What if Wealhtheow, the gracious queen in Beowulf, wasn’t just handing out mead cups to guests and giving politically savy speeches? What if she was harbouring vengeful feelings and set in motion a secret murder plot? In a recently published article, I have tried to unveil something of a Beowulf ‘conspiracy theory’. You can read the article here in Open Access:
Thijs Porck, “Wealhtheow’s Revenge and the Germanic Heroic Tradition: Failed Conflict Resolution in Beowulf“, The Explicator (OnlineFirst 16-01-2026): 1-13.
Alternatively, you can watch my conference presentation about this very topic that I gave at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds in 2024:
Thijs Porck 