Wiglaf’s speech is an attempt to remind the other ten retainers of the honor code of comitatus and to shame them into action. In this system, a lord or king offers protection to his retainers (or thanes) and supports them with a share of booty, gifts, and even land. In exchange, the retainers pledge loyalty to the death on behalf of the ruler. Specifically, Wiglaf recalls a time when he and the ten other warriors received rings and the very armor that they now have with them from Beowulf. Consistent with the heroic code, they promised to come to his assistance if he ever needed them. Wiglaf rightly accuses them of running when they vowed to fight. He declares that he would rather be burned to death than to abandon his king, and he rushes to Beowulf’s assistance.
The final battle features the kind of staccato interchange that the Beowulf poet depicts so well. The action here (2669–2708) is tight, detailed, and furious, some of the best in the poem. Wiglaf rushes to Beowulf’s side. The dragon almost immediately reduces the young retainer’s shield to cinders. As Wiglaf ducks behind Beowulf’s shield, the old warrior summons the strength to swing his famous sword so hard that it snaps against the dragon’s head. Seeing his chance, the dragon charges once more, seizing Beowulf by the neck with his poisonous fangs. Distressed by his king’s situation, Wiglaf throws all care aside and attacks, even though his fighting hand is seriously burned in the process. He finds an unprotected spot and thrusts his sword into the dragon, cutting off the source of the monster’s fire-breath. Beowulf manages one last blow, a thrust with his knife that opens the dragon’s belly and kills the mighty beast. Beowulf is poisoned from the dragon’s fangs and bleeding badly.
