Reading Notes: Beowulf, Part A

I am going to take notes on the beginning of Beowulf, the section titled King Hygelac of Geatsland, by Strafford Riggs.

In Europe, Hygelac was the ruler of a country called Geatsland. The people who lived there were brave and warlike. The land was also surrounded by monsters. For the most part, people stayed away from the caves with monsters, preferring to keep to themselves unless they had to avenge a death.

The king and queen had a great number of lords who had all proven themselves in battle. Despite their ferocity, they treated each other as brothers. Occasionally the queen would ask one of them to tell a war story, and the younger men would listen. Among these young warriors was Beowulf.

I enjoyed this passage because it did a great job of worldbuilding in such a short amount of space, and also provided a good introduction to the main character.

(Illustration of the lords at war by Henry Pitz)

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