Goofs
Errors in geography
There are no mountains in Denmark. The highest point in Denmark is 147 meters.Share this
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Anachronisms (3) |
Character error (1) |
Factual errors (2) |
Incorrectly regarded as goofs (1)
Anachronisms
"Bards sing of Hrothgar's shame from the frozen north to the shores of Vinland." Vinland wasn't known until about the year 1000AD.
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By the time Beowulf is said to occur according to the movie, Denmark would not have converted to Christianity; conversion only happened under the reign of Harald Bluetooth (935-986AD) about 400 years later.
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In the movie you will see a black rat, but the black rat first appeared in Denmark in the 12th century.
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Character error
When Hrothgar stands with Beowulf and discusses where he got the horn, he makes it sound as if he killed Fafnir the dragon. According to the Viking sagas (Völsunga saga) it was Sigurd (Fafnesbane) who slew the dragon Fafnir, not Hrothgar from the Beowulf epic.
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Factual errors
Convex mirrors present a smaller reflection than a flat surface, but when the old Beowulf tells the queen he must fight, there is a well polished shield hanging on the wall reflecting as a flat surface, although it is slightly curved.
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In the end when Wiglaf is going into the water, the waves break in a pattern that is only present in very shallow water (1-10 cm), but he is in to his waist.
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Incorrectly regarded as goofs
Grendel and his mother speak Old English. Even though it is the language of the original Beowulf poem, it is not the language spoken in the time and area where the action takes place (East Old Norse is more probable). However, it is "substituting" for Old Norse just as modern English is "substituting" for the Danes' language.
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