King Hygelac is killed in Frisia during the historical raid remembered in Beowulf.
The poem recalls Hygelac’s disastrous expedition against the Frisians and their allies. Beowulf survives the defeat by escaping through the water, but Hygelac is killed in the fighting. The episode is one of the poem’s strongest links to an event also recorded outside Old English heroic tradition.
Historians commonly connect Hygelac with Chlochilaicus, a Scandinavian raider mentioned by Gregory of Tours. That account places the attack in Frankish territory near the lower Rhine and describes the raider’s death after a Frankish counterattack. Thus, “Frisia” is the expected quiz answer, even though the wider historical setting involves Frankish lands and neighboring peoples.
Hygelac’s death changes the Geatish succession: his son Heardred becomes king, followed later by Beowulf.