Grendel's mother
Encyclopedia
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s (along with Grendel
Grendel
Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...
and the dragon
The Dragon (Beowulf)
The final act of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, depicts the hero Beowulf's fight with a dragon, the third monster he encounters in the epic. Returning from Heorot, where he killed Grendel and Grendel's mother, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats, and rules peacefully for 50 years until a slave...
) in the work of Old English literature
Anglo-Saxon literature
Old English literature encompasses literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others...
of anonymous authorship, Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
(c. 700-1000 AD). She is never given a name in the text.
The nature of Grendel's mother in the poem is the subject of ongoing controversy and debate among medieval scholars. This is due to the ambiguity of a few words in Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
which appear in the original Beowulf manuscript
Nowell Codex
Cotton Vitellius A. xv is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices. It is most famous as the manuscript containing the unique copy of the epic poem Beowulf; in addition to this it contains a fragment of The Life of Saint Christopher, and the more complete texts Letters of Alexander to...
. These words, particularly "ides, aglæcwif" (ll.1258a-1259b), appear either in conjunction with Grendel's mother or with her place of dwelling (a lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
). Some have a specific significance within the context of Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
.
Story
After the monster GrendelGrendel
Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...
is slain by the hero Beowulf
Beowulf (hero)
Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero and later turned king in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language.-Etymology and origins of the character:...
, Grendel's mother attacks the mead hall Heorot
Heorot
Heorot is a mead hall described in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf as "the foremost of halls under heaven." It served as a palace for King Hroðgar, a legendary Danish king of the sixth century. Heorot means "Hall of the Hart"...
to avenge his death. Beowulf is tasked with destroying her, and ventures into her lake-based home, Grendel's Mere. When Grendel's mother senses his presence, she immediately attacks Beowulf and drags him into her home. They then engage in fierce combat. Grendel's mother is about to defeat Beowulf when he sees a sword in the "mere
Mere (lake)
Mere in English refers to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth, e.g. Martin Mere. A significant effect of its shallow depth is that for all or most of the time, it has no thermocline.- Etymology :...
." He uses the sword to decapitate Grendel's mother and to behead the corpse of Grendel. Beowulf then returns to the surface and to his men at the "ninth hour" (l. 1600, "nōn", about 3pm).
Function in and structure of the poem
Some scholars have argued that the female characters in Beowulf fulfill certain established roles such as hostess (WealhþeowWealhþeow
Wealhþēow is a legendary queen of the Danes in the Old English poem, Beowulf, first introduced in line 612.-Character overview:She is the Wulfing queen of the Danes. She is married to Hroðgar, the Danish king and is the mother of sons Hreðric and Hroðmund and also of daughter Freawaru. The meaning...
and Hygd
Hygd
Queen Hygd, introduced in line 1925 of the poem Beowulf, is the wife of King Hygelac of Geatland.After Beowulf defeats Grendel and Grendel's mother, he and his men returned to their native country, where they are received by Hygelac and Hygd. Hygd is beautiful, wise, courteous, and attentive...
) and peaceweaver (Freawaru
Freawaru
Freawaru, introduced in l. 2020 of the poem Beowulf, is the daughter of King Hroðgar and Queen Wealhþeow.Freawaru is a freoðuwebbe or "peaceweaver" who is married to Ingeld, King of the Heaðobards and son of Froda . This marriage was created as a means of ending a feud between the two kingdoms...
and Hildeburh
Hildeburh
Hildeburh, introduced in line 1071 of the poem, Beowulf, is the daughter of the Danish King Hoc and the wife of the Finn, King of the Frisians. Her story is sung by a scop during festivities in lines 1071-1158....
). Grendel's mother and Modthryth (before her marriage to Offa
Offa of Angel
Offa was the 4th-great-grandfather of Creoda of Mercia, and was reputed to be a great-grandson of Woden, English god of war and poetry and creator of Middle-Earth, the realm of man. Offa was the son of Wermund, and the father of Angeltheow...
), who challenge these roles, represent "monster-women." In this context, Jane Chance Nitzsche (Professor of English, Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
) argued for similarities between the juxtaposition of Wealtheow and Grendel's mother to that of the Virgin Mary and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
(1980, 1986).
Chance Nitzsche also argued that there are two standard interpretations of the poem: one view which suggests a two-part structure (i.e., the poem is divided between Beowulf's battles with Grendel
Grendel
Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...
and with the dragon) and the other, a three-part structure (this interpretation argues that Beowulf's battle with Grendel's mother is structurally separate from his battle with Grendel). Chance stated that, "this view of the structure as two-part has generally prevailed since its inception in J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics
Beowulf: the monsters and the critics
"Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" was a 1936 lecture given by J. R. R. Tolkien on literary criticism on the Old English heroic epic poem Beowulf...
in Proceedings of the British Academy 22 (1936)." In contrast, she argued that the three-part structure has become "increasingly popular."
Debates on Grendel's mother
There is a debate among medieval scholars concerning the ambiguity of a few words in Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
related to Grendel's mother or her home (a lake) which appear in the original Beowulf manuscript
Nowell Codex
Cotton Vitellius A. xv is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon literature codices. It is most famous as the manuscript containing the unique copy of the epic poem Beowulf; in addition to this it contains a fragment of The Life of Saint Christopher, and the more complete texts Letters of Alexander to...
. Because these terms are ambiguous, scholars disagree over aspects of her nature and appearance. Indeed, because her exact appearance is never directly described in Old English by the original Beowulf poet, part of the debate revolves around what is known, namely her descent from the biblical Cain
Curse and mark of Cain
In Christianity and Judaism, the curse of Cain and the mark of Cain refer to the passages in the Biblical Book of Genesis where God declared that Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, was cursed for murdering his brother, and placed a mark upon him to warn others that killing Cain would provoke...
(who was the first murderer, according to Abrahamic religions). For some scholars, this descent links her and Grendel to the monsters and giants of the Cain Tradition
The Cain Tradition
The Cain Tradition refers to the tale of Cain and Abel as seen in the Septuagint and the Vulgate.Traditions around the two brothers had started to develop already during the Old Testament time, arguing that descendants of Cain had had sexual intercourse with fallen angels, producing an offspring of...
. Others argue that the lack of descriptives leaves Grendel's mother a marginal, rather than monstrous, figure.
This lack of consensus has led to the production of a few seminal texts by scholars over the past few decades. One important focus of these articles and books concerns the numerous, and at times opposing, translations of especially the Old English compound "ides aglæcwif" (1259a).
Wretch, or monster of a woman (Klaeber & Gillam)
Until the late 1970s, all scholarship on Grendel's mother and translations of the phrase "aglæc-wif" were influenced by the edition of noted Beowulf scholar Frederick KlaeberFrederick Klaeber
Frederick J. Klaeber was a German philologist who was Professor of Old and Middle English at the University of Minnesota...
. His edition, Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, has been considered a standard in Beowulf scholarship since its first publication in 1922. According to Klaeber's glossary, "aglæc-wif" translates as: "wretch, or monster of a woman." Klaeber's glossary also defines "aglæca/æglæca" as "monster, demon, fiend" when referring to Grendel
Grendel
Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...
or Grendel's mother. On the other hand, "aglæca/æglæca" is translated by Klaeber as "warrior, hero" when referring to the character Beowulf
Beowulf (hero)
Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero and later turned king in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language.-Etymology and origins of the character:...
.
Klaeber has influenced many translations of Beowulf. Notable interpretations of line 1259a which follow Klaeber include "monstrous hell bride" (Heaney), "monster-woman" (Chickering) "woman, monster-wife" (Donaldson), "Ugly troll-lady" (Trask) and "monstrous hag" (Kennedy).
Doreen M.E. Gillam's 1961 essay, "The Use of the Term 'Æglæca' in Beowulf at Lines 893 and 2592," explores Klaeber's dual use of the term "aglæca/æglæca" for the heroes Sigemund
Sigmund
This article is about the mythological hero Sigmund; for other meanings see: Sigmund .In Norse mythology, Sigmund is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod...
and Beowulf as well as for Grendel and Grendel's mother. She argues that "aglæca/æglæca" is used in works besides Beowulf to reference both "devils and human beings". She further argues that this term is used to imply "supernatural," "unnatural" or even "inhuman" characteristics, as well as hostility towards other creatures. Gillam suggests: "Beowulf, the champion of men against monsters, is almost inhuman himself. [Aglæca/æglæca] epitomises, in one word, the altogether exceptional nature of the dragon fight. Beowulf, the champion of good, the 'monster' amongst men, challenges the traditional incarnation of evil, the Dragon: æglæca meets æglæcan."
Arguments against Klaeber
Some scholars have argued that Grendel's mother is a woman warriorWoman warrior
The portrayal of women warriors in literature and popular culture is a subject of study in history, literary studies, film studies, folklore and mythology, gender studies, and cultural studies.-Archaeology:...
. In 1979, Beowulf scholars Kuhn and Stanley argued against Klaeber's reading of Grendel's mother. Sherman Kuhn (Emeritus Professor of English and former editor of the Middle English Dictionary
Middle English Dictionary
The Middle English Dictionary is a dictionary of Middle English published by the University of Michigan. "Its 15,000 pages offer a comprehensive analysis of lexicon and usage for the period 1100-1500, based on the analysis of a collection of over three million citation slips, the largest collection...
, University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
,) questioned Klaeber's translations of both "aglæc-wif" and of "aglæca/æglæca" when referring to Grendel and Grendel's mother, stating that there are,
He continued the argument by stating that, "I suggest, therefore, that we define aglæca as 'a fighter, valiant warrior, dangerous opponent, one who struggles fiercely." He also suggested that, "if there were one clear instance of áglæca referring to an unwarlike monster, a peaceful demon, or the like, this definition would fall apart." Kuhn concluded that, "Grendel's mother was an 'aglæc-wif', 'a female warrior' [...] there is no more reason to introduce the idea of monstrosity or of misery here than there is in line 1519 where she is called merewif, defined simply as 'water-woman', 'woman of the mere.'"
E.G. Stanley (Emeritus Professor of Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
, Oxford University ) added to the debate by critiquing both Klaeber and Gillam, stating:
These arguments were supported by Christine Alfano (Lecturer in English, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
), who questioned standard translations related to Grendel's mother in her 1992 article, "The Issue of Feminine Monstrosity: A Reevaluation of Grendel's Mother." She argues that: "I find a noticeable disparity between the Grendel's mother originally created by the Beowulf poet and the one that occupies contemporary Beowulf translations. Instead of being what Sherman Kuhn calls a 'female warrior,' the modern Grendel's mother is a monster. This assumption informs almost all areas of Beowulf scholarship, although there is little evidence for this characterization in the original Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
work." In addition, Alfano discusses the fact that the Beowulf poet never explicitly described what Grendel's mother looks like and explores a number of different translations relating to her ambiguous appearance. Concerning the hands of Grendel's mother Alfano argues that, "Where a literal reading of Grendel's mother's atolan clommum (line 1502) suggests a "terrible grip/grasp," the phrase instead becomes alternatively "horrible claws," "terrible hooks," and "terrible claws" [...] similarly, lapan fingrum (line 1505) literally "hostile/hateful fingers," becomes "claws" and "piercing talons" and grimman grapum (line 1542), "fierce grasp," is transformed into "grim claws" and "sharp claws." Alfano also argues against the choice of some translators to translate "modor" as "dam" rather than "mother": "The simple substitution of the word 'dam,' a term used generally to describe animals, for 'mother' in the translation of modor (line 1538) further diminishes her claim on humanity."
Ides/Dis (Germanic paganism)
The Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
ides
Idis (Germanic)
In Germanic mythology, an idis is a divine female being. Idis is cognate to Old High German itis and Old English ides, meaning 'well-respected and dignified woman.' Connections have been assumed or theorized between the idisi and the North Germanic dísir; female beings associated with fate, as...
, Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
itis and Old Norse dís
Dis
- Academic institutions :* DIS – Danish Institute for Study Abroad, an English language study abroad program located in Copenhagen, Denmark* Dili International School, DIS an International School in Dili, Timor Leste - Companies :...
are cognates that all mean "lady," and idisi appears as the name of the valkyries in the only surviving pagan source in Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
, the Merseburg Incantations
Merseburg Incantations
The Merseburg Incantations are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan belief preserved in this language...
. More generally, in Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, the Dísir
Dísir
In Norse mythology, a dís is a ghost, spirit or deity associated with fate who can be both benevolent and antagonistic towards mortal people. Dísir may act as protective spirits of Norse clans...
("ladies") are fate goddesses who can be both benevolent and antagonistic towards mortal people.
Consequently, many have pointed out that dís is probably the original term for the valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
s (lit. "choosers of the slain"), which in turn would be a kenning
Kenning
A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...
for dís.
Scholars have continued Stanley's discussion of ides
Idis (Germanic)
In Germanic mythology, an idis is a divine female being. Idis is cognate to Old High German itis and Old English ides, meaning 'well-respected and dignified woman.' Connections have been assumed or theorized between the idisi and the North Germanic dísir; female beings associated with fate, as...
as "lady" when discussing Grendel's mother, most notably Temple ("Grendel's Lady-Mother," 1986) and Taylor (who argues in his 1994 essay that the term Ides indicates that "Grendel's mother is a woman of inherently noble status"). In addition, other scholars have suggested that Grendel's mother may be associated with the Norse
Norse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
figures of the Valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
s and of the goddess Gefion who may be an extension of Frigg and Freyja. Freyja, the daughter of the sea god Njörðr, was both a Fertility goddess
Fertility goddess
A fertility deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with fertility, pregnancy, and birth. In some cases these deities are directly associated with sex, and in others they simply embody related attributes...
and a goddess of war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
, death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, seiðr
Seiðr
Seid or seiðr is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery or witchcraft which was practiced by the pre-Christian Norse. Sometimes anglicized as "seidhr," "seidh," "seidr," "seithr," or "seith," the term is also used to refer to modern Neopagan reconstructions or emulations of the...
, prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
and was also sometimes associated with the Valkyries and disir.
Nora Kershaw Chadwick
Nora Kershaw Chadwick , CBE, was a noted medievalist.-Background:Chadwick was born in Lancashire in 1891. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and lectured at St Andrews during World War I. She returned to Cambridge in 1919 to study Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse under...
(1959) and later Helen Damico (Professor of English, (oxford university in two works (1980)/(1984) argue that Grendel's mother may refer to the myth of the Valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
s. In her 1980 essay, "The Valkyrie Reflex in Old English Literature," Damico argues that:
Damico later argues in Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition that Wealtheow and Grendel's mother represent different aspects of the valkyrie.
Other mythological figures and hero
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
) also drew on the term "ides" by pairing it with "dis." He noted that, the "dis" were "female guardian spirit[s]" with the "power over the dead and choosing who would die. In this
capacity [they] might be feared." Battaglia thus suggested that Grendel's mother was the Early Germanic goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
Gefion (whom he states was also a form of Nerthus
Nerthus
In Germanic paganism, Nerthus is a goddess associated with fertility. Nerthus is attested by Tacitus, the first century AD Roman historian, in his Germania. Various theories exist regarding the goddess and her potential later traces amongst the Germanic tribes...
and Freyja). He further notes that "in scaldic poetry the word dis means goddess [...] Freyia herself is called Vanadis, that is, dis of the Vanir, the Scandinavian chthonic
Chthonic
Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land or the land as territory...
, fertility deities." He also notes that the Gefion was referenced five times in the poem: l.49 (géafon on gársecg - "Gefion on the waves"), l.362 (ofer geofenes begang - "over Gefion's realm"), l.515 (geofon ýþum - "Gefion welled up in waves"), l.1394 (né on gyfenes grund - "Ground of Gefion"), and l.1690 (gifen géotende - "Gefion gushing"). In addition, he states, "in Old English poetry, geofon is a word for ocean which has been seen since Jakob Grimm (1968, 198) as related to the name Gefion of the Danish Earth Goddess...power to divide land and sea is shown by representations of Gefion in Norse literature."
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
, in his translation of Beowulf, compared Grendel's mother to an "amazon warrior
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
" in l.1283 (swá bið mægþa cræft).
In addition, Kevin Kiernan (Emeritus Professor of English, University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
) followed Klaeber's interpretation of monstrosity in his 1984 article "Grendel's Heroic Mother." At the same time, he argues, a scholar could "find plenty of evidence for defending Grendel's mother as a heroic figure." He further argues that, "Grendel's mother accepted and adhered to the heroic ethic of the blood-feud, the main difference between Grendel's feckless feud with the noise at Heorot and his mother's purposeful one exacting retribution for the death of her son. In heroic terms, her vengeance for the death of her kinsman Grendel."
Dictionary of Old English (Jack, Mitchell, & Menzer)
The Dictionary of Old EnglishDictionary of Old English
The Dictionary of Old English is a dictionary published by the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto under the direction of Angus Cameron , Ashley Crandell Amos , and Antonette diPaolo Healey. It "defines the vocabulary of the first six centuries of the English language, using...
, University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, made the following updates in 1994:
- āglāc-wíf (noun) is translated as female warrior, fearsome woman.
- āglæca (adj.) is translated as formidable, awe-inspiring
- āglæca (noun) is translated as awesome opponent, ferocious fighter
The 1994 DOE translations were supported by George Jack (Former Lecturer in English, University of St. Andrews ) in his 1997 glossary of Beowulf. They were also supported by Bruce Mitchell
Bruce Mitchell (scholar)
-Early life, Australia:Mitchell was born in Lismore, New South Wales. He won a free place at the University of Melbourne but was unable to take it up and instead after leaving school at 15, worked as a student teacher while studying part-time...
(Emeritus Fellow at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
) in his 1998 glossary of Beowulf.
Melinda Menzer (Associate Professor of English, Furman University
Furman University
Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...
) critiqued both the new DOE translations, as well as those influenced by Klaeber, in a 1996 article which argued that the actual meaning of aglæca is problematic. Thus, Menzer states, "from the semantic norm
Norm (sociology)
Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...
s governing compounds with -wif [...] the word does not merely refer to the female equivalent of a male or genderless aglæca ('female warrior,' 'female monster'); aglæcwif denotes a woman, a human female, who is also aglæca [...] Indeed wif alone always refers to a woman, rather than a female being."