Hrethel


Hrethel is a king of the Geats in the Old English poem Beowulf.

Name

Hrethel's name appears with both the root vowel and <æ>, and with both the consonant <þ> and . This is thought to be due to an early manuscript of Beowulf writing the root vowel using the early graphs <œ> and . Later scribes misread the former as <æ> and failed to recognise that the latter represented the sound rather than .
The name also appears as a genitive weak noun, in the half-line 'þæt is Hrǣdlan lāf'. Rendered in ordinary Late West Saxon spelling and in nominative form, this form of the name would presumably have been *Hrēðla.

Role in ''Beowulf''

Hrethel is the nephew or grandson of Swerting and he has three sons: Hæþcyn, Herebeald and Hygelac. He also has a daughter who marries Ecgþeow and has the son Beowulf.
Hrethel fosters Beowulf by taking him into his royal household aged seven. Fostering was a common Anglo-Saxon practice and does not indicate Beowulf's father, Ecgþeow did not want to raise him; indeed, the practice was intended to further improve relations between families and family members, and create close ties of obligation, affection and shared responsibility. As an adult, Beowulf expresses his gratitude to his foster-father explicitly:
Hreðel dies of grief when his oldest son Herebeald is killed by his own brother Hæþcyn in a hunting accident, a death that could not be avenged. He is succeeded by Hæþcyn.