Beowulf’s funeral

The episode that takes place before Beowulf’s funeral is his fight against Grendel, a fire-breathing
dragon. This monster was trying to destroy the country after discovering the theft of a treasure it
had been guarding for a long time. Beowulf fights the dragon with the help of his servant Wiglaf
and he kills it but is mortally wounded.
He soon dies, and his funeral is celebrated.
The Geat people build a funeral pyre for Bewoulf, piling up a bunch of wood, until it is foursquare,
and they put helmets, shield and armour on it, as Beowulf has ordered. Then the warriors lay him in
the middle of the wood structure and they ignite it. The wood burns and emits dark fumes, the fire
flares up, the wind dies down and Beowulf’s corpse is pulverized. The warriors cry for the death of
their lord. A Geat woman also cries and wildly sings about her worst fears, of nightmare and
lament: she sees her nation invaded by enemies, destruction and lots of deads.
When the fire goes out, the people begin to construct a mound on a high promontory, so that the
sailors can see it from far away. It’s their hero’s memorial where they bury the ashes remaining
from the pyre and Bewoulf’s treasures.
After all this the funeral ends with twelve warriors, sons of the chieftains, who ride around the
tomb, singing funeral chants and crying his loss as a hero and a king.