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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 save Beowulf himself.
Story
- See main article: Beowulf:Story
Scholarship
The nature of Grendel's identity is something of a conundrum due in large part to his descent 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.
In a similar fashion, some scholars have connected the image of Grendel with that of a troll. Within the poem, he is described by many different terms including ent, ettin, and "scather" ("one who scathes"). The term eoten or ettin in particular (which Klaeber defines as "giant") has been defined by some as "troll." In addition, certain folktales in the Oral tradition of the time perpetuated this image and some scholars believe that they may have had an impact upon the poet.
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 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.
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.
- In the video game "Skies of Arcadia" and "Skies of Arcadia Legends" Grendel is the name of the green gigas, which is later stopped by the story's main heroes in the airship the little jack
- Grendel has also been used as a monster name in the popular Dragon Quest videogame series.
Related works
- Kennings for Grendel in the poem include "powerful monster", "herdsman of evil", "moor stepper", "demon corpse", and "guardian of crime".
- John C. Gardner's Grendel is the Beowulf story from Grendel's point of view.
- Progressive rock group Marillion have an early epic song named Grendel (from the E.P. Market Square Heroes), which, according to then-singer Fish, was influenced by Gardner's book.
- Larry Niven and Steven Barnes' novel The Legacy of Heorot is, to an extent, a retelling of the poem, on an extraterrestrial world.
- James Rollins's novel "Ice Hunt" features the prehistoric whale-like creature Ambulocetus natans awakening from hibernation during a skirmish between American and Russian forces over a polar research station. The novel implies that the creatures, who awaken periodically from hibernation to feed, were the inspiration for the Grendel myth.
- Matt Wagner's Grendel is a comic series focusing upon the force of aggression.
- Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead (filmed as The 13th Warrior) is a retelling of the Beowulf story through the eyes of a 10th century Muslim, Ibn Fadlan. In Crichton's version, "Grendel" is a tribe of cannibalistic Neanderthals.
- In the strange sci-fi update movie of 1999, Beowulf, starring Christopher Lambert, Grendel is played by Vincent Hammond as a half-human, half-demon son of King Hrothgar, returning to reclaim the kingdom for himself.
- In Simon Green's Deathstalker series, Grendels are a species of "unstoppable alien killing machines, living weapons". Grendel is also the name of the planet on which thousands of the species were found sleeping in deep-buried vaults.
- The southern Californian stoner rock band Fu Manchu released a song named Grendel, Snowman on their third LP, The Action is Go in 1996 which seems to refer to a Yeti version of the Beowulf monster.
- A track called Grendel is one of the highlights of highly influental alternative rock / emo band Sunny Day Real Estate's 1994 debut album Diary. However epic the track might be, Jeremy Enigk's lyrics accompanying the song seemingly express something completely different than the 1000 year old epic poem.
- 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.
- Various computer games have used the name "Grendel" to represent a race of creatures. For instance, in the PC game Masters of Orion 3, Grendels are a race of very tough and loyal reptiles. In StarCraft and its expansion Brood War, the Grendel Brood is one of the many Zerg broods, each named for a different monster in mythology. Many other computer games, such as Creatures, Creatures 2, Creatures 3, Docking Station and Final Fantasy X have used the name Grendel as a breed of creature.
- "Grendel (band)" EBM Artist on the NoiTekk label.
- Grendel, former radio DJ on KSCU 103.3 FM, won Best DJ in Metro Silicon Valley's 2001 Best of Silicon Valley and Best Celebrity in Metro Silicon Valley's Best of Silicon Valley 2002.
- Alexander Arms recently unveiled a new cartridge called the 6.5 Grendel. It offers superior terminal ballistic performance when compared to the 7.62 NATO, while offering around half the recoil, depending on the load.
- The 2006 movie Beowulf and Grendel filmed in Iceland.
- An opera based on Gardner's novel, directed by Julie Taymor debuted at the Los Angeles Opera in June 2006.
External links
"Grendel"