, and whose death comes in a glorious victory over the
powers of evil, a victory gained for the sake of others to whom
Beowulf feels that he owes protection and devotion.

The Story. The Coming and Passing of Scyld

Once, long ago, the Danish land owned the sway of a mighty monarch,
Scyld Scefing, the founder of a great dynasty, the Scyldings. This
great king Scyld had come to Denmark in a mysterious manner, since no
man knew whence he sprang. As a babe he drifted to the Danish shore in
a vessel loaded with treasures; but no man was with him, and there was
no token to show his kindred and race. When Scyld grew up he increased
the power of Denmark and enlarged her borders; his fame spread far and
wide among men, and his glory shone undimmed until the day when, full
of years and honours, he died, leaving the throne securely established
in his family. Then the sorrowing Danes restored him to the mysterious
ocean from which he had come to them. Choosing their goodliest ship,
they laid within it the corpse of their departed king, and heaped
around him all their best and choicest treasures, until the venerable
countenance of Scyld looked to heaven from a bed of gold and jewels;
then they set up, high above his head, his glorious gold-wrought
banner, and left him alone in state. The vessel was loosed from the
shore where the mourning Danes bewailed their departing king, and
drifted slowly away to the unknown west from which Scyld had sailed to
his now sorrowing people; they watched until it was lost in the
shadows of night and distance, but no man under heaven knoweth what
shore now holds the vanished Scyld. The descendants of Scyld ruled and
prospered till the days of his great-grandson Hrothgar, one of a
family of four, who can all be identified historically with various
Danish kings and princes.

Hrothgar's Hall

Hrothgar was a mighty warrior and conqueror, who won glory in battle,
and whose fame spread wide among men, so that nobly born warriors, his
kinsmen, were glad to serve as his bodyguard and to fight for him
loyally in strife. So great was Hrothgar's power that he longed for
some outward sign of the magnificence of his sway; he determined to
build a great hall, in which he could hold feasts and banquets, and
could entertain his warriors and thanes, and visitors from afar. The
hall rose speedily, vast, gloriously adorned, a great meeting-place
for men; for Hrothgar had summoned all his people to the work, and