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An illustration of Grendel's mother by J. R. Skelton from Stories of Beowulf (1908) described as a "water-witch" trying to stab Beowulf. Grendel's mother (Old English: Grendles mōdor) is one of three antagonists in the anonymous Old English poem Beowulf (c. 700–1000 AD), the other two being Grendel and the dragon.
Beowulf tears off Grendel's arm, mortally wounding the creature. Grendel flees but dies in his marsh den. There, Beowulf later engages in a fierce battle with Grendel's mother in a mere, over whom he triumphs with a sword found there. Following her death, Beowulf finds Grendel's corpse and removes his head, which he keeps as a trophy.
According to Gould, "the message would be clear enough to the poem's Christian audience: only God can contribute enough power to overcome enemies to whom the poem has elsewhere given a Scriptural history". [17] Grendel and Grendel's mother have such a history, as Grendel's lineage is described in lines 106–108 to have descended from Cain.
One reference for this kenning comes from the epic poem, Beowulf. As Beowulf is in fierce combat with Grendel's mother, he makes mention of shedding much battle-sweat. N: Beowulf: blood wound-sea svarraði sárgymir: N: Eyvindr Skillir, Hákonarmál 7. chieftain or king breaker of rings
The former, subtitled "Beowulf and Grendel", is a poem or song [5] of seven eight-line stanzas about Beowulf's victory over Grendel. The latter is a poem of fifteen eight-line stanzas on the same theme; several of the stanzas, including the first and the last, are almost identical with the first version.
The final act of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf includes Beowulf's fight with a dragon, the third monster he encounters in the epic. On his return from Heorot, where he killed Grendel and Grendel's mother, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules wisely for fifty years until a slave awakens and angers a dragon by stealing a jeweled cup from ...
Heorot (Old English 'hart, stag') is a mead-hall and major point of focus in the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf. The hall serves as a seat of rule for King Hrothgar , a legendary Danish king . After the monster Grendel slaughters the inhabitants of the hall, the Geatish hero Beowulf defends the royal hall before subsequently defeating him.
Beowulf – son of Ecgtheow, and the eponymous hero of the Anglo-Saxon poem. Breca – Beowulf's childhood friend who competed with him in a swimming match. Cain – biblical character described as an ancestor of Grendel who is infamous for killing his brother Abel, the first murder. Killing one's kin was the greatest sin in Anglo-Saxon culture.