Beowulf: Line:1070-1157

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Lines 1070-1157: The Saga of Finn and His Sons

The minstrel sings about the saga of Finn and his sons. Hildeburth, a Danish princess married to Finn, the Frisian king, lost both her son and her brother in a battle at Finn's hall with the Danes. The battle was indecisive, and a truce was called. Under an agreement, the remaining Danes were to be quartered at the Frisians' hall; Finn agreed to honor the Danes with tribute, treating them as equals with the Frisians and their allies, the Jutes. A funeral pyre was built and the corpses from the battle were burnt.  

That winter the Danes lived uneasily with the Frisians. They were homesick and resentful, and they also wanted revenge. When spring came they renewed the feud. Finn was killed and his home looted, and Hildeburh his widow was taken back to Denmark.  

This is one of several digressions in the poem. It gives more insight into the many feuds that took place between the different clans in the region. It also shows how such feuds might be settled, and how they tended to break out again before long.