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Grendel's Ancestry

2008; Oxford University Press; Volume: 55; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/notesj/gjn112

1471-6941

Alfred Bammesberger,

Gothic Literature and Media Analysis

IN the course of his final incursion in Heorot, Grendel is fatally wounded. The Danes prematurely celebrate Beowulf's victorious fight against the monster. Little do they surmise that Grendel's mother will exact revenge after mancynnes feond (line 1276a)1 ‘the enemy of mankind’ succumbs. In the introduction to Grendel's mother's attack on Heorot, we gather information on the monster's ancestry. Ultimately the Grendel kin stems from the fratricide Cain:2 Þanon woc fela geosceaftgasta; wæs þæra Grendel sum, heorowearh hetelic, se æt Heorote fand wæccendne wer wiges bidan (Beowulf, lines 1265b–8)