Hrothgar knew Grendel would seek revenge if the mission failed, therefore had to put all of his faith into Beowulf. Beowulf proved his word, and defeated the atrocious beast; bringing the arm of Grendel as a prize to Hrothgar. With the marvelous act done, Hrothgar’s trust in Beowulf grew massively, which increased the loyalty both men had for one another. However, grieving over the death of her son, Grendel’s mother wreaked vengeance over Hrothgar, and murdered one of his closest thanes the very same night. In quick haste, Hrothgar ran to the aid of Beowulf, asking retribution for his …show more content…
He also makes the quest more enticing, by offering Beowulf amounts of treasure if he wins. Beowulf does defeat Grendel’s mother in a bloody struggle, and reaps the benefits. His loyalty to Hrothgar in the end gains him power and riches. And later on in his life, he gets to bestow the same kind of gratitude to another successor. The relationship between Beowulf and Wiglaf create an astounding picture of true loyalty. After being honored by Hothgar, Beowulf returned home with the Geats and ruled the Geats for fifty years. In his later years, Beowulf was determined to slay the dragon that was menacing his kingdom. However, his fellow thanes did not have the same confidence in him as they did when they were younger men. When Beowulf confronted the beast, and started to lose the battle, all of his thanks ran away in fright, except for Wiglaf. Wiglaf being extremely upset of the cowardly actions of this fellow thanes, speaks about his worries. "I remember how we sat in the mead-hall,