The hero of the Old English epic poem Beowulf is Beowulf.
Beowulf is a Geatish warrior who travels to Denmark to help King Hrothgar, whose hall, Heorot, is attacked by the monster Grendel. Beowulf defeats Grendel and then fights Grendel’s mother. Later, after becoming king of the Geats, he faces a dragon and receives a fatal wound in the battle.
The surviving poem is preserved in the Nowell Codex, a manuscript dating from around the year 1000. Its exact date of composition is uncertain, but it was written in Old English and is the longest surviving poem in that language. The story combines Germanic heroic traditions with Christian perspectives supplied by the poet or the poem’s later transmission.
Hrothgar is the Danish king whom Beowulf helps, while Wiglaf is the loyal warrior who assists him against the dragon. These names are sometimes confused because both characters play important roles in the hero’s story.