Show FAMOUS STORIES beowulf saga ts Is anonymous tale of valor by ELIZABETH 0 JAMES ASA S A youth beowulf had the reau ix tation of being the bravest among his tribe swimming fighting and fishing tn in the open boats of the north men gave sturdiness and valor to him and to his friends when he was still young he became known as a chieftain warrior partly because his father was king but al also s because the tha warriors liked to follow him in battle there came a message one day from beo B e 0 fulfs uncle whose kingdom lay j just u s t across the waters in the land known today as denmark the message begged eliza elizabeth eth that beowulf and his james warriors w would 0 u I 1 d come over and help rid the land of a fearful dragon named grendel at once beowulf and a chosen group of his best men launched their boats and set out for the land of their kinsmen on their arrival gave a feast in the long m mead ead hall while this feasting and joy reigned there sounded a roar it was grendell battle to death the monster seized a warrior with each hand knocked the two together and began to eat them for his saper supper but the dragon was safely away before anything was done the next night beowulf was ready when grendel approached beowulf met him and there ensued a terrible light fight between the man and the dragon using his powerful and tru trusted st ed sword beowulf defended himself seizing the dragons arm he pulled with all his astren strength ath and tore it from its soc socket ket howling with pain grendel fled knowing that the monster would likely die from so dreadful a wound there was great rejoicing in the mead hall until another roar re sounded through the night G gren ren dels mother a fierce dragon now RECORDED BY MONKS monka no one knows who wrote the stories concerning the hero beowulf the poem as we have it today was recorded about the eighth century but the events which underlie the epic occurred about five centuries before that by memory the legends came down through the generations perhaps the story tellers vied with each other in relating the most entertaining account of their hero perhaps some of the stories were sung to dancing around rou d camp mp fires came in fury to avenge the death of her son she did not fight that night so the next day beowulf tracked her to her lair by the blood stams stains of grendel the trad led to the side of a black tarn A whole day it took him to reach the bottom of the waters there he saw a vast cavern in which he knew the dragons made their abode holding his sword ready he called grendell Gren dels mother came forth eager tor for battle long they fought and beowulf found that his mortal made sword was impotent against this supernatural per natural being looking around he saw a sword hanging on the wall of the cavern seizing it he stabbed and killed the dragon beowulf triumphs having killed the mother dragon he went into the cavern and found the body of grendel from which he cut the head to use as a trophy troph carrying this he began his asce ascent yi to the surface of the lake wh where ere he found his warriors mournful for their leader whom they feared dead V when llen the king had become an 0 old id man he heard of a vast horde 0 of f treasure which a fire drake had discovered the treasure had been buried three centuries before by an earl coveting this treasure for his people beowulf determined to have it only one warrior out of the entire kingdom dared to follow his lord into such a battle long and arduously beowulf fought with this monster the dragon charged once and a second time but beowulf guarded himself A third time the dragon hurled himself at his enemy and this time he fastened his fangs in the throat of the king rushing to the aid of his king the faithful warrior thrust his sword into the side of the dragon and forced him to loosen his grip on beowulf although the warriors arm was burned he stayed with the king beowulf recovered himself and plunged his knife into the coils of the fire drake cuttin cutting him through soon after the death of the dragon the wound in the kings throat grew worse with swelling and pain there was a fever which grew hotter and hotter until the king knew that be was to die he rewarded his faithful warrior by making him his successor and he divided the treasure among his subjects reminding his bis people of the glory of their race the hero died 0 ben bell syndicate service lc |