Beowulf Journals

Ln. 83. “…The killer instinct unleashed among in-laws, the blood lust rampant...” Alludes to the future destruction of the hall as a result of a feud between the Danes and the Heatho-Bards. Hrothgar’s daughter Freawaru (kind of looks like ‘free-a-war’… oddly enough) becomes a peace-pledge between the two nations, but Beowulf predicts that hostilities will flare up again, leading to the burning of Heorot.


Ln. 87. “…it harrowed him to hear the din of the loud banquet every day in the hall, the harp being struck and the clear song of a skilled poet telling with mastery of man’s beginnings, how the Almighty had made earth…” Grendel, the monster in Heorot doesn’t like the place where people are happy. He’s the “a fiend out of hell”, the opposite of god. He works his evil in the world when the ‘Almighty’ made the earth a “gleaming plain girdled with waters”. 

Grendel: There are several Anglo-Saxon words that share the same root as Grendel. The Old English word Grindan, for example, and from which we derive our word grind, used to denote a destroyer. But the most likely origin of the name is simply the fact that Grendel is an onomatopoeic term derived from the Old Norse Grindill, meaning a storm or Grenja, meaning to bellow. The word Grendel is strongly reminiscent of the deep-throated growl that would be emitted by a very large animal and it came into Middle English usage as Grindel, meaning angry. (Cooper)
The interesting onomatopoeic term Grindan meaning sharp can be connected to the sound of a sharp cry of pain – piercing, shrill, high-pitched, penetrating, harsh, strident, ear-splitting, deafening. He can’t speak – only wail/scream. This could be another punishment.


Ln. 104 “…he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel the Eternal Lord had exacted a price…” Cain killed his brother Abel (kin) when God wouldn’t respect his giving’s like he did Abel’s.  The Creator is God, which is another Christian reference. Killing of a kin is one of the biggest sins in the Pagan culture and is a theme throughout the poem.

Ln 110 “…the Almighty made him anathema and out of the curse of exile…who strove with God time and again until He gave them their reward.” Cain’s family is cursed because of his wrongdoing. It’s ironic that God’s reward is death.

Ln. 123 “…he grabbed thirty men…” Number 30 denotes, in a higher degree, the perfection of divine order, as marking the right moment. It was Grendel’s right moment, but there was no divine order to it because it wasn’t sacred.

Ln. 128 …the wassail was over, they wept to heaven and mourned under morning…” Heaven is again another Christian reference, and so is wassail. Wassail: spiced ale or mulled wine drunk during celebrations for Twelfth Night and Christmas. There is something significant about Christmas here…