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At Beowulf's command, Wiglaf gathers treasure from the dragon's lair and piles it where Beowulf can see it. [B 15] The dying Beowulf tells Wiglaf to "watch his people's needs" [B 16] (by which he means that Wiglaf is to become the next king.) He tells Wiglaf to build him a funeral mound [B 17] and gives Wiglaf his rings, helm, and mail-shirt.
Beowulf is ritually burned on a great pyre in Geatland while his people wail and mourn him, fearing that without him, the Geats are defenceless against attacks from surrounding tribes. Afterwards, a barrow, visible from the sea, is built in his memory.
Beowulf's sword broke, but he dealt the dragon its death-blow with his dagger. He had been mortally wounded by the dragon's poisonous bite. Dying, he was carried out by Wiglaf, and with his last breaths named Wiglaf his rightful heir. His body was burned on a funeral pyre, and his ashes buried in a barrow by the sea.
These boar crests recall a time when such decoration may have been common; the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, in which boar-adorned helmets are mentioned five times, speaks of a funeral pyre "heaped with boar-shaped helmets forged in gold," [1] forging a link between the warrior hero of legend and the Pioneer Helmet of reality.
It was common to leave gifts with the deceased. Both men and women received grave goods, even if the corpse was to be burnt on a pyre. A Norseman could also be buried with a loved one or house thrall, or cremated together on a funeral pyre. The amount and the value of the goods depended on which social group the dead person came from. [1]
The Beowulf poet describes how Finn stuck to his oath by giving treasure. Meanwhile, Hnæf and his nephew are placed on the funeral pyre and Hildeburh laments. Later most of the warriors go home, "to seek their native lands, / bereft of friends, to behold Frisia, / their homes and high fortresses."
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Achilles then sponsors funeral games, consisting of a chariot race, boxing, wrestling, running, a duel between two champions to the first blood, discus throwing, archery and spear throwing. Beowulf 's body in the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf is taken to Hronesness, where it is burned on a funeral pyre.