Beowulf: the super hero of the poem. His tribe is the Geats and his lord is Hygelac. He comes to Heorot to help Hrothgar to kill Grendel, because Beowulf is a monster slayer of a supernatural strength: "...a thane, they declared with the strength of thirty in the grip of each hand" (lines 380-381).

	There was no one else like him alive.
	In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth,
	highborn and powerful (ll 196-198). 

Indeed, Beowulf's resume, which he presents to Hrothgar, proves his credentials:

	I am Hygelac's kinsman,
	one of his hall-troop. When I was younger,
	I had great triumphs...
	[My kinsmen] seen me boltered in the blood of enemies
	when I battled and bound five beasts,
	raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea
	slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes
	and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it
	upon themselves: I devastated them).
	Now I mean to be a match for Grendel (ll 407-409, 419-425).

Hrothgar: the king, ring-giver of the Danes. Hrothgar is the descendant of Shield. Hrothgar and his thanes undertake the construction of Heorot: "[Hrothgar's] mind turned to hall building; he handed down orders for men to work on a great mead-hall meant to be a wonder of the world forever." Unfortunately, the mead-hall is later destroyed by domestic feud (lines 67-70) between the in-laws. Hrothgar has a lot of domestic problems in his kingdom. Indeed, he cannot get rid of Grendel for twelve years and has to accept the help of a foreigner - Beowulf. Hrothgar's warriors cannot not kill Grendel either, but instead they get drunk and pray to the Old Gods for salvation.

Hrunting: the sword, which Unferth gives to Beowulf before Beowulf's fight with Grendel's mother. This sword possesses great powers and has never failed anyone, who used it in battle:

	[A] hilted weapon,
	a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting.
	The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns
	has been tempered in blood. It had never failed
	the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle,
	anyone who had fought and faced the worst
	in the gap of danger. This was not the first time
	it had been called to perform heroic feats (ll 1457-1469).

However, when Beowulf descendes to the bottom of the lake, into Grendel's mother's lair, the sword loses its powers and is ineffective against the monster:

	[Beowulf] then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm:
	the decorated blade came down ringing
	and singing on her head. But he soon found
	his battle-torch extinguished; the shining blade 
	refused to bite (ll 1520-1524).

Grendel: a monster, who attacks Hrothgar's people for twelve years. Grendel is described as a descendent of Cain. As the epic develops, Grendel is killed by Beowulf.

Grendel's Mother: mother of Grendel, who comes back to Heorot after her child is killed by Beowulf, in order to avenge his death. The creature steals Grendel's hand and carries off Aeschere, Hrothgar's closest retainer and a friend. The fiend is later killed by Beowulf in the battle under water.

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