This is a list of ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

'' characters. ''Beowulf'' is an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

heroic epic poem. Its creation dates to between the 8th and the 11th centuries, the only surviving manuscript dating to circa 1010. At 3183 lines, it is notable for its length. It has reached

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with as ...

status in England (although its setting is Scandinavia, not the British Isles).''The Question of genre in bylini and Beowulf'' by Shannon Meyerhoff, 2006
. There are a great many characters in ''Beowulf'' ranging from historical people such as Hygelac to purely mythological

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

Characters

* Ælfhere - a kinsman of Wiglaf and Beowulf * Æschere - Hroðgar's closest counselor and comrade, killed by Grendel's Mother. * Banstan - the father of Breca. * Beow or Beowulf - an early Danish king and the son of Scyld, but not the same character as the hero of the poem. *

- son of Ecgtheow, and the eponymous hero of the Anglo-Saxon poem. * Breca -

's childhood friend who competed with him in a swimming match. *

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...

- biblical character described as an ancestor of

Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem '' Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by a ...

who is infamous for killing his brother Abel, the first murder. Killing your kin was the greatest sin in Anglo-Saxon culture. * Dæghrefn - a Frankish warrior killed by Beowulf. * The Dragon - beast (Old English, wyrm) that ravages Beowulf's kingdom and which Beowulf must slay at the end of the poem. It is the cause of Beowulf's death. *

Eadgils Eadgils, ''Adils'', ''Aðils'', ''Adillus'', ''Aðísl at Uppsölum'', ''Athisl'', ''Athislus'' or ''Adhel'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century. ''Beowulf'' and Old Norse sources present h ...

- a Swedish king also mentioned extensively in the Norse sagas. * Eanmund - a Swedish prince, and the brother of Eadgils. * Ecglaf - Unferð's father. *

Ecgþeow Ecgþēow (pronounced ), Edgetho (Proto-Norse *''Agiþewaz''), or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic ''Beowulf''. He is not mentioned outside the ''Bēowulf'' manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. He ...

- Beowulf's father who belonged to the Swedish

Wægmunding The Wægmundings were a prominent probably Swedish clan (an ''ätt'', see Norse clans) in ''Beowulf''. A name such as ''Wægmunding'' meant "belongs to Wægmund", i.e. they were the descendants of a man named Wægmund. This was the normal way of n ...

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

. He joined the Geats after having been banished for killing the

Wulfing The Wulfings, Wylfings or YlfingsWord initial ''w'' was lost before rounded vowels in Proto-Norse, e.g. ''wulf'' corresponds to ''ulf'', and ''Wulfing''/''Wylfing'' corresponds to ''Ylfing'', because the ''i'' in the second syllable causes an umla ...

Heaðolaf, and married a Geatish princess. * Ecgwela - an earlier Danish king. * Elan - possibly an incomplete name for Hroðgar's sister, see Yrsa, below. * Eofor - the " boar". A Geatish warrior who avenged the death of Hæþcyn by slaying Ongenþeow during the Swedish-Geatish wars. He was recompensed with the daughter of king Hygelac. * Eomær - son of king

Offa of Angel Offa (nickname for Wulf) is a semi-legendary king of the Angles in the genealogy of the kings of Mercia presented in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. He is the son of Wermund and the father of Angeltheow. His name is also mentioned in the Old E ...

* Eormenric - a semi-legendary Gothic king of the 3rd and 4th centuries, mentioned by Roman historians. *

Finn The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nor ...

, a Frisian lord whose tale picks up where the

Finnsburg Fragment The "Finnesburg Fragment" (also "Finnsburh Fragment") is a portion of an Old English language, Old English heroic poem about a fight in which Hnæf and his 60 retainers are besieged at "Finn's fort" and attempt to hold off their attackers. The sur ...

ends. * Fitela - a Germanic hero * Folcwalda - the father of

Freawaru Freawaru, introduced in l. 2020 of the poem ''Beowulf'', is the daughter of King Hroðgar and Queen Wealhþeow. Freawaru is a ''freoðuwebbe'' or peace-weaver (an important concept in the poem) who is married to Ingeld, King of the Heaðobards an ...

- the daughter of King Hroðgar and Queen Wealhþeow and wife of Ingeld, king of the Heaðobards. * Froda king of the Heaðobard's and father of Ingeld. He also appears in Norse tradition. * Garmund - the father of

- one of three

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

s (along with Grendel's Mother and the dragon). * Grendel's mother - one of three antagonists (along with

and the dragon). Sometimes referred to as Hag. * Guðlaf - a warrior in Hnæf's retinue. * Healfdene - Hroðgar's father and predecessor, also prominent in Norse tradition. *

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

- a Germanic hero * Halga - Hroðgar's brother. He is hardly mentioned in ''Beowulf'' but he is a prominent character in Norse tradition. * Hæþcyn - the son of the Geatish king Hreðel. * Hæreð - the father of Hygd, queen of the Geats. * Heaðolaf -

killed by Beowulf's father Ecgþeow. * Heardred - the son of Hygelac, king of the Geats, and his queen Hygd. * Heming - a kinsman of Garmund * Hengest - a Danish lord who attacked the Frisians to avenge Hnæf * Heorogar - Hroðgar's brother and predecessor. *

Heoroweard Heoroweard is a character who appears in ''Beowulf'' and also in Norse legends, where he is named ''Hjörvarðr'' or ''Hiartuar''. If he existed in real life, his name would have been Proto-Norse *''Heruwarduz In the Norse sources, Hereoweard re ...

- Heorogar's son; Hroðgar's nephew. According to Norse tradition, his attempt to become king would cause the end of the Scylding clan. * Herebeald - the son of the Geatish king Hreðel. Beowulf was his nephew. Herebeald was killed with an arrow by his brother Hæþcyn in a hunting accident, which caused their father Hreðel to die from grief. His story may correspond to the myth of Baldr's death in Norse mythology. * Heremod - an early Danish king. * Hereric - a relative of Heardred *

Hildeburh Hildeburh, introduced in line 1071 of the poem, ''Beowulf'', is the daughter of the Danish King Hoc (Beowulf), Hoc and the wife of the Finn (Frisian), Finn, King of the Frisians. Her story is sung by a scop during festivities in lines 1071-1158. H ...

- the daughter of the Danish king Hoc and the wife of the

- king of the Frisians. * Hnæf - the son of the Danish lord Hoc and brother of

. He was killed by Finn. * Hoc - a Danish lord and the father of

and Hnæf. * Hondscio - a Geatish warrior. He is killed and devoured by Grendel, right before Beowulf fights and defeats the monster. * Hreðel - king of the Geats. *

Hreðric and Hroðmund Hreðric and Hroðmund were the sons of the Danish king Hroðgar and his queen, Wealhþeow, in the Old English epic '' Beowulf''. They are only mentioned in passing, and there seems to be some foreshadowing in ''Beowulf'' that their cousin, Halga' ...

, the two sons of Hroðgar. * Hroðgar - king of the Danes; married to Wealhþeow. Also prominent in Norse tradition. * Hroðulf (also known as ''Hrólfr Kraki''), Hroðgar's nephew, but more prominent in Norse tradition. * Hun - a Frisian warrior who gives Hengest the sword Lafing. * Hygd - queen of the Geats; the wife of King Hygelac. * Hygelac - king of the Geats; the husband of Hygd. Existence attested by other sources. Death during the poem dated to c 516. * Ingeld - a Heaðobard lord; married to Freawaru, daughter of Hroðgar. He also appears in Norse tradition. * Merewing - a Frankish king. * Modþryð - a princess, later queen, who punished inferiors who looked her directly in the eye; later marries, and is reformed by,

. *

, a king of the Angles who also appears in Norse tradition. * Ohthere - king of the Swedish house of Scylfings, and also mentioned in Norse tradition. The father of

and Eanmund, and the brother of Onela. * Onela - king of the Swedish house of

Scylfings The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...

, and also mentioned in Norse tradition. The brother of Ohthere. * Ongenþeow - king of Sweden. Slew the Geatish king Hæþcyn, but was himself killed by Eofor, during the Swedish-Geatish wars. * Oslaf - a warrior in Hnæf's retinue. * Scyld - (Scyld Scēfing) warrior king who founded the ruling house in Denmark. *

Sigemund In Norse mythology, Sigmund ( non, Sigmundr , ang, Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dra ...

- a legendary Germanic hero whom Beowulf is compared to. *

Swerting Swerting (Proto-Norse *''Swartingaz' is briefly mentioned in ''Beowulf'', where he had a son or son-in-law, Hrethel, who was the maternal grandfather of the hero Beowulf. The Heaðobard tradition A Swerting of the same timeframe also appears in Sca ...

- the grandfather of Hygelac * Unferð - a thegn of the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

lord Hroðgar. * Wæls - the father of

Wayland Smith In Germanic mythology, Wayland the Smith ( ang, Wēland; , ; Old Frisian: Wela(n)du; german: Wieland der Schmied; goh, Wiolant; ''Galans'' (''Galant'') in Old French; gem-x-proto, Wēlandaz, italic=no from ', lit. "crafting one") is a master ...

- a smith of Germanic legend who forged Beowulf's breast plate. * Wealhþeow - queen of the Danes; married to Hroðgar. * Weohstan - the father of

Wiglaf Wiglaf (Proto-Norse: *'' Wīga laibaz'', meaning "battle remainder"; ang, Wīġlāf ) is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf''. He is the son of Weohstan, a Swede of the Wægmunding clan who had entered the service of Beowulf, ki ...

and a Swedish warrior fighting for Onela. He also appears to be mentioned in a stanza in the '' Prose Edda''. *

- Beowulf's relative. A Swedish warrior of the Waegmunding

who helps

slay the dragon. * Wondred - the father of Eofor and Wulf. * Wulf - the brother of Eofor * Wulfgar - (wolf + spear) the herald of Hroðgar, renowned for his great wisdom. * Yrmenlaf - younger brother of Æschere. * Yrs(e) - a character borrowed from Norse tradition that appears in some translations (e.g., Burton Raffel) and commentaries, as an emendation of a corrupt line (62) where Hroðgar's sister is mentioned. His sister is, however, named ''Signy'' in Norse tradition ('' Skjöldunga saga'' and '' Hrólfr Kraki's saga''), whereas Yrsa was Halga's daughter and lover with whom he had Hroðulf.

Tribes and clans

* Brondings - the people of Breca. *

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

- a tribe having their centre on the island of Zealand. * Geats - a tribe whose centre was in modern Västergötland. *Finns -

Balto-Finnic peoples The Baltic Finnic or Balto-Finnic peoples, also referred to as the Baltic Sea Finns, Baltic Finns, sometimes Western Finnic and often simply as the Finnic peoples, are the peoples inhabiting the Baltic Sea region in Northern and Eastern Europe ...

inhabiting Finland and Estonia. * Franks - a powerful Germanic tribe on the Continent. *

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

- a tribe led by

living along the eastern shores of the North Sea. * Gifðas - the Gepids, a tribe which had migrated to the Balkans by the time of ''Beowulf''. They are mentioned in connection with Swedes and Danes, and it has been suggested that ''Beowulf'' refers to the people of

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

. * Heathobards, or Heaðo-beardnas, a clan or tribe at war with the Danes. *Helmings - the people of queen Wealhþeow. '' Widsith'' mentions Helm as the leader of the

s. *

Hetware The Chattuarii, also spelled Attoarii, were a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe of the Franks. They lived originally north of the Rhine in the area of the modern border between Germany and the Netherlands, but then moved southwards in the 4th cent ...

- a tribe part of the Franks, or allied with them. *Hugas - a name for the Franks or for a group of their allies. *Heaðoræmas - a tribe named ''Heaðoreamas'' appears in '' Widsith'', and -''reamas'' agrees with ON '' Raumar'' which positions the tribe in what is today south-eastern Norway. *

Ingwin Old Norse Yngvi , Old High German Ing/Ingwi and Old English Ingƿine are names that relate to a theonym which appears to have been the older name for the god Freyr. Proto-Germanic *Ingwaz was the legendary ancestor of the Ingaevones, or more acc ...

s - a name used for the Danes and which means "friends of Ing ( Freyr)". * Jutes (''Eotenas'') a tribe living in modern Jutland, and who took part in the migration to England. *Merewioingas, i.e. Merovingians - the ruling Frankish dynasty, by

metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

used to refer to the Frankish nation as a whole. * Sceadugenga - Shadow-Walkers * Scylding - the ruling

in Denmark, by

also used to refer to the Danish nation as a whole. *

Scylfing The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...

- the ruling

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, by

also used to refer to the Swedish nation as a whole. *

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

- a tribe who had their centre in modern Uppland. *

s - a Swedish

to which belonged

and

. Wiglaf is called "the last of the Wægmundings". *Wendlas - the people of Vendsyssel, the northernmost part of Jutland. *

- the

of Heaðolaf and possibly Wealhþeow. Old Norse sources describe them as the lords of

Notes

Sources

*
Modern English translation
' by John Lesslie Hall *
Old English edition
' edited by James Albert Harrison and Robert Sharp * Nerman, Birger (1925). "Det svenska rikets uppkomst". * *Ståhl, Harry (1976), ''Ortnamn och ortnamnsforskning'', Uppsala: Almquist & Wiksell, {{DEFAULTSORT:Beowulf, List of characters English heroic legends Beowulf, characters