In the original early medieval Anglo Saxon poem “Beowulf”, it is actually very unclear what kind of creature exactly is the mother of Grendel. Her name also remain “unknown” because it was never mentioned in poem which is the main reason why scholars simply referred to her as “Grendel’s mother”.
Some are saying that both Grendel and his mother were “demonic creatures” while others say that they were “monsters”.
What’s the difference between a monster from a demonic creature? Monsters are creatures that are typically large, ugly and frightening. While demonic creatures can also be monsters but the difference is that, they possess wicked super natural powers.
So if both Grendel and his mom were monsters, any heroic human may be able to slay them. Or, a large group of soldiers composed of brave warriors can easily get rid of them. You have to know that Beowulf was “no ordinary man”. He possess super human strength and he was protected by the Christian God. This allowed him to overcome the impossible odds of slaying numerous demonic monsters in his entire adversary.
If both Grendel and his mom were monsters with no demonic powers then some ordinary brave adventurer or a group of brave soldiers had already gotten rid of them. But, no one was capable of doing it where those who tried ended up being a victim where they got gruesomely devoured.
The poem even states that Grendel reigned and struck terror on the land of Danes or Heorot for many years. This confirms that both creatures were of “demonic nature”.
As described in the poem, Grendel’s mother possess the same physical attributes as her son. She had the same viciousness, super physical strength, durability and toxic blood. Grendel and his mother’s demonic abilities were probably not described in the poem because it was useless against Beowulf.
Speaking about “toxic blood”, this was confirmed when Beowulf used his sword to cut Grendel’s head off. It actually got completely dissolved. During the time of their battle, Beowulf’s sword incurred damages and it was probably caused by the creature’s toxic blood every time the sword cuts a wound.
Despite all these physical qualities about Grendel’s mom described in the poem, they aren’t really good enough as a basis to identify what kind of creature she was. But what can we derive from them is that, she must be a giant and definitely not a human kind.
A much better clue about Grendel’s mother about what kind of creature she was which according to the original poem is that, “she lives in a lake”. Could she be a mermaid?
I guess not, it’s because she can travel on land.
When her son Grendel got slain by Beowulf, she sought revenge by attacking Heorot. This means that she has the ability to walk on lands but we do not know how many legs she possess. But what we are sure about is that, she was a “water creature”.
One good theory suggest that Grendel’s mother must be of reptile kind. It’s because majority of reptilian creatures who lives in a water habitat can also travel on land surfaces. Some good examples are crocodiles, snakes and lizards.
By nature of every living creature on this world, it is very common that children or the offspring will inherit almost every aspects of the qualities of their parents.
When it comes to Grendel and his mom, Grendel was a carnivore who loves and enjoy devouring human flesh. It was probably his favorite type of food to eat. However, his mother does not which is a contrary. Could it be that Grendel was an adopted son?
The mother actually stayed dormant for a very long period of time while allowing her son to spread chaos to the human civilization. But here is one possible reason, maybe Grendel was bringing food for his mom. It’s because in the poem, Grendel does not feed himself on the site of his attack until he was full and leave empty handed. He also often took a number of human victims back to their lair and probably, they were not just for him but for his mother.
Yet, this reason isn’t really good enough unless the mother was that too lazy to hunt for her food.
Both Grendel and his mother were not just some kind of monsters that are comparable with animal behaviors. It is quite interesting enough that they possess “human like emotions”.
You might object and say, “Then why do they feast on humans?”
Well, they weren’t humans in the first place. And the main reason why they hunt and prey for humans was that, they consider them as food. So technically, the question is the same thing as asking about why man eat pigs.
Grendel’s mother staying silent until her son got killed remains a mystery. Isn’t it that by nature, monsters especially demonic kinds were meant to struck fear and terror to every human on this world?
This wasn’t the case for Grendel’s mom. She was only forced to come out of her lair to seek revenge for her fallen son. If you are going to analyze closely, she had an “emotion” and acted the same way a human would do. If she had no emotion then most likely, she does not had any intention of avenging her only son.
Some scholars speculated that Grendel’s mother was a “noble warrior lady”. It’s because during the ancient period of time, seeking revenge was considered an honorable and noble act. Except that, they weren’t humans so it is still unsure if being noble is applicable to them.
The poem also described that the mother nearly killed Beowulf with her bare hands and by using a dagger on her second attempt. This proved that she was a more formidable opponent as compared to Grendel. And, it was the reason why some scholars think of her as a warrior lady.
Since we mentioned the word “lady”, some scholars described her as a “lake women” where she possess some kind of “aquatic humanoid form”. Thus, this was used as a basis in the 2007 Beowulf animated movie where the mother was portrayed by Angelina Jolie.
However, this female sexuality is still considered a theory. Have you already heard of the scientific word, “hermaphrodite”?
If not then these are some creatures who possess two reproductive organs which allows them to produce their offspring without the need of mating with a partner. This makes Grendel’s mom possibly a hermaphrodite since the father was never mentioned in the poem because he never even existed in the first place.
Conclusion
Studying further about Grendel and his mother to determine what kind of creature they were, maybe the “Christian Holy Bible” holds the answer. In fact, the poem even described both creatures as the descendants of the “Biblical Cain”. Although, they were no longer humans.
Base on my research with the Holy Scriptures, I came across the creatures that are called, “Nephilims”. They were giant creatures that possess incredible strength, super powers and great knowledge. These are attributes that are somewhat close to the characteristics of Grendel and his mom.
Nephilims were never created by the Christian God but by the “fallen angels” who reveled against Him. Although, they did it by having intercourse with the female humans which brought these creatures out to this world. It was more like, they tampered God’s creation.
They may had chosen to impregnate women from Cain’s lineage because they already turned themselves away from God. In case you do not know, Cain was the first person who committed one of the greatest sin which is “murder”. He actually murdered his brother.
Going back to Grendel and his mother, they were probably the last kind of the Nephilims that miraculously survive the so called “Noah’s Flood”. Or, God probably spared the mother who hasn’t given birth to her son because she wasn’t really a threat to mankind at that time.
Unfortunately, when she gave birth to a man-eating monster who constantly attacks humans unlike her who choose to stay quiet in her own dwelling place. God finally decided to put an end to them by sending Beowulf to finish them off.
Some are saying that both Grendel and his mother were “demonic creatures” while others say that they were “monsters”.
What’s the difference between a monster from a demonic creature? Monsters are creatures that are typically large, ugly and frightening. While demonic creatures can also be monsters but the difference is that, they possess wicked super natural powers.
So if both Grendel and his mom were monsters, any heroic human may be able to slay them. Or, a large group of soldiers composed of brave warriors can easily get rid of them. You have to know that Beowulf was “no ordinary man”. He possess super human strength and he was protected by the Christian God. This allowed him to overcome the impossible odds of slaying numerous demonic monsters in his entire adversary.
If both Grendel and his mom were monsters with no demonic powers then some ordinary brave adventurer or a group of brave soldiers had already gotten rid of them. But, no one was capable of doing it where those who tried ended up being a victim where they got gruesomely devoured.
The poem even states that Grendel reigned and struck terror on the land of Danes or Heorot for many years. This confirms that both creatures were of “demonic nature”.
As described in the poem, Grendel’s mother possess the same physical attributes as her son. She had the same viciousness, super physical strength, durability and toxic blood. Grendel and his mother’s demonic abilities were probably not described in the poem because it was useless against Beowulf.
Speaking about “toxic blood”, this was confirmed when Beowulf used his sword to cut Grendel’s head off. It actually got completely dissolved. During the time of their battle, Beowulf’s sword incurred damages and it was probably caused by the creature’s toxic blood every time the sword cuts a wound.
Despite all these physical qualities about Grendel’s mom described in the poem, they aren’t really good enough as a basis to identify what kind of creature she was. But what can we derive from them is that, she must be a giant and definitely not a human kind.
Grendel’s Mother Must be a Sea Creature
A much better clue about Grendel’s mother about what kind of creature she was which according to the original poem is that, “she lives in a lake”. Could she be a mermaid?
I guess not, it’s because she can travel on land.
When her son Grendel got slain by Beowulf, she sought revenge by attacking Heorot. This means that she has the ability to walk on lands but we do not know how many legs she possess. But what we are sure about is that, she was a “water creature”.
One good theory suggest that Grendel’s mother must be of reptile kind. It’s because majority of reptilian creatures who lives in a water habitat can also travel on land surfaces. Some good examples are crocodiles, snakes and lizards.
Difference between Grendel and his Mother
By nature of every living creature on this world, it is very common that children or the offspring will inherit almost every aspects of the qualities of their parents.
When it comes to Grendel and his mom, Grendel was a carnivore who loves and enjoy devouring human flesh. It was probably his favorite type of food to eat. However, his mother does not which is a contrary. Could it be that Grendel was an adopted son?
The mother actually stayed dormant for a very long period of time while allowing her son to spread chaos to the human civilization. But here is one possible reason, maybe Grendel was bringing food for his mom. It’s because in the poem, Grendel does not feed himself on the site of his attack until he was full and leave empty handed. He also often took a number of human victims back to their lair and probably, they were not just for him but for his mother.
Yet, this reason isn’t really good enough unless the mother was that too lazy to hunt for her food.
Monsters with Emotions
Both Grendel and his mother were not just some kind of monsters that are comparable with animal behaviors. It is quite interesting enough that they possess “human like emotions”.
You might object and say, “Then why do they feast on humans?”
Well, they weren’t humans in the first place. And the main reason why they hunt and prey for humans was that, they consider them as food. So technically, the question is the same thing as asking about why man eat pigs.
Grendel’s mother staying silent until her son got killed remains a mystery. Isn’t it that by nature, monsters especially demonic kinds were meant to struck fear and terror to every human on this world?
This wasn’t the case for Grendel’s mom. She was only forced to come out of her lair to seek revenge for her fallen son. If you are going to analyze closely, she had an “emotion” and acted the same way a human would do. If she had no emotion then most likely, she does not had any intention of avenging her only son.
A Noble Warrior Lady
Some scholars speculated that Grendel’s mother was a “noble warrior lady”. It’s because during the ancient period of time, seeking revenge was considered an honorable and noble act. Except that, they weren’t humans so it is still unsure if being noble is applicable to them.
The poem also described that the mother nearly killed Beowulf with her bare hands and by using a dagger on her second attempt. This proved that she was a more formidable opponent as compared to Grendel. And, it was the reason why some scholars think of her as a warrior lady.
Since we mentioned the word “lady”, some scholars described her as a “lake women” where she possess some kind of “aquatic humanoid form”. Thus, this was used as a basis in the 2007 Beowulf animated movie where the mother was portrayed by Angelina Jolie.
However, this female sexuality is still considered a theory. Have you already heard of the scientific word, “hermaphrodite”?
If not then these are some creatures who possess two reproductive organs which allows them to produce their offspring without the need of mating with a partner. This makes Grendel’s mom possibly a hermaphrodite since the father was never mentioned in the poem because he never even existed in the first place.
Conclusion
Studying further about Grendel and his mother to determine what kind of creature they were, maybe the “Christian Holy Bible” holds the answer. In fact, the poem even described both creatures as the descendants of the “Biblical Cain”. Although, they were no longer humans.
Base on my research with the Holy Scriptures, I came across the creatures that are called, “Nephilims”. They were giant creatures that possess incredible strength, super powers and great knowledge. These are attributes that are somewhat close to the characteristics of Grendel and his mom.
Nephilims were never created by the Christian God but by the “fallen angels” who reveled against Him. Although, they did it by having intercourse with the female humans which brought these creatures out to this world. It was more like, they tampered God’s creation.
They may had chosen to impregnate women from Cain’s lineage because they already turned themselves away from God. In case you do not know, Cain was the first person who committed one of the greatest sin which is “murder”. He actually murdered his brother.
Going back to Grendel and his mother, they were probably the last kind of the Nephilims that miraculously survive the so called “Noah’s Flood”. Or, God probably spared the mother who hasn’t given birth to her son because she wasn’t really a threat to mankind at that time.
Unfortunately, when she gave birth to a man-eating monster who constantly attacks humans unlike her who choose to stay quiet in her own dwelling place. God finally decided to put an end to them by sending Beowulf to finish them off.
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