Beowulf the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory. The full story survives in the manuscript known as the Nowell Codex.
The dragon (Beowulf) the beast, the thanes flee in terror, leaving only Wiglaf to battle at Beowulf's side. When the dragon wounds Beowulf fatally, Wiglaf slays it. This depiction indicates the growing importance and stabilization of the modern concept of the dragon within European mythology. "Beowulf" is the first piece of English literature to present a dragonslayer. Although many motifs common to the "Beowulf" dragon existed in the Scandinavian and Germanic literature, the "Beowulf" poet was the first to combine features and present a distinctive fire-breathing dragon. The "Beowulf" dragon was later copied in literature with similar themes such as J. R. R.