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THE STORY OF BEOWULF, GRENDEL, 

 AXD GRENDEL' S MOTHER 



Long, long ago, perhaps nearly a thousand years before 

 the adventures of the Knight of Ehodes of whom you 

 have just heard, there lived a King of Denmark called 

 Hrothgar. That is a curious name, you may think ; 

 but you can recognise it in our own word ' Eoger,' 

 which, of course, is common enough. This King lived in 

 a palace, called Heorot, a princely abode, beyond what 

 the sons of men had ever heard of ; he had a beautiful 

 wife called Waltheow, and gold, silver, and riches in 

 abundance were his ; moreover as his knights, earls, 

 and retainers were all devotedly fond of him, he seemed 

 to have everything in the world which could make him 

 happy. In those days, when feasts were being held in the 

 great halls, it was customary for one who was called a 

 'skald ' — that is, a poet or minstrel — to sing or recite poems 

 before the assembled company. On one of these occa- 

 sions the ' skald ' made poems about all sorts of evil 

 things, wicked spirits, demons who abode in darkness, 

 giants, ghosts, and sin and wickedness generally. It was, 

 perhaps, not quite the sort of song to make merry the 

 hearts of the feasters, and, in fact, it had the opposite 

 effect, for they broke up ill at ease, as if some deadly peril 

 were in store ; nor were their presentiments without 

 reason. That night there came to the Palace a monstrous 

 and superhuman being named Grendel, who was the very 

 incarnation of all cruelty and malice. He was a creature 



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