Hrothgar was preparing for war with a rival king, but the king presented his sister Wealtheow as a gift in order to ensure peace between the two kingdoms. Grendel then remembers the arrival of Hrothgar’s queen, Wealtheow. Grendel refused to kill him, though, and brought him safely back to Hrothgar. Grendel let Unferth live, and so Unferth followed Grendel back to his lair in order to die nobly. Grendel teased and toyed with Unferth, denying the existence of real heroes. On one raid, he encountered a particularly strong Dane named Unferth, who thought of himself as a noble hero.

Shortly after, Grendel began his habitual raids on Hrothgar’s meadhall. The dragon put a charm on Grendel, rendering him invulnerable to weapons. Though Grendel had trouble following his abstract, philosophical ideas, he took away the main idea that all of life is meaningless when considered in the grand scheme of eternity. The dragon instructed Grendel about the humans, time, space, and the universe. But they were terrified at him and attacked him, so he fled.Īfter his encounter with the Shaper, Grendel visited the dragon, a wise but fearsome creature obsessed with his hoard of treasure. Greatly upset, Grendel rushed into the meadhall and tried to tell the Danes that he meant them no harm. According to the Shaper, Grendel is the descendant of the cursed brother. Once, when Grendel was spying on Hrothgar and the humans, the Shaper sang of two ancient brothers who feuded: one killed the other and so was cursed for eternity. His songs enraged but also enchanted Grendel, who was swept away by their beauty. This man, the Shaper, sang beautiful songs that glorified Hrothgar and his people. One night, once Hrothgar’s power was firmly established, an old blind man arrived at his meadhall and offered to sing for pay. The humans were relentless in their destruction of nature and of their human enemies.

As communities expanded, wars began to erupt and Hrothgar gradually gained power. Grendel describes how the humans eventually developed agriculture and created settlements. Grendel’s terrifying mother came and rescued him from the humans, who fled. Grendel tried to talk to them, but they were frightened at his monstrous voice and attacked him. Then, a group of humans led by Hrothgar found Grendel, and were unsure what kind of creature he was. The bull charged again and again to no avail until, tired, it simply left. A bull found him and charged at him, though unable to harm Grendel significantly. Once, he got his foot stuck in between two tree trunks in the forest. Grendel talks angrily to himself and heads for the meadhall of Hrothgar, whose kingdom he habitually raids. As spring begins, he encounters a ram and, irritated at the stupidity of the creature, tries to scare it away.

Grendel is a fearsome monster who lives underground in a cave with his mother.

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