"Bear's Son Tale" () refers to an analogous group of narratives that, according to 's 1910 thesis, represent the fairy tale material reworked to create the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulfs first part, the Grendel-kin Story. Panzer collected over 200 analogue tales mostly from Eurasia. Others have added more examples from worldwide. The Bear's Son motif (B635.1) is exhibited only generally, not reliably. Exceptions include versions of "Jean de l'Ours", and the Grimms' fairy tale "Strong Hans" or "". Beowulf does not explicitly reveal a bear origin for its hero, but his name and great strength connect him to the animal closely. Most of the tales are formally catalogued as either Aarne-Thompson folktale type 301, "The Three Stolen Princesses" or AT type 650A, "Strong John" or "Starker Hans". Their plotlines are similar, with some differences; in the latter, the hero is subjected to tests by ordeal. "Bear's Son Tale" has thus become only an informal term for tale type classification in folkloristics, but scholars in Beowulf criticism continue to assert the usefulness of the term in their studies. Core characteristics Beowulf studies comparing it to the Bear's Son Tale see these common core characteristics: a hero is raised by or descended from a bear, with bear-like strength. He and companions must guard a dwelling against a monster (which Panzer calls "Der Dämon im Waldhaus"). The companions are defeated, but the hero wounds the creature, sending him to flight. In pursuit, the hero descends into a netherworld or underground domain. The hero often has a second round of adversaries. Other common elements are a captive princess, betrayal by a close friend or ally of the hero, and magical weapons. Some of these elements are paralleled in the Grendel Story of Beowulf, others are not. Parallel elements Some of the traits in the Bear's Son Tale regarded as being paralleled in Beowulf will be explained further below. Betrayal The betrayal element (F601.3) transpires in the fairy tale version (see Jean de l'Ours) as follows: After the hero descends to the world underground and rescues the princess, he is betrayed by his companions, who instead of pulling him up by a rope, either cut it or release it so he falls to the bottom. The parallel to this in Beowulf, (according to Panzer and Chambers) is that after seeing blood come up from Grendel's mere (lake), the Danes only wait until nones (3 PM) in