The bond between the dying mentor and his protégé is apparent as Beowulf speaks to the young man and Wiglaf tries to comfort him. They have literally shared a baptism of fire, the only kind of character test that Beowulf trusts. Although Wiglaf is not his offspring, Beowulf thinks of him as a son when the king, unable to stand, briefly reflects on his life and passes control of the Geats to the brave young retainer. Beowulf makes clear that he has been a good king, not at all like Heremod, the disreputable example in Hrothgar’s sermon. The old man has protected his people well; no one dared to attack the Geats for 50 years. He has accepted what the years offered and never murdered his own, direct references to the sermon. Finally, he has given his life for the treasure that, he thinks, will go to his people. (Ironically, the treasure will be buried with Beowulf and will be of no more use to the Geats than it was to the dragon.) Beowulf wants to see some of the riches. Hoping to please his king, Wiglaf leaves for a moment and enters the barrow.
The scene inside is reminiscent of the ogres’ cave after Beowulf killed Grendel’s mother. Both hold impressive treasure that will come to no use. Wiglaf sees wonderful tapestry, jewels, gold in various forms, and a golden standard hanging over the riches, emitting a strange light like that in the cave. Wiglaf brings some of the treasure to his leader who is near death.
Beowulf’s final words (2794 ff.) are a mixture of prayer, instruction, and farewell. Thanking God, he tells Wiglaf that he wants his ashes buried in a mound on Whale’s Cliff (Hrones-naesse) near the sea where passing sailors might look upon it and call it “Beowulf’s Barrow” (Biowulfes biorh). The dying king then symbolically passes his position on to Wiglaf by giving the young man the armor, rings, and gold collar that Beowulf is wearing. Wiglaf is the last of the Waegmundings, Beowulf’s clan, but he has earned the right to rule, not inherited it. In a poignant passage, the dying king says that “fate has swept / all my kinsmen to their final doom” (2814–15). He must follow his ancestors. Having spoken his last, Beowulf “chose / the high battle-flames; out from his breast / his soul went to seek the doom of the just” (2818–20).
