What conflicts does the young Beowulf face as a young Germanic hero face compared to an renown king?

Question

comitatus witan loyal, blood lust and revenge, courage

Answer 1

Beowulf's early conflicts are with the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother, both of whom he defeats in battle. There is some social conflict between Beowulf and Hrothgar's men, particularly Unferth, who taunts Beowulf before realizing Beowulf's combat prowess. However, most of the difficulties Beowulf faces are physical throughout the poem. Beowulf imposes his own limitations on himself in the fight against Grendel, facing the monster unarmed as a matter or principle and show of strength. In the fight against Grendel's mother, Beowulf is unable to injure her until he finds a special sword in her lair.

In the later portion of the story, when Beowulf is a well-known king, he has to defeat an enraged dragon that is terrorizing the countryside. Beowulf's men largely abandon him out of fear of the dragon, so he faces difficulty due to limited support, as well as the dragon's flames.