The story states that all of cain s descendants also became outcasts and eventually monsters. According to conflict of adam and eve with satan and other books like life of adam and eve, the descendants of cain lived completely isolated from the descendants of seth. In the bible, cain kills his brother, abel, because of jealousy and is therefore punished and banished from the garden of eden by god. In beowulf, what is the significance of grendel being. After murdering his brother, abel, in a fit of rage, cain is cursed by god and. Lamech was especially cain like, since he boasted of killing a man who had injured him and even demanded greater vengeance in the event of his own murder than what god had granted to cain genesis 4. This story of cain and abel is in the old testament of the bible. The narrator of beowulf claims that grendels motivation is hearing hrothgars bard sing songs about gods creation of the world, which rubs his demonic nature the wrong way. What is the symbolic significance of grendel and his.
Described in the poem as a descendent of cain in the book of genesis, grendel is the epitome of evil. Subjects of scyld and his descendants, and hence often called scyldings. When grendel first hears this he appears to them carrying a man whose throat had been slit by another scylding as if to say that humans are no different than he is, and they have no grounds to reject him. Grendel and cain in the story of beowulf you get a glimpse of many different themes throughout this epic. At one point the shaper characterizes grendel as one of the descendants of cain cursed by god.
It is natural that the monstrous dragon might descend from this same line. Beowulf defeats three gruesome monsters, two of whom are descendants of cain. Grendel is a descendant of cain, so he shares cains exile from all that is good and light. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet. For school, im reading beowulf and i need help with this.
Grendel and his mother, and later on the dragon, are referred to as descendants of cain. Part i, noachic tradition, anglosaxon england 8 1979. It was the descendants of cain who were wicked and god wiped them from the earth by flood, saving only the descendants of seth, who were only eight people when the flood. Cain, cam, jutes, giants, and the textual criticism of beowulf jstor. In beowulf, it is revealed that grendel and his mother are descendants of cain. In the company of predators beowulf and the monstrous. Phillies feldman, thalia 1981 grendel and cains descendants, literary onomastics studies. Beowulf is the savior, who represents good, who fights all evil. If anyone knows of any drummers or is a drummer that would like to play some hard rock with the remaining dob members, let us know and maybe just maybe kings will fall to their knees once again. That, and they were the descendants of cain as well. How could this be possible if the flood killed everyone. Cain committed the first recorded murder in the bible when he killed his brother, abel, out of jealousy. Grendel is a character in the anglosaxon epic poem beowulf ad 700. Grendel and cain and how they relate in beowulf bartleby.
Beowulf also announces that, if he is killed, unferth will get hrunting back. After reading beowulf, i was curious about what happened to cain and abel once they left the garden of eden. So beowulf himself, even, might be said to have been killed by the kin of cain. That might be why the weapon was able to harm grendels mother. Though the epic poem, beowulf, is set in old norse pagan culture, the author is often writing from a. Hwang sunwon, perhaps the most beloved and respected korean.
Whether viewed as pagan epic or christian allegory, the social basis of beowulf rested on the comitatus, the preurban. In the anglosaxon period of beowulf, all evil was believed to exist because of cain. He is immune to any weapons made of iron as he has cast a spell over them, and is thus killed by beowulf in a. As a matter of fact, yahweh acquiesces to cain and vows to protect him. While three collections of his short stories have appeared in hong kong and the west, the descendants of cain is the first english translation of a hwang sunwon novel. Beowulf is the savior, who represents good, who fights all evil in order to sustain happiness of all the people. Grendel cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. There is a reference to the great flood that took place in genesis. Cain and abel from the book of genesis, and thou shall not worship other gods before me 2. Whatever the reason, every night grendel slaughters more danes and feeds on their corpses after tearing them limb from limb. For example, it is said that cain drank abels blood after killing him.
As most of you dont know descendants of beowulf does not currently have a drummer. Beowulf tells his host to feast as normal so as to attract grendel. A few years ago, i explored the notion that grendel and grendels mother were envisioned as nephilim from genesis 6, a claim that was made rather plain by the beowulf poets description of the pair as descendants of the ungodly race of cain, those who gave rise to the giants in the apocryphal legends that grew up around genesis. In beowulf, it is revealed that grendel and his mother are descendants. See ruth mellinkoff, cain s monstrous progeny in beowulf. I dont think tolkiens identification of grendel with the race of cain is explicitly about blackness. After grendel is killed, grendels mother attacks heorot in revenge. As grendel is explicitly stated to be a descendant of cain, and the text. Although the battle is furious, beowulf has won as soon as he is able to grasp his enemys claw.
He is usually depicted as a monster or a giant, although his status as a monster, giant, or other form of supernatural being is. The first night that beowulf is with the scyldings, grendel stomps up from the. In the story of beowulf, all evil things, such as the monsters, grendel and his mother, and later on the dragon, are referred to as descendants of cain. Grendel is a descendant of cain can be traced back to the original beowulf. From cains blood came the curse of his exile and sprang ogres and elves and evil phantoms and the giants too beowulf. Those themes range from good and evil to those of death and glory. Translating cain back into hebrew, we have the word qayin which means creature. Ravenswood site in sweden of major battle between geats and swedes. He is a descendant of the biblical cain, the eldest son of adam and eve who killed his brother abel out of jealousy genesis 4.
Neither god nor adam would kill cain, but god did curse cain. This is seen in how beowulf finds the sword of giants in the water, because the ones in the story of the great flood were giants. William also points out the presence of wyrmlike creatures in the mere of grendels mother, linking the dragon ever closer to the kin of cain. Cain was cursed by the lord, and from his curse there sprung ogres and evil phantoms etc. A descendant of cain, grendel is described as a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of god. He is one of the poems three antagonists, all aligned in opposition against the protagonist beowulf. Grendel and cain and how they relate in beowulf essay. And how in the world did cain have little demon spawn descendants if he was literally the only man left on earthand his mother was the only woman. He is one of the descendants of cain and lives with his mother in the marshes and stalks his victims at night, when he raids the hall of the danes, and kills and kidnaps their warriors. This essay was the first work of scholarship in which anglosaxon literature was seriously examined for its.
The poem draws some similarities between cain and grendel. A theology of beowulf the theology part 1 we are all descendants of cain. Malan, via the story of genun, a descendant of cain through lamech pp. Beowulf says goodbye to hrothgar, reminding him that he promised to take care of the geat warriors if beowulf is killed in battle and to send the treasures beowulf won to the geat king, hygelac. They may have wondered why the feud ended with cain, because in germanic tradition the sons or brothers of the dead man would have to carry out revenge. In the story of beowulf, both christian and pagan elements are seen. Toni morrison and the legacy of tolkien metafilter. In the book, a companion to beowulf, author ruth johnston saver offers the following insight. The story itself depicts a period in history when life was lead blind through the teachings of the book. He signifies the true heroic character because he is willing to risk his life for his ideals. I realise, of course, that most westerners arent with me on this. Noah has the antagonists explicitly be the descendants of cain. The figure of cain is used metaphorically during the period to represent chaos and the presence of evil.
The ogre is vulnerable because beowulf uses no weapons, and the hero has the strength of 30 men in his grip. Supposingly, grendel is a descendent of cain, the first murderer in the bible. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title descendants of cain. Not all of them are evil, they merely suffer from a near total cultural lack of the wisdom and compassion needed to use their knowledge and technology to live in harmony with nature and each other. Grendel and his mother are both described as descendants of cain. Grendel was spawned in that slime of two monsters who were descendants of cain. How did the descendants of cain survive the flood in the poem, beowulf, the monster grendel is supposed to be a descendant of cain. It was the descendants of cain who were wicked and god wiped them from the earth by flood, saving only the descendants of seth, who were only eight people when the flood happened. The story itself depicts a period in history when life was lead blind through the teachings of the book of the lord and his. The epic of beowulf has long been subjected to severe. Beowulf study guide first reading flashcards quizlet. In beowulf, what is the significance of grendel being descended from cain. Cain was not punished nearly as badly as the poem suggests, and probably was not punished forever. The poem, beowulf, is contained in the nowell codex.
Despite i timothy chapter 1, i have to confess to an abiding fascination with the genealogical tables in the bible. The story of cain comes from the old testament in the bible. He is reluctant to back down from battle, just so he can be there for the people who are in great need to be saved from evil. The epic poem of beowulf really shows cain in a different light when compared to the actual biblical story. According to the judeochristian tradition, the descendants of cain were humanlike, but not human creatures, including creatures such as giants. Cain went to settle in a place called nod, east of eden. Grendel is compared to the biblical figure cain, who killed his good brother abel and was thus cursed by god to live forever. The poet establishes grendel as a kinsman of cain, supporting the idea that he is partly human. The anglosaxons must have felt a keen interest in the story of cain, his crime, and his banishment. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. The poet explains that grendel and his mommy are the descendants of the biblical cain, which suggests not only that they are part of a larger religious or supernatural scheme of evil, but also that they are connected with one of the worst things possible in tribal culture fratricide, or the killing of a brother. As noted in lines 106114 and lines 12601267 of beowulf, monsters which include grendels mother and grendel are descendants of cain.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In a way reminiscent of when his parents were banished from eden years earlier for their sin, god banished cain from his land for his crime cain was a farmer. The author of beowulf is suggesting that the swords creators were descendants of those that caused god to bring on the flood perhaps even suggesting that they were descendants of cain. In beowulf, grendel and, later, grendels mother are introduced as the offspring of cain 107, 1261. The old english term eotan plural eotenas applied to grendel refers to the descendants of cain. We would love to keep this going and bring forth more music. This has gone on since the beginning of their history, leading to ravaging the planet to the point of apocalyptic resource. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
James phillips school of history and philosophy, university of new south wales, sydney, nsw 2052. Abel aldhelm allegorical allusion ambrose anglosaxon associated audience augustine augustines battle bede beowulf poet blood brother cain tradition cain descended cain s christian civilization clan commentary context crime csel danes danish death denmark descendants of cain described destruction dragon eadgils eanmund earth enemies enmity. The descendants of cain grew more numerous and ungodly, as evidenced in the widespread wickedness of noahs day. Grendel is a character in the anglosaxon epic poem beowulf. Beowulf then ventures into her cave under a lake, and engages in fierce combat with grendels mother. The story itself depicts a period in history when life was lead blind through the teachings of the book of the lord and his spoken words. One quibble with an otherwise illuminating article. The story, found in the book of genesis, concerns the two sons of adam and eve. A descendant of cain, grendel is described as a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of god, the destroyer and devourer of our human kind. The poet alludes to the biblical story of cain and abel, in which the wicked cain kills his brother and is thus expelled by god from human society. According to the narrator, grendel and his mother are both descendants of cain, the firstborn son of adam and eve.
418 1394 804 1104 663 1456 553 349 1346 203 1563 646 85 628 1344 48 878 234 251 1041 755 1154 452 1358 1346 1015 1355 555 1410 924 989 50