The dragon (Beowulf) Grendel's mother and Grendel, Beowulf returns to homeland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years pass with Beowulf leading as a wise king, when a local dragon is angered when a slave enters its lair and takes a cup from its treasure. The creature attacks the neighboring towns in revenge. Beowulf and a troop of men (“the Geats”) leave to find the dragon’s lair. The Geats run away in fear, leaving only Beowulf and his young companion Wiglaf to slay the dragon. Beowulf receives a fatal wound from the dragon, but Wiglaf impales the dragon’s belly to reduce the
Beowulf its "popularity" took it). There are Scandinavian sources, international folkloric sources, and Celtic sources. 19th century studies proposed that "Beowulf" was translated from a lost original Scandinavian work, but this idea was quickly abandoned. But Scandinavian works have continued to be studied as a possible source. Proponents included writing in 1886 that an Old Norse original version of "Beowulf" must have existed, but that view was later debunked by (1914) who pointed out that "Beowulf" is fundamentally Christian and written at a time when any Norse tale would have most likely been pagan. The epic's possible connection to "Grettis saga"