Geatland, Beowulf’s homeland, was located in what is now Sweden. The Geats were a people associated with southern Sweden, especially the region historically known as Götaland.
In the poem, Beowulf is a Geat and serves under King Hygelac before eventually becoming king himself. He travels from Geatland across the sea to help the Danish king Hrothgar, whose hall Heorot is being attacked by Grendel. The poem later returns to Beowulf’s rule and final battle in Geatland.
Readers often confuse the Geats with the Danes because much of the action occurs in Denmark. Norway is also tempting because the poem belongs to the wider Scandinavian heroic world, but Beowulf’s people are conventionally identified with the Geats of Sweden. The historical geography is not mapped with absolute precision, yet Sweden is the standard modern-country answer.