer. Grendel attacks Heorot, carrying off 30 Danes with one arm. Night after night, the demon warrior attacks. And for 12 long years, Hrothgar and his Danish warriors suffer Grendel’s Viking-style atrocities.
Tonight’s Story:
Far off in the Viking land of the Geats [yay-ats], a gigantic warrior named Beowulf gathers 15 men and sets sail for the land of the Danes. After they arrive, the Danes celebrate–until night falls, and King Hrothgar exits the hall. Then Beowulf removes his armor and explains: Because Grendel fights weaponless, Beowulf will fight the same–the better to prove his prowess in battle. However, the fight takes a twist when Beowulf seizes Grendel by the hand. The demon cannot endure this gesture of covenant and good faith, a gesture the Anglo-Saxons knew as a “hand-fasting,” and a gesture we know as a “handshake.” Beowulf is clueless about Grendel’s demonic reaction, but he holds fast until Grendel, like an animal trapped, rips his body away from his arm.
After Grendel’s defeat, Heorot celebrates. Hrothgar adopts Beowulf as his son and honors him with the Sovereign Sword of his father, Healfdane–a gift that risks provoking Danish resentment. Then a scop relates a story about a conflict between the Danes and their enemies, the Frisians. A queen of the Danes (Hildeburh) marries a Frisian prince (Finn) as a way to build covenant bonds between the warring nations. But the peace ends in a conflagration of violence when Hildeburh’s brother (Hnaef) comes with his Danish entourage to visit her in the land of the Frisians. After the tale about the Danes and the Frisians, Hrothgar’s queen, Wealhtheow, petitions the king to leave the kingdom to their sons, and she gives Beowulf a massive golden collar as a reward. The narrator reveals that the collar will one day be worn by Beowulf’s king, Hygelac, in his infamous battle against the Frisians and the Merovingian Franks. The scene closes as the warriors bed down for the night.
Thank you to our illustrious Crew!
- Sam Schultz (Grendel) and Will Rogers (Beowulf) just earned their Masters in Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University. Please congratulate them!
- Brilliant thanks also to our lights crew! Alex Corpuz, Lucy Erbes, Mitch Rogers-MacDonald, and Paige Clark.
After Grendel’s defeat, Heorot celebrates. Hrothgar adopts Beowulf as his son and honors him with the Sovereign Sword of his father, Healfdane–a gift that risks provoking Danish resentment. Then a scop relates a story about a conflict between the Danes and their enemies, the Frisians. A queen of the Danes (Hildeburh) marries a Frisian prince (Finn) as a way to build covenant bonds between the warring nations. But the peace ends in a conflagration of violence when Hildeburh’s brother (Hnaef) comes with his Danish entourage to visit her in the land of the Frisians. After the tale about the Danes and the Frisians, Hrothgar’s queen, Wealhtheow, petitions the king to leave the kingdom to their sons, and she gives Beowulf a massive golden collar as a reward. The narrator reveals that the collar will one day be worn by Beowulf’s king, Hygelac, in his infamous battle against the Frisians and the Merovingian Franks. The scene closes as the warriors bed down for the night. After Grendel’s defeat, Heorot celebrates. Hrothgar adopts Beowulf as his son and honors him with the Sovereign Sword of his father, Healfdane–a gift that risks provoking Danish resentment. Then a scop relates a story about a conflict between the Danes and their enemies, the Frisians. A queen of the Danes (Hildeburh) marries a Frisian prince (Finn) as a way to build covenant bonds between the warring nations. But the peace ends in a conflagration of violence when Hildeburh’s brother (Hnaef) comes with his Danish entourage to visit her in the land of the Frisians. After the tale about the Danes and the Frisians, Hrothgar’s queen, Wealhtheow, petitions the king to leave the kingdom to their sons, and she gives Beowulf a massive golden collar as a reward. The narrator reveals that the collar will one day be worn by Beowulf’s king, Hygelac, in his infamous battle against the Frisians and the Merovingian Franks. The scene closes as the warriors bed down for the night. After Grendel’s defeat, Heorot celebrates. Hrothgar adopts Beowulf as his son and honors him with the Sovereign Sword of his father, Healfdane–a gift that risks provoking Danish resentment. Then a scop relates a story about a conflict between the Danes and their enemies, the Frisians. A queen of the Danes (Hildeburh) marries a Frisian prince (Finn) as a way to build covenant bonds between the warring nations. But the peace ends in a conflagration of violence when Hildeburh’s brother (Hnaef) comes with his Danish entourage to visit her in the land of the Frisians. After the tale about the Danes and the Frisians, Hrothgar’s queen, Wealhtheow, petitions the king to leave the kingdom to their sons, and she gives Beowulf a massive golden collar as a reward. The narrator reveals that the collar will one day be worn by Beowulf’s king, Hygelac, in his infamous battle against the Frisians and the Merovingian Franks. The scene closes as the warriors bed down for the night.