Which Frankish warrior is listed as killed by Beowulf?

The Frankish warrior listed as killed by Beowulf is Dæghrefn. His death belongs to the poem’s account of the conflict surrounding Hygelac’s raid into Frisia.

Beowulf recalls that Dæghrefn, a Frankish champion, killed or was responsible for the death of Hygelac during the disastrous campaign. Beowulf then avenged Hygelac by crushing Dæghrefn to death with his bare hands. He also recovered Hygelac’s valuable necklace rather than allowing it to fall into the hands of the Frisian lord.

The episode appears late in the poem, when Beowulf is reflecting on his earlier achievements before confronting the dragon. It broadens his reputation beyond the famous fights with Grendel and Grendel’s mother, showing that he was also a formidable warrior in human warfare.

The names in the alternatives belong to different parts of Germanic heroic tradition. Merewing is associated with the Frankish royal line, while Finn and Hengest are linked to the Frisian episode and the Finnsburg story, not to the warrior Beowulf kills.