Comparison of events and characters in Beowulf and the saga of King Hrolf KrakiThere are so many similarities between the events and characters in the poem Beowulf and the saga of King Hrolf Kraki, an Icelandic saga representing 1000 years of oral traditions before the 1300s when it was written. These similarities are so numerous that they cannot be attributed solely to coincidence. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature states that the hero of the poem Beowulf may be the same person as Bodvar Biarki, the leader of Hrolfr Kraki's knights (v1, ch3, s3, n13). George Clark in "The Hero and Theme" mentions: "The form of Beowulf taken as a whole suggests both the 'Son of the Bear' type of folk tale (especially as we find it in Scandinavia) and the “combat myth”. . . .” (286). The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki would be both. Jesse Byock says: "The earliest accounts of the characters in Hrolf's Saga come from Anglo-Saxon England, where writing in Roman letters had been adopted in the seventh century, several centuries earlier than in Scandinavia" (Byock xxiv ). Beowulf opens with a brief account of the victorious Danish king Scyld Scefing, whose pagan boat burial is described. His body was carried aboard a ship, filled with weapons and treasures: the ship sailed. The reigns of Scyld's son and grandson, Beowulf and Healfdene, are mentioned, and then we meet Hrothgar, the son of Healfdene. In The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki we also meet a Hrothgar, but his name is shortened to Hroar. Hroar ​​is a notable character, much like Beowulf, ruling the kingdom of Northumberland in northern England until he was forced into disastrous conflict. King Hrothgar builds a splendid hall, called... middle of paper... the gentlest men, the kindest to his people” (3181). The Icelandic saga, The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, written in the 1300s, represents approximately 1000 years of oral traditions. The remarkable similarities between this saga and Beowulf are simply too astonishing to be dismissed as mere coincidence.BIBLIOGRAPHYChickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A bilingual edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Clark, Gorge. “The hero and the theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, translated by Jesse L. Byock. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: Sons of GP Putnam, 1907-1921; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000