Beowulf Major Characters
Beowulf: Mythical son of Edgetho, Higlac’s nephew and follower/bound warrior. Later king of the Geats, he was born A.D. 495, traveled to Denmark to rid Hrothgar’s Herot of Grendel in 515, and later accompanied Higlac on an expedition against the Franks and Frisians in 521. He became king of the Geats in 533, and reigned until his death. Hrothgar, the King of the Danes, befriended Beowulf’s father, which explains Beowulf’s journey to aid Hrothgar in ridding Denmark of the monster Grendel.
Grendel: A man-eating monster who terrorizes the Danish people, until he is later killed by the warrior Beowulf. Grendel lives, with his monstrous mother, at the bottom of a foul lake, which a variety of other monsters inhabit. He is descended from Cain ('the progenitor of all evil spirits'). The root of his name is perhaps related to the Old Norse grindill, meaning 'storm,' and grenja, 'to bellow,' and to other words which mean 'ground, (bottom) of a body of water,' and 'grinder (destroyer).'
Hathcyn: A king of the Geats, Hrethel’s second son, who takes the throne after accidentally killing his older brother, Herbald. He is eventually killed by Ongentho, king of the Swedes, in a war in which Ongentho is killed by a second band of Geats, led by Higlac.
Higd: Wife of Higlac, daughter of Hareth. Her name means 'thoughtful' or 'prudent'. Her mother is unmentioned, and unimportant in this period, as women were specifically and only mentioned for their fathers and husbands, or when used as peace-gifts between feuding tribes.
Hrothgar: A Danish king who was the second son of Healfdane. He built Herot, the great hall in Denmark and was terrorized by Grendel’s violent massacres upon his people, until Beowulf’s arrival and murder of Grendel. A major character, Hrothgar is portrayed as 'wise, brave, yet troubled' at the end of his life, mainly because of Grendel and Grendel’s mother, in addition to memories of his famed past, and issues dealing with who will succeed the throne after his death.
Onela: A king of the Swedes and the youngest son of Ongentho. He is married to the Danish king's (Healfdane’s) daughter and assumes the Swedish throne after the death of his older brother. He later invaded Geatland after his two nephews fled to join Herdred, the king of the Geats. Onela then killed the oldest nephew but the younger lived. Later, Beowulf ruled the Geats, and invaded Sweden with Onela’s younger nephew, who then killed Onela and ruled Sweden.
Shild: A king of the Danes, father to Beo, grandfather to Healfdane and great-grandfather to Hrothgar. A mythological character with parallel personages in Scandinavian mythology (such as Skjoldr related to religious and argricultural cycles).
Thrith: Wife of Offa, king of the Angles. She was a 'haughty, violent young woman' who was 'tamed and gentled' by her stronger husband upon marriage. No further explanation is given for this or her origin.
Wayland: A celebrated mythic smith recounted in many Germanic poems of the period. As Raffel states directly, 'to ascribe a sword or a mail shirt to his gifted hammer was to evoke an automatic association of wonderful workmanship and, in most cases, also of wonderful men and deeds.'
Wiglaf: A Geat warrior who is also somehow related to Beowulf. Son of Wexstan, he is thought to be partially Swedish. He travels with Beowulf when he fights the dragon, and is the only one of Beowulf’s band who comes to his aid during the battle. He becomes king presumably after Beowulf’s death.
Yrs: Healfdane’s daughter. Raffel uses her name in his translation, although it is not actually provided due to gaps present in the text. He believes that the character is most accurately and historically identified as Yrs.
Grendel’s Mother: The mother of Grendel, the monster, progeny of the cursed line of Cain. Living in the underground lair of fire, she avenges her son’s murder by Hrothgar’s best advisor, and is eventually murdered by Beowulf.
Dragon: A dragon who lived hundreds of years inside a castle guarding ancient treasure until disturbed by a fleeing slave. It’s wrath caused it to ravage Geatland, burning up entire villages with its fiery breath. It is finally killed in a battle with King Beowulf, in which both he and the dragon perish.
Hondshew: A warrior, a Geat, and a companion to Beowulf during his voyage to Denmark and King Hrothgar’s court. He is killed and eaten by Grendel when Beowulf and the Geats stay in Herot to wait for Grendel’s attack.