Eleven Geatish warriors accompany Beowulf when he sets out to confront the dragon. Beowulf chooses experienced men from his own household guard and brings them to the dragon’s barrow after the creature begins burning Geatish homes.
The number matters because the expedition is not simply a lone hero’s quest. Beowulf is now an elderly king who feels responsible for protecting his people, so he gathers a small war-band before approaching the hoard. He also brings the fugitive slave who discovered the entrance and stole the cup, since the slave knows the way into the barrow.
At the crucial moment, however, Beowulf orders his warriors to remain outside while he faces the dragon. When the battle turns against him, ten of the eleven warriors flee in terror. Wiglaf is the sole exception: he remembers his loyalty and joins Beowulf in the fight. Together they kill the dragon, although Beowulf receives a mortal wound. A common mix-up is counting Wiglaf as an additional warrior; he is one of the eleven who accompany Beowulf, not a twelfth member of the party.