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  • So Beowulf comes to Heorot and introduces himself to Hrothgar

  • and he says to Hrothgar that he is there on behest of his lord,

  • Hygelac, who has sent him to

  • rid Heorot of Grendel and Hrothgar recognizes the name Hygelac

  • says I knew him and I knew his family and he welcomes Beowulf in

  • as a courageous man coming to help him in his time

  • of need. He promises him to

  • this, that, and the other thing, but Beowulf says but what I really would like

  • is I would like first off that I, my men,

  • handle this demon, this creature this troll, all on our own

  • that we may be able to gain the glory. We'll deal with the

  • troll, with the Grendel, and protect

  • Heorot or cleanse Heorot and he asked then that if he

  • dies, that his body and his weapons be sent back to his lord, Hygelac,

  • and that if he wins glory, the glory also will go

  • to Hygelac as well and at the very end of his

  • speech, saying that I will do this, I will defeat Grendel,

  • I'll tackle this demon, he says let Wyrd take its course.

  • Wyrd is a concept which runs throughout the book, it's the concept

  • of fatedness, of the course of fate.

  • Not fate so much as we're all going to die or anything like that,

  • but rather, Wyrd as in that which is set down for us to do

  • and so is sort of like saying, let it be so or

  • as God wills it. Beowulf is saying here that whatever happens in this fight,

  • that's what's supposed to happen, he accepts it with

  • a certain amount of calm which registers, I think, a very

  • very great deal on the idea of him being a hero and controls himself

  • and ultimately he promises to Hrothgar that he will do this deed,

  • he will defeat the Grendel and he will free Heorot from the disaster of the

  • troll. So he says, "Wyrd evergoeth destined course."

  • And he accepts the fate that's laid down for him. Then he

  • is confronted by Unferth who ends up

  • suggesting that Beowulf is not that good, he is not going to be as good as he says

  • he is, and he will probably be defeated by Grendel

  • and Unferth poses a second challenge to Beowulf much like the original one

  • from the man there on the hills, the watchman.

  • We will see that in this next section.

So Beowulf comes to Heorot and introduces himself to Hrothgar

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