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Because it is a manuscript, and a damaged one at that, there is no single “definitive” version of the poem. So if you’re looking for a version of the poem to read, which one should you chose? I’m only familiar with a small number of the extant versions, so I will necessarily skip some good ones, but here are some that you can’t go wrong with.

This final fit describes Beowulf’s pyre and barrow and concludes with words of praise for the hero. 

Wiglaf tells the men of Beowulf’s death and then commands some of them to build a funeral pyre for the king. Then he leads seven of the men back into the barrow to carry out the remainder of the treasure. The men also push the body of the dragon over a cliff into the sea and then carry Beowulf’s body to the pyre.

The fit continues the herald’s account of the Swedish war. Ongentheow, the Swedish king, and his troops flee from Hygelac’s oncoming army, taking refuge in a fort. Hygelac overruns the fort and Ongentheow faces two Geatish warriors, brothers, in battle, Wulf and Eofor. Wulf wounds Ongentheow, but Ongentheow’s counterstroke cuts through Wulf’s helmet, severely wounding, but not killing, the warrior. Eofor, Wulf’s brother steps into the fray and kills Ongentheow. Eofor takes Ongentheow’s armor and weapons and presents them to Hygelac as trophies. In return, Hygelac richly rewards the brothers with treasure and gives his only daughter in marriage to Eofor.

The herald predicts that with the death of Beowulf, the Swedes will renew the feud with the Geats. The herald says that they must burn the dragon’s hoard with Beowulf’s body and predicts a grim future for the people of the Geats. The warriors then go to view Beowulf’s body, the dead dragon, and the treasure.

A herald announces the death of Beowulf to the other warriors and predicts hard times for the Geats. They will be beset by the Franks, who fought a war with them when Hygelac was king, and by the Swedes, who are still angry over that war. The herald goes into some detail about the Swedish war and how Ongentheow, the Swedish king, was particularly ruthless in battle with the Geats. Ongentheow killed Hæthcyn, the king of the Geats, and had beseiged the survivors of the battle when Hygelac, Hæthcyn’s brother, came to their aid.