Who is grendels mother

It's also clear that Grendel's Mother is an even more formidable adversary than Grendel, as she subdues Beowulf with her bare hands and comes very close to killing him with a dagger. As she lives in a lake, it's commonly believed that she represents some sort of water creature. On the other hand, some scholars have offered far less monstrous interpretations of Grendel's Mother. Unlike Grendel, she didn't prey on the humans, neither did she become hostile until after her son got killed and she took upon the task of avenging him, which would be considered a noble act at the time.

Therefore, Grendel's Mother was being described as a warrior lady. Elsewhere, she is also described as a "merewif" "lake woman" , which again suggests an aquatic humanoid of some sort. It's worth-noting that the mythical water creatures called Grindylows from English folklore are believed to be etymologically-linked to Grendel, so the name of the beast would already suggest a flesh-eating lake monster of the more humanoid variety.

Non-alien Creatures Wiki Explore. Browse Creatures. After these words, the prince of the Weather-Geats was impatient to be away and plunged suddenly: without more ado, he dived into the heaving depths of the lake.

It was the best part of a day before he could see the solid bottom. The traditional view is that she is a monster; a demon fuelled by a hatred of humanity and delighting in cruelty, blood and death. The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell, the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength, then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm: the decorated blade came down ringing and singing on her head.

But he soon found his battle-torch extinguished: the shining blade refused to bite. It spared her and failed the man in his need. It had gone through many hand-to-hand fights, had hewed the armour and helmets of the doomed, but here at last the fabulous powers of that heirloom failed. A parent setting out to revenge the death of their child was an accepted response in Anglo Saxon times. Indeed, one might say it was the obligatory one; the honourable course of action.

She pins him to the ground and raises her dagger to dispatch him, but he grabs one of her own weapons, a heavy battle-sword, and kills her. Then he saw a blade that boded well, a sword in her armoury, an ancient heirloom from the days of the giants, an ideal weapon, one that any warrior would envy, but so huge and heavy of itself only Beowulf could wield it in a battle.

The sword dripped blood, the swordsman was elated. Although the Danes have heard that the swamp may harbor two ogres, they seem to believe that the problem is solved when Beowulf defeats Grendel. On the night after that victory, the Scyldings celebrate with a great deal of food and drink. Many of the celebrants spend that night in Heorot while Beowulf sleeps elsewhere. The mother stalks up from her mere, retrieving her son's claw and murderously abducting one of the Scyldings from the mead-hall.

When Beowulf comes after her, the mother has another advantage. She is in her home territory, which she has ruled for a hundred years. As the Geat champion dives deep into the lake, the mother waits and attacks only when he nears the bottom. He is virtually helpless as she drags him to the dry, eerily lighted cave for the kill. Once on dry land, however, Beowulf is able to mount a counter-attack.