The mutability of time is central to Hrothgar's sermon (1700–84), and it provides the framework for the final third of the poem. The passing of time brings changes to the lives of the Geats as it does to everyone. As Hrothgar warned, and as the Beowulf poet reminds us throughout the epic, all glory is fleeting.
Time is out of joint as the poet reveals the events leading up to Beowulf's becoming king. (For a chronology of the Geats' feuds, see Chickering, pp. 361–62.) At this point, we only know that the king and his heir have been killed in separate conflicts. Beowulf could have become king sooner but was more loyal than ambitious. Queen Hygd offered Beowulf the throne after her husband (Hygelac) died, thinking that her young son (Heardred) was unable to protect the kingdom; Beowulf refused but served the young king faithfully. After Heardred's death, Beowulf did become king and ruled his people well for 50 years. Fortunes, however, do change, as Hrothgar predicted.
The dragon is the final test for Beowulf, a test of his wisdom as well as his courage. The problem starts when a fugitive, apparently a runaway slave, stumbles across the dragon's treasure-trove. The ancient treasures in the hoard once belonged to a regional tribe of warriors; almost the entire tribe was killed in battle some 300 years previously. One sole survivor, who is called the "keeper of rings" (2244), hid the treasures in the high barrow-hall and soon died.
