Revenge of the swamp beast - Iseult Gillespie

52,930 views ・ 2025-04-03

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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In 1731, a fire broke out in London’s Cotton Library.
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To protect some of the world’s most prized manuscripts—
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including one-of-a-kind illuminated Bibles,
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centuries-old Arthurian literature, and even a copy of the Magna Carta—
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librarians frantically flung texts out of the windows.
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But while they couldn’t save everything,
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they did manage to salvage the only known copy of a strange Scandinavian poem.
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An epic written in Old English,
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“Beowulf” is known for its haunting monsters,
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dream-like language and paranoid perspective,
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in which violent threats are always waiting on the fringes of society.
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The action begins in the great hall of Denmark,
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as King Hrothgar and his people celebrate what they hope will be the start
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of a peaceful new era.
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But in the marshy moors outside the city, a grisly monster lays in wait.
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Said to be a “misshapen man”
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descended from those who first unleashed evil into the world,
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Grendel was roused by the clamor of human joy.
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He burst into the hall, devouring anyone he could snatch.
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But while countless fell, his reign of terror was only beginning.
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Every night for the next 12 years,
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Grendel descended to feast on more unlucky souls.
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Tales of Denmark’s plight stretched far and wide—
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but only one was bold enough to offer his aid.
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Beowulf, a prince of Geats from what is now Sweden,
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had a burning desire to perform great deeds.
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So he sailed the treacherous whale-road to help the Danes.
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And after a warm welcome.
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Beowulf stationed himself in the hall, waiting for nightfall.
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The moment Grendel flung open the doors, he seized the creature’s battle talons.
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As they wrestled, fixtures fell, goblets shattered,
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and mead benches exploded into splinters.
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Finally, Grendel gave a mighty wrench, tearing his own arm at the shoulder.
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Mortally wounded, he fled to his desolate swamp to die.
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When the Danes saw Beowulf holding Grendel’s arm,
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they were overjoyed.
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But little did they know, an even deadlier beast was stirring.
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The next night, Grendel’s mother came to avenge her son,
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ripping through the celebrations and stealing her son's severed limb.
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Ever the hero, Beowulf journeyed over endless moors and jagged rocks
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to track the bride of hell to her lair:
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a sinister lake infested with demonic reptiles.
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Beowulf fearlessly plunged into the water,
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sinking to the lake’s eerily dry bottom where Grendel’s mother lay waiting.
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The warrior quickly realized his sword was useless against the demon,
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and his fists were barely better.
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Then, as Grendel’s mother tightened her grip on Beowulf’s throat,
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his gaze fell upon a legendary blade.
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He recognized it as a giant’s weapon—
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so heavy that only a worthy man could wield it.
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Unfortunately for the monster, the prince was one such warrior.
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With a swift strike, Beowulf beheaded Grendel’s mother,
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flooding her lair with cleansing holy light.
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Returning to the hall triumphant,
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Beowulf was hailed as the greatest hero in generations.
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But amidst the celebration,
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King Hrothgar cautioned the prince to stay humble and alert to evil—
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which he would not always be able to fend off alone.
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Beowulf returned home and for decades ruled a peaceful kingdom.
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Yet after 50 years upon the throne, he began to feel a rising unease.
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Sure enough, violence was brewing on the outskirts of his realm.
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A servant had fled underground to escape his cruel master,
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disturbing a sleeping dragon in the process.
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Knowing he could no longer defeat such a fearsome foe by himself,
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the king marshaled his soldiers.
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But his hand-picked warriors were too cowardly to fight.
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Only young Wiglaf, seeing his king in the heat of battle,
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rose to meet this challenge.
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The heroes dodged blasts of flame and talons sharp as sickles,
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until suddenly, the dragon snapped its fangs into Beowulf’s neck.
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Seeing his opportunity, Wiglaf punctured the beast’s belly.
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And as it howled in pain,
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Beowulf summoned his last ounce of strength to finish the dragon
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with a simple dagger.
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With the monster gone and his final act of heroism complete,
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the King of the Geats passed his title on to Wiglaf—
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finally leaving the mortal plane to join his ancestors
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in the next great adventure.
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