Then twelve warriors rode around the tomb,
chieftain’s sons, champions in battle,
all of them distraught, chanting in dirges,
mourning his loss as a man and a king.
They extolled his heroic nature and exploits
and gave thanks for his greatness; which was the proper thing,
for a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear
and cherish his memory when that moment comes
when he has to be conveyed from his bodily home.
– Beowulf, Seamus Heaney (trans.)
Lines 3169-3177: Beowulf’s lords celebrate his life by telling stories of his heroic deeds, a traditional way of honoring the memory of a great man.