Grendels – Grendel from the poem Beowulf
https://wiki.wizard101central.com/wiki/Category:Grendel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grendel
Grendels are one of the primary foes of Grizzleheim. They look like Gremlins and come in all shapes and sizes. You’ll find them just about everywhere in the land of bears and wolves.
Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem’s three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as both an eoten and a þyrs, types of beings from wider Germanic mythology. He is also described as a descendant of the Biblical Cain and “a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of God, the destroyer and devourer of our human kind.” He is usually depicted as a monster or a giant, although his status as a monster, giant, or other form of supernatural being is not clearly described in the poem and thus remains the subject of scholarly debate. The character of Grendel and his role in the story of Beowulf have been subject to numerous reinterpretations and re-imaginings. Grendel is feared by all in Heorot but Beowulf, who kills both him and his mother.
Grendel is a figure in the poem Beowulf, preserved in the Nowell Codex. Grendel, being cursed as the descendant of the Biblical Cain, along with elves and other eotens, is “harrowed” by the sounds of singing that come every night from the mead hall of Heorot built by King Hroðgar. Unable to bear it any more, he attacks Heorot. Grendel continues to attack the Hall every night for twelve years, killing its inhabitants and making the mead hall unusable. The poet also details how Grendel consumes the men he kills, “now that he could hope to eat his fill.”
Beowulf hears of these attacks and leaves his native land of the Geats to destroy Grendel. He is warmly welcomed by King Hroðgar, who gives a banquet in celebration. Afterwards, Beowulf and his warriors bed down in the mead hall to await the inevitable attack. Grendel stalks outside the building for a time, spying the warriors inside. He then makes a sudden attack, bursting through the door with his fists. The first warrior Grendel finds is still asleep, so he seizes the man and devours him. Grendel grabs a second warrior, but is shocked when the warrior grabs back with fearsome strength. As Grendel attempts to disengage, the reader discovers that Beowulf is that second warrior. Beowulf uses neither weapon nor armor in this fight. He also places no reliance on his companions and has no need of them. He trusts that God has given him strength to defeat Grendel, whom he believes is God’s adversary. Beowulf tears off Grendel’s arm, mortally wounding the creature. Grendel flees but dies in his marsh den. There, Beowulf later engages in a fierce battle with Grendel’s mother in a mere, over whom he triumphs with a sword found there. Following her death, Beowulf finds Grendel’s corpse and removes his head, which he keeps as a trophy. Beowulf then returns to the surface and to his men at the “ninth hour”. He returns to Heorot, where a grateful Hroðgar showers him with gifts.
The exact description of Grendel is debated by scholars, because his exact appearance is never directly described in Old English by the original Beowulf poet, part of the debate revolves around what is known, namely his descent from the biblical Cain (the first murderer in the Bible). Grendel is called a sceadugenga – “shadow walker”, in other words “night goer” – given that the monster was repeatedly described to be in the shroud of darkness.
After Grendel’s death, Hroðgar describes him as vaguely human in shape, though much larger:
Old English text
… óðer earmsceapen
on weres wæstmum wraéclástas træd
næfne hé wæs mára þonne aénig man óðer
þone on géardagum Grendel nemdon
Tolkien translation
… the other, miscreated thing,
in man’s form trod the ways of exile,
albeit he was greater than any other human thing.
Him in days of old the dwellers on earth named Grendel
Grendel’s severed head is also so large that it takes four men to transport it. Furthermore, when Grendel’s torn arm is inspected it is described as being covered in impenetrable scales and horny growths.
The current list of all the (known) Grizzleheim/Wintertusk references are located here.
Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references, I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.
Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages
Grendel image is from Wizard101, and is copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.
Illustration of Grendel is borrowed from Wikipedia, it is in the Public Domain.
Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.
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