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.
Wayland the Smith Wayland the Smith In Germanic mythology, Wayland the Smith (; ; ; "Galans" ("Galant") in Old French; ; from "", lit. "battle-brave") is a legendary master blacksmith, described by Jessie Weston as "the weird and malicious craftsman, Weyland". In Old Norse sources, Völundr appears in "Völundarkviða", a poem in the "Poetic Edda", and in Þiðreks saga, and his legend is also depicted on Ardre image stone VIII. In Old English sources, he appears in "Deor", "Waldere" and in "Beowulf" and the legend is depicted on the Franks Casket. He is mentioned in the German poems about Theoderic the Great as