(1) Beowulf the Dane:Son and successor of Scyld Scefing. He is to be distinguished from Beowulf the Geat, the hero of the poem. See genealogy of the Danish royal house. [35]
(2) Beowulf the Geat:Son of Ecgtheow and nephew of Hygelac. The hero of the poem. His mother was a daughter of the Geatish king Hrethel. See genealogy of the Geatish royal house. [686]
BrecaA prince of the Brondings, son of Beanstan. [1012]
BrondingsName of a tribe; it is not known where they lived. [1042]
BrosingsIn ancient Scandinavian legend, the Brosings (Brísingar) were fire‐dwarfs who made a magnificent golden necklace for the goddess Freyja. [2397]
CainOld Testament figure, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother Abel. In Beowulf he is presented as the progenitor of giants and monsters (including Grendel). [214]
DæghrefenA warrior of the Franks, killed by Beowulf the Geat. [5002]
DanesA Scandinavian people, inhabitants of Denmark. [93]
DenmarkAn early Scandinavian kingdom that consisted of the territory of modern Denmark plus the southern portion (Skåne) of present‐day Sweden. [12]
EadgilsA Swedish prince (later king), son of Ohthere. After his father’s death, the Swedish throne was seized by his uncle Onela, but he later gained it for himself with the help of Beowulf the Geat. See genealogy of the Swedish royal house. [4785]
Eagle BluffA seaside cliff in the land of the Geats. [6062]
EcgtheowFather of Beowulf the Geat. Like Weohstan and his son Wiglaf, Beowulf’s loyal follower and successor, Ecgtheow was a member of the family (or tribe) of the Wægmundings, which appears to have had interests in the realms of both the Swedes and the Geats. See genealogy of the Geatish royal house. [526]
GeatsA Scandinavian people who once occupied much of the southern portion of present‐day Sweden. Their kingdom appears ultimately to have been absorbed into that of their powerful neighbors the Swedes, as foretold—by implication—toward the end of Beowulf. [388]
HamaA Germanic hero associated with the Gothic kings Theoderic and Eormenric. According to a thirteenth‐century Scandinavian source, he ultimately repented of his sinful life and entered a monastery, bestowing his possessions upon it. [2396]
HeardredA king of the Geats, son and successor of Hygelac. After Heardred’s death at the hands of the Swedes, his cousin Beowulf became king of the Geats. See genealogy of the Geatish royal house. [4741]
HeorotThe name of the great hall built by the Danish king Hrothgar, ultimately destroyed by fire during hostilities between the Danes and the Heathobards. Danish chroniclers consistently locate the hall of the Scylding kings at Lejre, Zealand, and the remains of three great halls have now been found at that site. [156]
HeremodA Danish king infamous for stinginess and treachery, possibly the last member of the dynasty of kings that preceded Scyld Scefing and his descendants. [1804]
HerericBrother of Hygd, the queen of the Geatish king Hygelac, and therefore the uncle of Heardred. [4412]
HetwareA Frankish people living somewhere south of the mouth of the River Rhine. [4725]
HildeburhSister of the Danish leader Hnæf and wife of the Frisian king Finn. [2141]
HnæfA Danish chieftain, son of Hoc and brother of Hildeburh, slain during a visit to his sister’s husband Finn in Frisia. [2143]
HocA Danish chieftain, father of Hildeburh and Hnæf. [2152]
HondsciohA warrior of the Geats and companion of Beowulf, killed by Grendel. [4152]
HrothgarA Danish king, second son of Healfdene. It is during his reign that the monster Grendel terrorizes the Danes until killed by Beowulf the Geat. See genealogy of the Danish royal house. [121]
HrothulfSon of Halga and nephew of Hrothgar. Later Scandinavian sources imply that after Hrothgar’s death he assumed the Danish throne, excluding Hrothgar’s sons Hrethric and Hrothmund. See genealogy of the Danish royal house. [2029]
HygelacA king of the Geats, youngest of the three sons of Hrethel; husband of Hygd and father of Heardred. Beowulf the Geat is his nephew, the son of his sister. See genealogy of the Geatish royal house. [389]
IngeldA king of the Heathobards, son of Froda; betrothed to Hrothgar’s daughter Freawaru. [4049]
JutesA Germanic tribe living in mainland Denmark (Jutland). It is just possible that the word eotenas—in the original of verses 1806, 2145, 2187, and 2290—should be translated “giants” instead of “Jutes.” [1806]
Scyld Scefing“Scyld the son of Scef,” founder of the dynasty of Danish kings of which Hrothgar represents the culmination in terms of political power and glory. Scyld’s descendants and successors, and sometimes the Danish people as a whole, are called Scyldings. It is possible that Scyld came to the throne after a period of anarchy caused by the exile and death of Heremod. See genealogy of the Danish royal house. [7]
UnferthSon of Ecglaf; the official spokesperon (þyle) at Hrothgar’s court. It is possible that this figure’s name is really Hunferth, which is how the manuscript regularly spells it, though it always alliterates with vowels and is thus regularly emended by editors to Unferth. [997]
WægmundingsThe people (or family) to which Beowulf the Geat, Weohstan, and Wiglaf belong. [5214]
WælsFather of Sigemund. His name in Old Norse sources is Völs and his descendants are called Völsungar (Volsungs) after him. [1752]
WaylandThe famous semidivine smith of Scandinavian legend. [812]
WealhtheowHrothgar’s queen, mother of Hrethric andHrothmund. [1224]
WendelThe Wendels were a Germanic tribe who lived in what is now Vendelsyssel in North Jutland (Denmark). [696]
WeohstanFather of Wiglaf and slayer of the Swedish prince Eanmund. [5204]
Whale HeadlandSite of Beowulf the Geat’s burial mound. [5608]
WiglafSon of Weohstan; a Geatish warrior and kinsman of Beowulf. [5203]