Grendel's Mother- Germanic CreatureCreature · Monster"Sea-Wolf"
Description
She came for her son. After Beowulf tore Grendel's arm from its socket, his mother rose from a haunted mere to seize Hrothgar's dearest counselor and drag him to the depths. Beowulf followed her down and killed her with a giant's sword, the only weapon in her underwater hall that could cut her flesh.
Mythology & Lore
The Avenger in the Deep
Grendel's mother is the second monster Beowulf must face in the Old English epic. After Beowulf tears off Grendel's arm and the creature flees to die, his mother emerges from the mere to avenge her son's death. She comes with purpose and intelligence, she successfully kills one of Hrothgar's most beloved counselors, and she nearly defeats Beowulf in her underwater lair.
The poem never gives her a name. She is "Grendles modor" or "ides" (woman) or "brimwylf" (sea-wolf). She is also called "wrecend": avenger. A mother's duty to avenge a slain son was understood even when the mother was a monster.
The Attack on Heorot
Grendel's mother comes to Heorot on the night after Beowulf's victory. The Danes, believing the danger past, have returned to sleeping in the hall. She strikes swiftly: she seizes Æschere, Hrothgar's dearest counselor and closest friend, and she takes back Grendel's arm from where it hung as a trophy.
The Mere and the Descent
Grendel's mother dwells in an underwater hall beneath a haunted mere. The mere burns with strange fire at night. Frost-covered trees lean over the dark water. Sea-serpents swim in its depths. A hunted stag will die on the shore rather than enter. Beowulf swims for most of a day before reaching the bottom, enduring attacks from sea-monsters on the way down.
The Battle Beneath the Waves
The fight with Grendel's mother is the poem's most desperate combat. She seizes Beowulf and drags him to her hall, where his armor prevents her claws from piercing him. He swings Hrunting, a famous sword lent by Unferth, but it fails completely, the first time it has ever failed. She throws him down, sits upon him, and draws a dagger, but his chainmail holds.
Desperate, Beowulf sees a massive sword on the wall, a weapon forged by giants, too heavy for any normal man. He seizes it and strikes the mother through the neck. She falls dead. With the same blade he beheads Grendel's corpse lying in the hall. The giant's sword then melts from the monsters' poisonous blood, leaving only the golden hilt. Beowulf surfaces with Grendel's head and the hilt, and his companions, who had given him up for dead after seeing blood rise to the surface, rejoice at his return.