Beowulf Maps

Maps of lands, regions, and people in the story of Beowulf.

The story of Beowulf, to some extent, is the story of Europe: The Norseman from the North, the fading influence of the ancient Roman Empire, and a kaleidoscope of change in the British Isles.

These are some of the maps in Facing the Dragon - The Beowulf Unit Study. See below for more information.

The Norsemen

The phrase "norse" is derived from the word "north." Scandinavia is defined as the peninsulas of Norway and Sweden (Finland is not included) and the peninsula of Denmark rising out of the northern border of Europe.

Tribes and People in Beowulf

Germanic tribes pushed their way onto the Jutland Peninsula (now known as Denmark.) Many went westward, landing in the far off British Isles. (Well, far off to those people who had to row their relatively small ships.)

It was a clash of cultures - a struggle to dominate or perhaps to just survive.

The map above shows the approximate location of tribes mentioned in the poem. (Remember, tribes are often mobile so putting a dot on the map is not entirely accurate.) Of course, Germany, British Isles, and Scandanavia, which are labeled on the map for modern students, were not designated by such names at that time.

Heorot Hall In Lejre

6th Century Territory of the Danes

Keep in mind the boundaries are estimates and would have changed with virtually every battle of the war-loving tribes. But this map above approximates the territory of the Danes under Hrothgar and his nephew Rolf after him. The Great Hall at Lejre occupied the geographic center of their land. Their territory included much of the Jutland Peninsula (the modern Denmark), the very southern tip of the Swedish Peninsula, the larger island of Zeeland between the two, as well as numerous smaller islands.

This map also gives you an idea how the spear-carrying Danes of Beowulf became the sailing Vikings in the centuries that followed. They needed to travel by sea to keep in touch with their own people. Once on the waves, why stop with their own lands?

Seats of Power of the Danes, Geats, and Swedes

This map shows the approximate location of the king's halls for the Danes and the Swedes and the Geats. This gives you an idea of how far Beowulf and company had to travel from Hygelac's court to Hrothgar's Hearlot Hall.

Swimming Contest with Breca

The Brondings and the Finns

In the famous swimming contest from his youth, Beowulf and Breca stayed shoulder to shoulder for five days. In the end, Breca landed in Heathoreme (unknown) and made his way to the Brondings, his own people, of whom he became their leader.

Bronding is considered to be the island of Branno, off the western coast of Sweden, and north of the Geat territory, as shown in the map above. Others have placed the Brondings in south Norway, which as you can see on the map above is still further north.

Beowulf, on the other hand, swam to the land of the Finns.

Now since this contest started in the land of the Geats, which is on the west side of Swedish peninsula, one can readily see from the map that Beowulf had a far longer swim.

He makes swimming the English Channel look like kid stuff.

And that is exactly the point. It is super-human for the two youths to attempt to swim in the cold ocean for seven days, bedecked in an iron suit-of-war, and carrying a heavy sword. Then Beowulf got dragged to the bottom of the ocean and killed nine sea-monsters. Before swimming to Finland.

Yeah, right! This was the original Marvel Comics!

A Map of Dragons

Long before I ever heard of Beowulf, I thought the northern peninsulas looked like a two-headed or three-headed dragon reaching down to bite Denmark.

An optional activity in the unit study is to let students find monsters and dragons in the map. It's a Rorschach test just for Beowulf fans!

Here's my monster-finding map:

Beowulf's dragon and sea-monsters can be imagined from the European map.

More interested in the monsters than the maps? Learn more about the Beowulf monsters and where they originated.

Location of Beowulf's Burial

Unit Study Page on possible Beowulf Burial Mound

It's possible that the poem was developed around an actual burial at an actual site - or at least with a specific site in mind.

In our unit study we look at some of the places in Sweden on Lake Vanern (Lake Weder in the poem) that may be the locale the author had in mind. He gave enough specific names and details that our Beowulf-Hunters actually have a pretty good chance of getting this right!

More details (as well as speculation!) can be found on our page on the location of Beowulf's death and memorial.

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