Beowulf, Part 3 summary

What happens

1. Grendel enters the hall after sunset, seizes thirty sleeping thanes, and returns to his lair.
2. Morning reveals the slaughter, and Hrothgar grieves; Grendel attacks again the next night.
3. Survivors seek beds elsewhere, leaving Heorot deserted, while Hrothgar suffers for twelve winters.
4. Grendel refuses peace or payment and continues his nightly attacks, but God prevents him from touching the throne.
5. Hrothgar consults his council, whose appeals at idol shrines receive the narrator’s religious condemnation.
6. Beowulf sails to Denmark with fourteen companions; after twenty-four hours, they reach shore and face a coast guard’s challenge.

In this part

Quick check