How does Beowulf become king of the Geats?
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Beowulf
Beowulf preparing to cut off the head of the monster Grendel, illustration from Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race, 1910.
In the Old English poem Beowulf, the hero becomes king of the Geats following the deaths of King Hygelac and his son. The poem passes over these events rapidly, noting that Beowulf subsequently succeeds to the throne and rules peacefully for 50 years.1