Skip to main content

beowulf - Was Grendel supernaturally protected from weapons?


In a similar vein to "Was the Doom of Mandos a curse or a prediction?", is the statement that Grendel can't be harmed by weapons a claim about some supernatural protection he's had, or a prediction about how he's going to be defeated?


Update: I mean in the ancient epic poem, not the recent film.



Answer



That certainly seems to be the implication. The poem talks about Grendel having "forsworen hæfde ecga gehwylcre.", literally being impenetrable to (foreswearing) bladed weapons due to the "on féonda geweald", the administration (work) of fiends (demons).


Taken at face value, the writer is saying that Grendel can't be harmed by a bladed weapon because he's been cursed by demons.




The protector of earls had no wish for any reason
the murderous guest to release alive,
nor his life-days to any people
counted as advantage. There many brandished
warriors of Beowulf, old heirlooms.
they wished prince-lord's life defend,
the legendary leader's, if they could do so:
they did not know that, when they joined the fray,
the bold-minded battle-men.

and on each side thought to hew,
to seal: the soul: that the sin-scather
any on earth. of the choicest of irons.
of war-bills. none could not at all greet him
but he victory - weapons had forsworn.
every blade-edge. His life-severing was bound to
on that day in this life
be wretched. and the alien-spirit
into the administration of fiends would journey far away:
then he found, he who before many, miseries in his mind. on mankind atrocities committed




Obviously this doesn't prevent our hero from ripping Grendel's arm off and trying to beat him to death with the wet end.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

Could one of Voldemort's Death Eaters have killed or harmed Harry at Privet Drive?

In Order of the Phoenix , Dumbledore explains to Harry the protection that the Dursleys' home provides: While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years. Dumbledore says that he cannot be "touched or harmed by Voldemort". Does this mean that he could have sent a Death Eater to just bust down the door and kill Harry, assuming that Voldemort would allow them to? And even if he didn't want them to kill him, could they have harmed him in some other way (e.g. the Cruciatus Curse)? Answer No. Harry was protect...