Grendel's mother

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Grendel's mother (Old English: Grendles modor) is one of three antagonists (along with Grendel and the dragon) in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (c. between 700-1000 AD); she is never given a name in the text.

Contents

[edit] Story

See main article: Beowulf

Grendel's mother and Grendel are descendants of Cain. Grendel's Mother attempts to avenge death of her son, but is killed by Beowulf. After her death, Beowulf beheads Grendel, keeping the head as a trophy.

[edit] Scholarship on Grendles modor

[edit] Peaceweaver, hostess, or monster

Scholars have noted that Grendel's mother functions in the poem as a foil to female protagonists who fulfill the roles of hostess (Wealhþeow and Hygd) and peaceweaver (Freawaru and Hildeburh). Grendel's mother and Modthryth (before her marriage to Offa) are also sometimes juxtaposed as representative of "monster-women" [1]. In this context, Chance (1980, 1985) argues for similarities between the juxtaposition of Wealtheow and Grendel's mother to that of the Virgin Mary and Eve.

[edit] Lines 1258b - 1259a: Grendles modor / ides aglaec-wíf

Scholars have debated the nature of Grendles modor since the rise of second-wave feminism in the 1970s. Grendel's mother is something of a conundrum to scholars due in large part to her descent from the biblical Cain, the first murderer. For some scholars, this justifies a monstrous appearance. For others, it positions Grendel's mother as a marginal (rather than monstrous) figure which bears the curse and mark of Cain.

This lack of consensus has led to debate among scholars over the past few decades concerning the English translation of lines 1258b - 1259a: Grendles modor / ides aglaec-wíf (see References below). While most agree that "modor" translates as "mother," and that "ides" translates as "lady" (though the meaning of "lady" in this context is also the subject of debate), fierce debate has ensued over the phrase, "aglaec-wif."

Up until the late 1970s, translations of the phrase "aglaec-wif" generally followed F. Klaeber's glossary, a standard since the 1920s. According to this glossary, "aglaec-wif" translates as: "wretch, or monster of a woman." Sample translations of this phrase (influenced by Klaeber) include "monster-wife" or "monster-woman". In addition, Klaeber's glossary defines aglaeca/aeglaeca as monster, demon, fiend when referring to Grendel or Grendel's mother. On the other hand, aglaeca/aeglaeca is translated by Klaeber as warrior, hero when referring to the character, Beowulf. These translations are notably supported by Gillam (1961) and Seamus Heaney, whose 2001 edition translated ll.1258b - 1259a as "Grendel's mother, monstrous hell bride."

Sherman Kuhn (1979) questioned Klaeber's translations of both aglaec-wif and of aglaeca/aeglaeca. He argues that aglaec could translate as fighter or warrior when referring to Grendel and Grendel's mother [2]. Kuhn thus suggests that, "Grendel's mother was an aglaec-wíf, 'a female warrior' (Beowulf 1259). 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'" [3]. This argument was notably supported by Christine Alfano (1992) who suggests that, in light of Kuhn's argument, "it is time to relieve Grendel's mother from her burden of monstrosity and reinstate her in her deserved position as ides, aglaecwif: 'lady, warrior-woman' " [4]. In addition, in Seamus Heaney's 2001 translation, Grendel's mother is compared with an "amazon warrior" in l.1283 (swá bið mægþa cræft).

E.G. Stanley also added to the discussion in 1979 by focusing upon the word Ides (lady or divine figure, Old Norse Dís). He states that, "We must not abuse Grendel's mother when she is called aglaec-wif by translating the word as Klaeber does, wretch, or monster, of a woman. We must never forget that she is called there ides aglaec-wif (1259) and ides, lady, is not a term of abuse" [5]. A number of scholars have continued Stanley's discussion of the use "Ides" when discussing Grendel's mother, most notably Temple (1986) and Taylor (1994).

Chadwick (1959) and Damico (1984)/(1990) argue that the term "modor" or "mother" might be figurative rather than literal positioning Grendel's mother as a mother goddess from Norse mythology, possibly the myth of the Valkyries. As with Stanley, this is further supported by a reading of Ides as Dís. Damico, in making her argument, suggests that Queen Wealhþeow and Grendel's mother represent different elements of the goddess. In his 1991 article, "The Germanic Earth Goddess in Beowulf", Frank Battaglia develops the work of Chadwick and Damico by linking Grendel's mother with the fertility goddess Gefion:

Does Beowulf oppose the Earth goddess of ancient Germanic religion? The possibility of such an interpretation follows upon the discovery that the name Gefion, by which early Danes called their female chthonic deity, may occur in the Old English poem five times....the five Gefion passages seem to highlight the championing of a new order antagonistic to goddess worship. In light of what appears to be an elaborate thematic statement about patrilineage in the poem, the new order may have entailed a change in kinship systems. Grendel and his mother may stand as types for earlier, matrilineal tribes [6].

The five passages which Battaglia focuses upon are: l.49 (géafon on gársecg), l.362 (ofer geofenes begang), l.515 (geofon ýþum), l.1394 (né on gyfenes grund), and l.1690 (gifen géotende). Battaglia links these terms to Grendel's mother (the merewif or Kuhn's 'water-woman', woman of the mere') through reference to water (Klaeber offers a number of spellings for this word in his glossary: geofon as "sea, ocean" and offers the alternate spellings, "gifen, 1690", "geofenes, 362" and "gyfenes, 1394"). Indeed, Battaglia notes that "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" [7]. Furthermore, in his 2005 text, Beowulf & Grendel: The Truth Behind England's Oldest Legend, John Grigsby argues that Grendel's mother is a late echo of the fertility goddess Nerthus with whom he equates Gefion. Nerthus, Gefion, and Grendel's mother are all associated with sacred bodies of water, and Grigsby suggests that the plot of Beowulf is ultimately based on a real life occurrence in Age of Migration Denmark, namely the overthrow of the older religion of Nerthus/Gefion by the Aesir cult of Odin.

[edit] The debate

The theories above have been both fiercely supported (Alfano, 1992; Kiernan, 1984; Taylor, 1994) and contested (Chance, 1986/1990, Menzer, 1996, Temple, 1986) over the ensuing decades.

In response to this debate, the Dictionary of Old English (Microfiche) [8] made the following updates in 1994:

  • aglaeca (noun) is translated as awesome opponent, ferocious fighter
  • aglaec-wíf is translated as female warrior, fearsome woman.

These translations are supported by Jack (1997) and Mitchell (1998), who use them in the glossaries of their Old English editions of the poem, and are contested by Menzer (1996). They remain controversial and rarely appear in modern English translations of Beowulf.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Porter, Dorothy. "The Social Centrality of Women in Beowulf: A New Context", The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe, heroicage.org, Issue 5, Summer/Autumn 2001. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
  2. ^ Kuhn, S.: "Old English Aglaeca-Middle Irish Olach." Linguistic Method: Essays in Honor of Herbert Penzl, pages 214-217. Mouton Publishers, 1979
  3. ^ Kuhn, S.: "Old English Aglaeca-Middle Irish Olach." Linguistic Method: Essays in Honor of Herbert Penzl, page 218. Mouton Publishers, 1979
  4. ^ Alfano, Christine. "The Issue of Feminine Monstrosity: A Reevaluation of Grendel's Mother." Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Vol 23, page 12", 1992. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
  5. ^ Stanley, E.G. "Two Old English Poetic Phrases Insufficiently Understood for Literary Criticism : Þing Gehegan and Senoþ Gehegan." Old English Poetry: Essays on Style, page 76. University of California Press, 1979
  6. ^ Battaglia, Frank. "The Germanic Earth Goddess in Beowulf" in Mankind Quarterly, page 415. Summer 1991
  7. ^ Battaglia, Frank. "The Germanic Earth Goddess in Beowulf" in The Mankind Quarterly, page 416. Summer 1991
  8. ^ "Dictionary of Old English", doe.utoronto.ca. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Dictionaries

  • Cameron, Angus, et al. "Aglac-Wif to Aglaeca." Dictionary of Old English (Microfiche). Toronto: Published for the Dictionary of Old English Project Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto by the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1986/1994.

[edit] English translations and dual text

[edit] Scholarship

  • Alfano, Christine. "The Issue of Feminine Monstrosity: A Re-evaluation of Grendel's Mother." Comitatus 23 (1992): 1-16.
  • Battaglia, Frank. "The Germanic Earth Goddess in Beowulf." Mankind Quarterly 31.4 (Summer 1991): 415-46.
  • Chadwick, Nora K. "The Monsters and Beowulf." The Anglo-Saxons: Studies in Some Aspects of Their History. Ed. Peter ed Clemoes. London: Bowes & Bowes, 1959. 171-203.
  • Chance, Jane. "The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel's Mother." New Readings on Women in Old English Literature. Eds. Helen Damico and Alexandra Hennessey Olsen. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. 248-61.
  • ---. Woman as Hero in Old English Literature. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1986.
  • Damico, Helen. Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984.
  • ---. "The Valkyrie Reflex in Old English Literature." New Readings on Women in Old English Literature. Eds. Helen Damico and Alexandra Hennessey Olsen. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. 176-89.
  • Gillam, Doreen M. "The Use of the Term 'Aeglaeca' in Beowulf at Lines 893 and 2592." Studia Germanica Gandensia 3 (1961): 145-69.
  • Grigsby, John. Beowulf & Grendel: The Truth Behind England's Oldest Legend. Watkins Publishing, London, 2005.
  • Horner, Shari. The Discourse of Enclosure: Representing Women in Old English Literature. New York: SUNY Press, 2001.
  • Kiernan, Kevin S. "Grendel's Heroic Mother." In Geardagum: Essays on Old English Language and Literature 6 (1984): 13-33.
  • Kuhn, Sherman M. "Old English Aglaeca-Middle Irish Olach." Linguistic Method: Essays in Honor of Herbert Penzl. Eds. Irmengard Rauch and Gerald F. Carr. The Hague, New York: Mouton Publishers, 1979. 213-30.
  • Menzer, Melinda J. "Aglaecwif (Beowulf 1259a): Implications for -Wif Compounds, Grendel's Mother, and Other Aglaecan." English language notes 34.1 (September 1996): 1-6.
  • Stanley, E.G. "Did Beowulf Commit 'Feaxfeng' against Grendel's Mother." Notes and Queries 23 (1976): 339-40.
  • ---. "Two Old English Poetic Phrases Insufficiently Understood for Literary Criticism : Þing Gehegan and Senoþ Gehegan." Old English Poetry: Essays on Style. Ed. Daniel G. Calder. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. 67-90.
  • Taylor, Keith. "Beowulf 1259a: The Inherent Nobility of Grendel's Mother." English Language Notes 31.3 (March 1994): 13-25.
  • Temple, Mary Kay. "Beowulf 1258-1266: Grendel's Lady Mother." English Language Notes 23.3 (March 1986): 10-15.

[edit] External links

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