Gleefully imagining the destruction that he will wreak, Grendel bursts into Heorot. He tears the door from its hinges with his bare hands and immediately devours a Geatish warrior while Beowulf carefully observes. When Grendel reaches out to snatch up Beowulf, he is stunned to find his arm gripped with greater strength than he knew possible. Terrified like a cornered animal, Grendel longs to run back to the safety of the swamplands. He tries to escape, but Beowulf wrestles him down. The combatants crash around the hall, rattling the walls and smashing the mead-benches. Grendel begins to shriek in pain and fear; the sound terrifies all who hear it. Beowulf’s men heroically hack at the demon as Beowulf fights with him, but no weapon on earth is capable of harming Grendel. Beowulf summons even greater strength and rips Grendel’s arm completely out of its socket. Fatally wounded, Grendel slinks back to his swampy home to die. Back in the mead-hall, Beowulf holds up his gory trophy in triumph. He proudly hangs the arm high on the wall of Heorot as proof of his victory.The following morning, the Danish warriors are amazed at Beowulf’s accomplishment. They race around on horseback in celebration, following the tracks of Grendel’s retreat to the marshes. Beowulf’s renown begins to spread rapidly. A Danish bard sings Beowulf’s story to honor him and also recites the story of Sigemund, a great hero who slew a terrible dragon. The dragon was the guardian of a treasure hoard, which Sigemund won by slaying the dragon. The bard also sings of, and contrasts Beowulf with, Heremod, an evil Danish king who turned against his own people.Hrothgar enters the mead-hall to see the trophy. He thanks God for finally granting him relief from Grendel. He then praises Beowulf, promises him lavish rewards, and says that he has adopted the warrior in his heart as a son. Beowulf receives Hrothgar’s gratitude with modesty, expressing disappointment that he did not kill Grendel in the hall so that all could have seen the demon’s corpse. The narrator mentions that the trophy arm, which seems to be made of “barbed steel,” has disproved Unferth’s claims of Beowulf’s weakness. Order is restored in Heorot, and all the Danes begin to repair the great hall, which has been almost completely destroyed.
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