Grendel's mother
One of three antagonists in the Old English poem Beowulf.
In the Old English poem Beowulf, Grendel's mother is one of three villains, along with her son and a dragon. Each foe represents a different flaw in the hero and his warrior culture. She appears in lines 1258b–1259a as "Grendles modor/ides, aglæcwif." The phrase "ides, aglæcwif" is ambiguous, causing lasting disagreement among scholars, though "modor" is clearly understood.
Quick Facts
- First appearance in poem
- lines 1258b–1259a
- Old english description
- Grendles modor/ides, aglæcwif
- Descent
- descendant of Cain (lines 106–114, 1260–1267)
Facts from the source article.
Story
Grendel's mother, a descendant of Cain like her son, attacks Heorot to avenge Grendel's death. Beowulf follows her to a cave beneath a lake. During their fierce fight, she nearly defeats him. He spots an ancient sword, kills her with it, and then beheads Grendel's corpse. He surfaces to rejoin his men around three in the afternoon.
Function in and structure of the poem
Some scholars argue that female characters in Beowulf typically serve as hostesses or peace-weavers, but Grendel's mother and Modthryth challenge these roles and represent 'monster-women'. Jane Chance notes two standard interpretations of the poem's structure: a two-part structure (battles with Grendel and the dragon) and a three-part structure (treating the battle with Grendel's mother as separate). Chance states that the two-part view has generally prevailed since J. R. R. Tolkien's Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, but the three-part structure has become increasingly popular.
Debates on Grendel's mother
Medieval scholars debate the nature and appearance of Grendel's mother due to ambiguous Old English terms in the manuscript. Her exact appearance is never directly described, though her descent from Cain is known. Some scholars link her to the monsters and giants of the Cain tradition, while others argue she is a heroic figure who adheres to the blood-feud ethic, differing from Grendel's purposeless feud. Until the late 1970s, scholarship was influenced by Frederick Klaeber's edition, which defined 'aglæc-wif' as 'wretch, or monster of a woman' and 'aglæca' as 'monster, demon, fiend' for Grendel or his mother, but as 'warrior, hero' for Beowulf. Notable translations following Klaeber include 'monstrous hell-bride' (Heaney), 'monster-woman' (Chickering), 'woman, monster-wife' (Donaldson), 'Ugly troll-lady' (Trask), and 'monstrous hag' (Kennedy).
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