Grendel
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For other uses, see Grendel (disambiguation).
Grendel is one of three antagonists (along with Grendel's Mother and the dragon) in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (c. AD 700–1000). Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.
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[edit] Story
- See main article: Beowulf:Story
Grendel is a monster descended from Cain, the first of pure evil, thus making Grendel a curse of God to begin with. In Beowulf, Grendel invades Heorot, the mead-hall of the Danes, and makes it uninhabitable. Beowulf leaves Geatland to defeat the monster bare-handed and succeeds by ripping his arm off in a brawl, causing him to bleed to death in his gloomy cave home. Later, Grendel's Mother, who is more afraid of Beowulf than Grendel, attempts to take revenge for the death of her son, but is killed by Beowulf. After Grendel's Mother's death, Beowulf beheads Grendel, keeping the head as a trophy. These two deaths put an end to the first part of the story-line.
[edit] Etymology
Translation of the name Grendel is somewhat difficult, as there are no other mentions of it in surviving works of the period, and no extant information exists concerning how the anonymous author arrived at the name.
Possible original Old English roots may have been grynde (abyss), grindan, grindel, or grennian (grating, grinning or gnashing of the teeth), or even grend (green), which may or may not be a reference to a distant or northern homeland (supporting the theory that Grendel may have originated in an earlier legend as a troll, ettin or jotun). And since the original Old English version of the name may have been grendles (possibly meaning "green lies" -- les is Old English for "lies") or grendlas (possibly meaning "green foot" -- las could be a cognate form of last, which means "foot"), further confirmation may not be possible unless corroborating records or documents can be found.
Further complicating this is the probability that the author was relating a story which itself may have originated much earlier in Scandinavia, as is clearly suggested since it takes place in Denmark, concerns a mostly Danish group of characters, and Beowulf himself is Geatish. Therefore it's very likely that Grendel's name (and probably Beowulf's as well) was originally an Old Norse name, not an Old English name as has been generally accepted. However, no Scandinavian source dealing with the same set of characters (e.g. Hrólfr Kraki's saga, Gesta Danorum, Chronicon Lethrense or Skjöldunga saga) give any name for the corresponding creatures (bears and dragons killed by Beowulf's semi-equivalent Böðvarr Bjarki).
The meaning of Grendel's name is debated as much as the meaning of Beowulf's name, but all argument and discussion could very well be moot since it's possible that it was merely a creation of the author. But taking into account the probability that much of the original pagan story was likely skewed by the decidedly Christian views of the anonymous author, we must also consider the possibility that the Grendel character as presented may be entirely different in name and/or behavior from his/its depiction before the tale was finally committed to paper; i.e., there may have been considerable changes made to the character during the passage of several hundred years due to either garbled and altered re-tellings of the story, or changes in religious ideas brought about by the advent of Christianity. Indeed, another possibility is that Grendel may not have even existed in the original pagan story itself, but was later introduced as an adversary.
However, considering the more solid etymological theories concerning Beowulf's own name (as well as the names of other characters mentioned in the poem), it's more likely that when the anonymous author first put the story on paper Grendel's name had an Old English meaning (presumably comparable to its Old Norse original) which has by now become lost or forgotten.
[edit] Scholarship
The nature of Grendel's identity is something of a conundrum due in large part to a line where he is described as descended from the biblical Cain, the first murderer. For some scholars, this justifies a monstrous appearance. For others, it positions Grendel as a marginal (rather than monstrous) figure which bears the Curse and mark of Cain.
However, the epic also defines Grendel as a jotun (or giant), i.e. a troll. Within the poem, he is described by many different terms including ent, ettin, and "scather" ("one who scathes"). The terms ent, eoten or ettin, meaning "giant", were synonymous with "troll" in Norse mythology (see e.g. Nafnaþulur), and clearly connect Grendel with the Jotuns/trolls of Scandinavia. The term "dragon of greed" is also used in some translations, but this is most likely simply a metaphor rather than an actual description.
Kuhn (1979) was the first to raise questions about the association of any of the above images with Grendel and in an essay which would launch fierce (and as of yet unresolved) debates for decades about the term áglaéca:
"There are five disputed instances of áglaéca [three of which are in Beowulf] 649, 1269, 1512...In the first...the referent can be either Beowulf or Grendel. If the poet and his audience felt the word to have two meanings, 'monster,' and 'hero,' the ambiguity would be troublesome; but if by áglaéca they understood a 'fighter,' the ambiguity would be of little consequence, for battle was destined for both Beowulf and Grendel and both were fierce fighters" (216-7).
Evidence in all of these areas, however, is the subject of debate and inconclusive.
A similar story appears in Hrólf Kraki's saga. Beowulf's cognate Bödvar Bjarki leaves Geatland and arrives at the Danish court. There he kills a beast that has been terrorizing the Danes for two years.
Other scholars, such as O'Keefe, identify Grendel with a Berserker, because of numerous associations that seem to point to this possibility. [1]
John Grigsby, in his 'Beowulf and Grendel:The Truth behind England's oldest legend' puts forward an alternative theory that Grendel is a demonized version of the old Danish fertility god Freyr, and even goes as far as linking Grendel with the Green Knight of Arthurian legend. Grigsby uses evidence combined from Hrólf Kraki's saga and other Scandinavian myths to illustrate how Grendel's vistation was originally at midwinter and that it fits in with an ancient pattern of midwinter ritual.
[edit] Use in Other Media
Grendel as a name has been widely assimilated into popular literature and video games, such as Final Fantasy and Creatures. In fantasy works where the name is used, it usually refers to a beast or monster. In science fiction, the name has been used to denote viruses and evil computer systems. Grendel is referenced in the television programme Star Trek Voyager S1EP12 (Heroes & Demons).
[edit] References
- Klaeber, Fr, and ed. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. Third ed. Boston: Heath, 1950.
- Kuhn, Sherman M. "Old English Aglaeca-Middle Irish Olach." Linguistic Method : Essays in Honor of Herbert Penzl. Eds. Irmengard Rauch and Gerald F. Carr. The Hague, New York: Mouton Publishers, 1979. 213-30.
[edit] Related works
- Kennings for Grendel in the poem include "powerful monster", "herdsman of evil", "moor stepper", "demon corpse", "guardian of crime", "hell-serf", and "captain of evil".
- John C. Gardner's Grendel is the Beowulf story from Grendel's point of view.
- Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes' novel The Legacy of Heorot is, to an extent, a retelling of the poem, on an extraterrestrial world.
- Matt Wagner's Grendel is a comic series focusing upon the force of aggression.
- A movie called Grendel Grendel Grendel, based on the Gardner novel, was released in limited quantities on VHS. This animated feature stars Peter Ustinov as Grendel, and is told from the monster's point of view. It is animated, color, and runs roughly 90 minutes.
- Grendel is in the Monster in My Pocket series.
- The 2006 movie Beowulf and Grendel filmed in Iceland.
- An opera based on Gardner's novel, directed by Julie Taymor, with music and orchestration by Elliot Goldenthal debuted at the Los Angeles Opera in June 2006.
