King Hrothgar Quotes in Beowulf (2007)

King Hrothgar: [referring to the Royal Dragon Horn, but looking at his Queen] I wonder how many men have died for love of her beauty.

Beowulf: Can you blame them?

King Hrothgar: If you destroy my Grendel for me, she'll be yours forever and ever and ever.

Beowulf: [takes the horn in his hands] You do me great honor.

Wealthow: [asuming they are talking about her] It is we who are honored.

Beowulf: How many monsters must I slay? Grendel's mother, father, Grende's uncle? Must I hack down a whole family tree of demons?

King Hrothgar: She is the last of them. Whith her gone, demonkind will slip back into the darkness from whence it came.

Wiglaf: And where it belongs.

Beowulf: And the mother's mate? Where is Grendel's father?

King Hrothgar: Grendel's father can do no harm to man.

King Hrothgar: When I am gone, Beowulf, son of Edgethow, shall be king!

King Hrothgar: Fight me! Fight me! You fight me, damn you.

Grendel: ...Nay.

King Hrothgar: [Wealthow refuses to sleep with him] My kingdom needs an heir, I need a son! It's time you did your duty!

Wealthow: How could I ever lay with you, knowing you laid with her?

King Hrothgar: I should never have told you. I should never have told you.

King Hrothgar: Did you kill her?

Beowulf: Would you like to hear the story of my struggle against this monstrous hag?

King Hrothgar: She's no hag, Beowulf. We both know that. But answer me, did you kill her?

Beowulf: Would I have been able to escape her, had I not?

King Hrothgar: Grendel is dead. That's all that matter to me. He can bother me no more. The mother, the hag... She's not my curse, not anymore. Not anymore.

[first lines]

King Hrothgar: I want mead! Give me some mead, my queen!

Wealthow: [after Grendel has attacked the Great Hall for the first time] What *was* that?

King Hrothgar: Grendel!

King Hrothgar: I have spoken... I have spoken!

King Hrothgar: [during Grendel's attack] A sword! Give me a sword!

King Hrothgar: What we need is a hero.

Buliwyf: I have only these hands. I will die a pauper.

King Hrothgar: You will be buried as a king.

Buliwyf: A man might be thought wealthy if someone were to draw the story of his deeds, that they may be remembered.

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan: Such a man might be thought wealthy indeed.

[introducing Buliwyf]

Herald: My lord, this is Buliwyf, son to Hygelak, come from across the sea...

[interrupting]

King Hrothgar: I *know* the man! *I* sent for him! Knew him as a boy and I know him now. Grown to a man. Grown to a fine, strong man.

Beowulf: Has this thing, this troll, killed any children?

King Hrothgar: No.

Beowulf: Women?

[Hrothgar shakes his head]

Beowulf: Old men?

King Hrothgar: What are you saying? That he fights with a clean heart? He kills the strongest first. He shows us he can kill the strongest. Who cares if he spares the children? They'll die anyway without fathers.

Beowulf: My wits still war with how this all began.

King Hrothgar: Hate for the mead hall. I can only guess. The night we finished it the foul creep came.

Beowulf: So, nothing was done to the troll itself?

King Hrothgar: Oh, Beowulf, it's a fucking troll! Maybe someone looked at it the wrong way.

Beowulf: Some Dane?

King Hrothgar: ...I never begged anyone to come here. Take on our fight. I don't hold you here.

Beowulf: I know you don't.

King Hrothgar: Then don't sour my heart with talk about why a troll does what a fucking troll does!

Brendan the Celt: I'm told you're the Danes' king.

King Hrothgar: Celt, you're a ways from home.

Brendan the Celt: I am. But safe with the sword of Christ.

King Hrothgar: Christ, eh? Heard of him. You ever have much luck with trolls?

Brendan the Celt: I'm of the thought they never cross paths. But if you're willing to bow before Christ you shall feel the blessing of his great strength.

King Hrothgar: My gods don't ask me to bow.

Brendan the Celt: And nor should they dare if they won't protect you. To face God's foes is an honor. I've come to drive this evil out.

King Hrothgar: [laughts] With a stick?

Brendan the Celt: With the fire of Heaven!

King Hrothgar: Well, if your heaven's on fire you'd better look to that.

Brendan the Celt: You leave me on a dish for the troll then. Leave me! And if I don't see man's dawn, I shall see God's! I shall see God!

[drools and collapses]

Brendan the Celt: Wise king, you must know of the name of Clovis.

King Hrothgar: The Frank?

Brendan the Celt: The Frank. Yes, yes, the Frank. The Christian sword of a land ten times what the Danes hold dear.

Beowulf: He's dead.

Brendan the Celt: Yes, ten years now. But not before he saw God's grace. The Visigoths of Aquitaine, the Romans under Syagrius, the Burgundians, Alamannians all fell before him, and all because he had God's ear.

King Hrothgar: As I recall, he also had a thousand swords, neighbors soft on wine and pork, and no ice on his rivers...

Beowulf: And no fucking trolls.

King Hrothgar: And no fucking trolls!

Beowulf: [on arriving] I'm sorry, we didn't mean to wake you

King Hrothgar: Wake me? I'm a grief-crippled king half drunk in the middle of the afternoon, what is there to wake?

King Hrothgar: You ever worry about that? Heaven?

Beowulf: I'm thinking I'll likely go where I'm sent.

Beowulf: And what did he do to you?

King Hrothgar: [shrugs] Crossed our path. Took a fish.

Beowulf: Rodgar...

King Hrothgar: Hrothgar!

Beowulf: Yes, of course. You sit here prehaps. My companions, I see, have made their own arrengements and I... shall sit here: By the door, to protect you all from monsters.

Priest: God protects us from monsters!

Beowulf: Ah! Then it seems he must be falling down on the job, ey? Not to worry. I am here now, to help him out.

Priest: Heresy!

Beowulf: I always say: Never discuss religion or politics over dinner. Bad for the digestion.

Priest: If the monster claims lives it's God's will! You speak heresy!

Beowulf: Heresy is determined by which end of the sword you're at. Now don't be boring or I might have to sort a few of you out. Beowulf is good at that, sorting out the trouble makers.