Stories of Beowulf water witch trying to stab beowulf

Grendel's mother () is one of three

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Old English poem ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...

'' (c. 700–1000 AD), the other two being Grendel and the

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

. Each antagonist reflects different negative aspects of both the hero

and the heroic society in which the poem is set. Grendel's mother is introduced in lines 1258b to 1259a as: "Grendles modor/ides, aglæcwif". Grendel's mother, who is never given a name in the text, is the subject of an ongoing controversy among

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

scholars A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a terminal ...

. This controversy is due to the ambiguity of a few words in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

which appear in the original ''Beowulf'' manuscript. While there is agreement over the word "modor" (mother), the phrase "ides, aglæcwif" is the subject of scholarly debate.

Story

The poem, ''

,'' is contained in the

Nowell Codex The Nowell Codex is the second of two manuscripts comprising the bound volume Cotton MS Vitellius A XV, one of the four major Old English literature#Extant manuscripts, Old English poetic manuscripts. It is most famous as the manuscript containi ...

. As noted in lines 106–114 and lines 1260–1267 of ''Beowulf,'' monsters (which include Grendel's mother and Grendel) are descendants of

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

. After Grendel is killed, Grendel's mother attacks

Heorot 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 ...

in revenge. Beowulf then ventures into her cave under a lake, and engages in fierce combat with Grendel's mother. She nearly kills him until he sees an ancient sword, with which he kills her, and beheads the dead Grendel. Beowulf then returns to the surface and to his men at the "ninth hour" (l. 1600, "nōn", about 3 pm).

Function in and structure of the poem

Some scholars have argued that the female characters in ''Beowulf'' fulfill certain established roles such as ''hostess'' ( Wealhþeow and Hygd) and peace-weaver ( Freawaru and Hildeburh). Grendel's mother and Modthryth (before her marriage to

Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

), challenge these roles, and therefore represent "monster-women".

Jane Chance Jane Chance (born 1945), also known as Jane Chance Nitzsche, is an American scholar specializing in medieval English literature, gender studies, and J. R. R. Tolkien. She spent most of her career at Rice University, where since her retirement she ...

argues in "The Structural Unity of ''Beowulf'': The Problem of Grendel's Mother"Nitzsche, Jane Chance (1980). "The Structural Unity of ''Beowulf'': The Problem of Grendel's Mother." ''Texas Studies in Literature and Language'' 22(3): 287–303. that there are two standard interpretations of the poem: one view which suggests a two-part structure (i.e., the poem is divided between Beowulf's battles with Grendel and with the dragon) and the other, a three-part structure (this interpretation argues that Beowulf's battle with Grendel's mother is structurally separate from his battle with Grendel). Chance stated that, "this view of the structure as two-part has generally prevailed since its inception in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's '' Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics''." In contrast, she argued that the three-part structure has become "increasingly popular". She later developed this argument in ''Woman as Hero in Old English Literature.''

Debates on Grendel's mother

There is ongoing debate among medieval scholars concerning the ambiguity of certain words in

(related to Grendel's mother) which appear in the original ''Beowulf'' manuscript. Because these terms are ambiguous, scholars disagree over aspects of her nature and appearance. As her exact appearance is never directly described in

by the original ''Beowulf'' poet, part of the debate revolves around what is known, namely her descent from the biblical

(who was the first murderer, according to the

Abrahamic religion The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

s). For some scholars, this descent links her and Grendel to the monsters and giants of the ''

Cain tradition In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices, each from his own fields, to God. God had regard for Ab ...

''. Other scholars argue that there is "plenty of evidence for defending Grendel's mother as a heroic figure" as she "accepted and adhered to the heroic ethic of the blood-feud, the main difference between Grendel's feckless feud with the noise at Heorot and his mother's purposeful one exacting retribution for the death of her son. In heroic terms, her vengeance for the death of her kinsman Grendel." This lack of consensus has led to the production of some seminal texts by scholars over the past few decades. One important focus of these articles and books concerns the numerous, and at times opposing, translations of especially the

compound "ides aglæcwif" (1259a).

Monster or demon

Until the late 1970s, all scholarship on Grendel's mother and translations of the phrase "aglæc-wif" were influenced by the edition of noted ''Beowulf'' scholar Frederick Klaeber. His edition, ''Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg'', has been considered a standard in ''Beowulf'' scholarship since its first publication in 1922. According to Klaeber's glossary, "aglæc-wif" translates as: "wretch, or monster of a woman". Klaeber's glossary also defines "aglæca/æglæca" as "monster, demon, fiend" when referring to Grendel or Grendel's mother, or as "warrior, hero" when referring to the character

. Klaeber has influenced many translations of ''Beowulf.'' Notable interpretations of "aglæc-wif" which follow Klaeber include "monstrous hell-bride" (Heaney), Heaney, Seamus
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
'. New York: Norton, 2001. "monster-woman" (Chickering) "woman, monster-wife" (Donaldson), "Ugly troll-lady" (Trask) and "monstrous hag" (Kennedy). Doreen M. E. Gillam's 1961 essay, "The Use of the Term 'Æglæca' in ''Beowulf'' at Lines 893 and 2592", explores Klaeber's dual use of the term "aglæca/æglæca" for the heroes Sigemund and Beowulf as well as for Grendel and Grendel's mother. She argues that "aglæca/æglæca" is used in works besides ''Beowulf'' to reference both "devils and human beings". She further argues that this term is used to imply "supernatural", "unnatural" or even "inhuman" characteristics, as well as hostility towards other creatures. Gillam suggests: "Beowulf, the champion of men against monsters, is almost inhuman himself. glæca/æglæcaepitomises, in one word, the altogether exceptional nature of the dragon fight. Beowulf, the champion of good, the 'monster' amongst men, challenges the traditional incarnation of evil, the Dragon: æglæca meets æglæcan."

Ides/ dis (lady)

The

'' ides'',

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

''itis'' and Old Norse ''

dís In Norse mythology, a dís (Old Norse: , "lady", plural dísir ) is a female deity, ghost, or spirit associated with Fate who can be either benevolent or antagonistic toward mortals. Dísir may act as protective spirits of Norse clans. It ...

'' are cognates that all mean "lady",The article
Dis
' in ''

Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

'' (1907). and ''idisi'' appears as the name of the

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

s in the only surviving pagan source in

, the ''

Merseburg Incantations The Merseburg charms, Merseburg spells, or Merseburg incantations () are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan belief preserved in the language. They were ...

''. More generally, in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, the '' Dísir'' ('ladies') are fate goddesses who can be both benevolent and antagonistic towards mortal people. Consequently, many have pointed out that ''dís'' is probably the original term for the

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

s (lit. "choosers of the slain"), which in turn would be a

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...

for ''dís''. A few scholars have drawn from the work of Eric Stanley by exploring the term ''ides'' as "lady" when discussing Grendel's mother, such as Temple ("Grendel's Lady-Mother", 1986) and Taylor (who argues in his 1994 essay that the term ''Ides'' indicates that "Grendel's mother is a woman of inherently noble status."). In addition, others have suggested that Grendel's mother may be associated with the Norse figures of the

s and of the goddess Gefion who may be an extension of Frigg and Freyja.

Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...

, the daughter of the sea god

Njörðr In Norse mythology, Njörðr (Old Norse: ) is a god among the Vanir. Njörðr, father of the deities Freyr and Freyja by Sister-wife of Njörðr, his unnamed sister, was in an ill-fated marriage with the goddess Skaði, lives in Nóatún (myth ...

, was both a fertility goddess and a goddess of

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

seiðr In Old Norse, (sometimes anglicized as ''seidhr'', ''seidh'', ''seidr'', ''seithr'', ''seith'', or ''seid'') was a type of Magic (paranormal), magic which was practiced in Vikings, Norse society during the Iron Age Scandinavia, Late Scandinavian ...

prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...

and was also sometimes associated with the valkyries and disir. Nora Kershaw Chadwick (1959) and later Helen Damico in two works (''Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition'' and "The Valkyrie Reflex in Old English Literature") argue that Grendel's mother may refer to the myth of the valkyries. Damico states: Damico later argues in ''Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition'' that Wealtheow and Grendel's mother represent different aspects of the valkyries.

Aglæcwif (warrior)

Contemporary scholars have suggested that the use of the term "aglæcwif" indicates that Grendel's mother is a woman warrior. In 1979, ''Beowulf'' scholars Kuhn and Stanley argued against Klaeber's reading of Grendel's mother. In ''Old English Aglaeca-Middle Irish Olach'' Sherman Kuhn questioned Klaeber's translations of both "aglæc-wif" and of "aglæca / æglæca" when referring to Grendel and Grendel's mother, stating that there are Thus Kuhn suggested aglæca should be defined as "a fighter, valiant warrior, dangerous opponent, one who struggles fiercely".Kuhn, S. (1979). "Old English Aglæca – Middle Irish Olach". ''Linguistic Method: Essays in Honor of Herbert Penzl'', p. 218. Mouton Publishers He supported his argument by also stating that "if there were one clear instance of áglæca referring to an unwarlike monster, a peaceful demon, or the like, this definition would fall apart." Kuhn concluded that Eric Stanley added to the debate by critiquing both Klaeber and Gillam: Other scholars have offered varying opinions on this topic. Christine Alfano also questioned standard translations related to Grendel's mother. She states that she found a "noticeable disparity between the Grendel's mother originally created by the ''Beowulf'' poet and the one that occupies contemporary ''Beowulf'' translations. Instead of being what Sherman Kuhn calls a 'female warrior', the modern Grendel's mother is a monster. This assumption informs almost all areas of ''Beowulf'' scholarship, although there is little evidence for this characterization in the original Anglo-Saxon work." Melinda Menzer offered a different approach, suggesting that "aglæcwif denotes a woman, a human female, who is also aglæca".

Dictionary of Old English

The '' Dictionary of Old English'',

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, made the following updates in 1994: * (noun) is translated as ''female warrior, fearsome woman''. * (adj.) is translated as ''formidable, awe-inspiring'' * ' (noun) is translated as ''awesome opponent, ferocious fighter'' The 1994 DOE translations were supported by George Jack in his 1997 glossary of ''Beowulf'' and Bruce Mitchell in his 1998 glossary of ''Beowulf.'' Mitchell, Bruce, et al. (1998). ''Beowulf: An Edition with Relevant Shorter Texts.'' Oxford, UK: Malden Ma.

Depictions in film, literature, and popular culture

Grendel's mother has been adapted in a number of different media, including film, literature, and graphic novels.

References

{{Beowulf Characters in Beowulf Beowulf Feminism and the arts Feminist theory Fictional female warriors Fictional monsters Female literary villains Female film villains Female characters in literature Fictional characters who use magic