Look at line 33 of the poem, very near the beginning, and you will find a description of the "hero's vessel" which was being readied to set sail bearing the body of the "beloved prince" Beaw, the Scylding. The funeral described here in the opening scene of the poem is a traditional Danish one. The body of Beaw is set in the prow of a boat, ready to be pushed offshore into the ocean.

Next, we see another description of a funeral beginning at line 1006 of the poem. Here, we see a different aspect of the funeral described after the death of Hildeberg's family: the poet describes how a corpse "in his death-bed...sleeps after feasting." He states that those who followed the dead comported themselves extremely well in the mead-hall after their death, in recognition of their life.

The final funeral in Beowulf is, of course, that of the eponymous Beowulf himself. A king, Beowulf must receive a king's funeral; "the flame must devour" his corpse as it is committed to the sea. The description of Beowulf's funeral gives some explanation of how the Anglo-Saxons viewed treasure: the treasure recovered from the dragon shall not be displayed on the neck of any girl in Beowulf's tribe, but rather, must be hidden with his death, "as useless to men now...as it ever was."