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The epic poem begins with a brief genealogy of the Danes. Scyld Shefing was the first greatking of the Danes, known for his ability to conquer enemies. Scyld becomes the great-grandfatherof Hrothgar, the king of theDanes during the events of Beowulf.Hrothgar, like his ancestors before him, is a good king, and he wishes to celebratehis reign by building a grand hall called Heorot.

Once the hall is finished, Hrothgar holds a large feast. Therevelry attracts the attentions of the monster Grendel, who decides to attackduring the night. In the morning, Hrothgar and his thanes discover thebloodshed and mourn the lost warriors. This begins Grendel's assault upon theDanes.

Twelve years pass. Eventually the news of Grendel's aggression onthe Danes reaches the Geats, another tribe. A Geat thane, Beowulf, decides tohelp the Danes; he sails to the land of the Danes with his best warriors. Upontheir arrival, Hrothgar's thane Wulfgarjudges the Geats worthy enough to speak with Hrothgar. Hrothgar remembers whenhe helped Beowulf's father Ecgtheowsettle a feud; thus, he welcomes Beowulf's help gladly.

Heorot is filled once again for a large feast in honor of Beowulf.During the height of the celebration, the Danish queen Wealhtheow comes forth, bearing themead-cup. She presents it first to Hrothgar, then to the rest of the hall, andfinally to Beowulf. As he receives the cup, Beowulf tells Wealhtheow that hewill kill Grendel or be killed in Heorot. This simple declaration movesWealhtheow and the Danes, and the revelry continues. Finally, everyone retires.Before he leaves, Hrothgar promises to give Beowulf everything if he can defeatGrendel. Beowulf says that he will leave God to judge the outcome. He and histhanes sleep in the hall as they wait for Grendel.

Eventually Grendel arrives at Heorot as usual, hungry for flesh.Beowulf watches carefully as Grendel eats one of his men. When Grendel reachesfor Beowulf, Beowulf grabs Grendel's arm and doesn't let go. Grendel writhesabout in pain as Beowulf grips him. He thrashes about, causing the hall tonearly collapse. Soon Grendel tears away, leaving his arm in Beowulf's grasp.He slinks back to his lair in the moors and dies.

The Danes, meanwhile, consider Beowulf as the greatest hero inDanish history. In Heorot, Grendel's claw is nailed to the ceiling as a trophy.Hrothgar says that Beowulf will never lack for riches, and Beowulf graciouslythanks him. The horses and men of the Geats are all richly adorned, in keepingwith Hrothgar's wishes.

Another party is held to celebrate Beowulf's victory.   Wealhtheow presents a necklace toHrothgar.   Next she presents many goldentreasures to Beowulf, such as necklaces, cups, and rings. Soon the feast ends,and everyone sleeps peacefully.

In the night, Grendel's mother approaches the hall, wantingvengeance for her son. The warriors prepared for battle, leaving enough timefor Grendel's mother to grab one of Hrothgar's counselors [Aeschere] and run away. When Beowulfis summoned to the hall, he finds Hrothgar in mourning for his friend Aeschere. Hrothgar tells Beowulfwhere the creatures like Grendel live‹in a shadowy, fearful land withinthe moors.

Beowulf persuades Hrothgar to ride with him to the moors. Whenthey reach the edge of the moors, Beowulf calls for his armor, takes a swordfrom Unferth, and dives into the lake. After a long time, Beowulf reaches thebottom of the lake, where Grendel's mother is waiting to attack. Beowulf swingshis sword, but discovers that it cannot cut her, so he tosses it away. Theythen wrestle until Beowulf spies a large sword nearby. He grabs it by the hiltand swings---killing Grendel's mother by slicing off her head. Stillin a rage, Beowulf finds the dead Grendel in the lair and cuts off his head asa trophy.

As they wait, the Danes have given up all hope for Beowulf becausehe has been underwater for such a long time. They are shocked when Beowulfreturns with Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword (which melted with theheat of Grendel's blood). They bear the hero back to Heorot, where anothercelebration takes place.

Beowulf recounts his battle; Hrothgar praises him and gives himadvice on being a king. A grand feast follows, and Beowulf is given morepriceless treasures. The next morning, the Geats look forward to leaving Denmark. Hrothgarpraises Beowulf and promises that their lands will have an alliance forever. Asthe Geats leave, Hrothgar finds himself wishing Beowulf would never leave.

The Geats return with much rejoicing to their homeland, wheretheir king Hygelac and his queenHygd greet them.  Beowulf tells his lordthe events of his trip to Denmark.Hygelac praises Beowulf for his bravery and gives him half the kingdom. Theyrule the kingdom together in peace and prosperity. Hygelac is killed in abattle soon after, so Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules the kingdomwell.

In the fiftieth year of Beowulf's reign, a monster arises to terrorizethe Geats. A treasure trove [cache!] was left by an ancient civilization, whichguarded it jealously until only one member of the race was left. After the lastperson's death, a fire-breathing dragon found thetreasure and guarded it for three hundred years. One day, a slave stumbled uponthe treasure and stole a cup as an offering to his lord. The dragon awakened tofind something missing from his cache and began his rampage upon the Geats.

One day, Beowulf learns that this dragon has destroyed his owngreat hall. This attack sends him into deep thought. Soon he orders a shield touse for battle, but not without a heavy heart at what may happen to him.   The servant who stole the cup leads them tothe lair.

Beowulf leads the charge to the dragon's cave. The shield protectshim from the dragon's flames, but his men flee in fear, leaving only one manbehind. This man is Wiglaf,Beowulf's only loyal kinsman.  Wiglafbecomes angry but swears that he will stay by Beowulf's side.

Just then the dragon rushes up to them. Beowulf and the dragonswing at each other three times, finally landing mortal blows upon each otherthe last time. The dragon is beheaded, but Beowulf is bitten and has a fatalpoison from the dragon flowing through his body as a result. Wiglaf bathes hislord's body in seawater as Beowulf speaks about the treasure. He says thatWiglaf should inherit it as his kinsman; then he dies.

After his death, the cowards return, to be severely chastised byWiglaf. He sends a messenger to tell the people of their king's death. Themessenger envisions the joy of the Geats' enemies upon hearing of the death ofBeowulf. He also says that no man shall ever have the treasure for whichBeowulf fought. Wiglaf and Beowulf's thanes toss the dragon's body into thesea. They place the treasure inside a mound with Beowulf's body and mourn for"the ablest of all world-kings."

[Adapted from]

http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/beowulf/shortsumm.html