56 - Grendel's Mother

translation of Beowulf. First, let's do a quick recap. So Rothgar of the Spear Danes had established the Great Mead Hall of Herout, which is where his loyal and valiant knights gather together following a night of celebrations of their feats and of extolling the goodness that is embedded in this world. The fell Beast, the Helrunin Grendel, emerged miss Layer in Hatred of the world of Man. With ignoble stealth, he sneaked into Herot and killed many of Rothgar's men.

He continued to plugue the Danes Unhlted, and eventually he claimed Herot for his own, setting himself up as a kind of counterfeit king. Even as he himself is a counterfeit human of sorts, he is a creature of perversion of disorder. After the shadow brooded over the land for some time, word of the Danish Plight made its way to Beowulf of the Giats. Beowulf set sail across the sea with his mighty men, and he cleansed herot of

this specter, defeating Grendel in hand to hand combat. He ripped Grendel's arm off, dealing a mortal blow to the demon as he fled back to his lair to die. Feasting and merriment abounded, and Beowulf was laden with honor and riches for his valiant deeds. However, we know that this cannot last long. Remember that in the Northern Mythos, the days of light and warmth are limited. Now they

should be embraced. They absolutely must be embraced when they come, but they should not be embraced as things that are meant to last. We see this a lot in Tolkien as well, that peace, victory, and wholesome festivities are very often immediately followed by a resurgence of the shadow. For example, there's this line in the Silmarillion that has always stood

out to me as Tolkien rites. In those days there is joy beneath the new sun and moon, and all the land was glad, but still the shadow brooded in the north. There is always a looming threat around the corner, and it would be no different for the Danes here. But before their next threat arrives, I want to point something out here. Even though they are in a mindset of celebration in victory, these knights have not let the

guard down, which is easy to do. I just recently reread The Horse and His Boy, which is a Narni book if you're not familiar with your Lewis and Shasta, one of the main characters tell some of the Narnians that Arkinland is about to be attacked by the Klormans, and the first Narnians are barely phased. In fact, they actually go back to sleep, And we're told that they did this because they had become complacent because of the great peace and security that had been granted to them

by their wise kings and queens. And we should definitely be grateful for peace when it comes, but this complacency is not good. We always need to be vigilant because

there's always a new threat brooding in the shadows. As Tolkien said in a letter to his son Christopher, the future is impenetrable, especially to the wise, for what is really important is always hid from contemporaries, and the seeds of what is to be are quietly germinating in the dark, in some forgotten corner, while everyone is looking at Stalin or Hitler. And so the knights of Hrothgar do what they can to be prepared for the return of the Shadow.

As we are told thereupon each bench, which plain to see above each night, the helm that he had borne aloft in battle, and his coat of ringed mail, his spear valiant in the press of war. Their manner was it that, seldom were they unprepared for the onslaught, be it at home or amid the host, or in either case, even at all such times as upon their liege Lord need should come. A worthy company, was that? And so there it is, as if it were not clear. The

poet tells us that this is a noble company. This is a worthy company because they are always prepared to defend themselves, and more importantly, to defend their lord in the case of an attack. And of course we should be prepared as well. Maybe a felbeast, a literal helunin might not await you in the darkness, but something surely does, whether it be something in your own heart or an external threat against you, your family, or others that you

are duty bound to protect. Yet even the most vigilant, the most prepared soldier must sleep eventually, And this is when the next threat will present itself, when the next nightmare will descend. We are told quote plained wasn't made and publish abroad among men that in an adventure to succes seed their foe lived. Yet long while after that woeful strife, Grendel's mother Ogress, fierce destroyer in the form of woman, misery was in her heart, she who must

abide in the dreadful waters in the cold streams. Since Cain with the sword, became the slayer of his only brother, his kinsmen, by his father's blood end quote. And so we get a recap here of where Grendel and his brood come from. They are descended from Cain, the father of kinslayers. And as a reminder, this is where all

the monsters originated in this mythos. Because Cain so betrayed the family bond, which is the most basic human bond, he actually was severing himself from the human race, and he became the progender of all kinds of fell creatures that lived as mockeries of man, and we are then reminded of how God bestowed on Beowulf the strength to

defeat Grendel. And so the poet is very clearly setting up a cosmic conflict here between heaven and hell, God and his devilish enemies, and we might even say between reason and nonsense. Well, Grendel's mother sneaks into Heroes at night and kills one of the men, a Shara, who is Rothgar's right hand man, and when the others become alert to what is happening, she flees with a Sharer's corpse, because unlike Grendel, she doesn't seem to be completely impervious

to blades. And unfortunately, Beowulf was not present for this attack, as he was gifted with other lodgings because of his last victory. And so the next morning, Beowulf strolls down to Herolt and asks Rothgar if he had good rest that night, to which Rothgar responds asks not for news of happy hours. Sorrow is come anew upon the people of the Danes. He goes on to explain what happened, and he says that there have been tails, maybe even just rumors that are in these myths of Grendel and

his mother and their layer. And he describes it as a hidden land, high upon highlands, wolf haunted and windy cliffs, and the perilous passes of the fens, where the mountain stream goes down beneath the shadows of the cliffs, a river beneath the earth. There's an overgrown forest and waters that are continually set of flame. And really, what we're getting here is a kind of Anglo Saxon vision of Hell,

this realm of chaos and desolation. And remember that the poet in Herot earlier in the story was celebrating a world that was designed for the habitation of men. Well, this location that we are now describing is very clearly the opposite of that. It is a perversion of the created order. It's a Beowulf here. He must march into Hell and do battle with this she devil. And at this point Rothgar is so wearied by sorrow that he begins to fall into despair, and Beowulf rebukes him for this, saying,

grieve not o wise. One better is it for every man that he should avenge his friend, that he should lament to each one of us shall come in time the end of life in the world. Let him who may earn glory air his death. No better thing can brave Knight leave behind when he lies dead. Arise, O, Lord of this realm, swiftly let let us go and look upon the footprint of Grendel's kin. This I vow to thee in no refuge shall he ever hide, neither in bosom of earth, nor in mountain forest, nor in

the deeps of his sea. Go where he will, for this day have patience in every woe, even as I know thou wilt. And this rouses Roathgar, leading him to rise up and to give thanks to God for using Beowulf's words to restore his valiance and his vigor. Beowulf in a band of warriors make their way to the layer of Grendel's mother, And definitely make sure that you read this account yourself, because because it really reads as

a pretty profound thriller. As they make this journey into the nether world, so to speak, well, they eventually make their way to this pool of water where she lives, and they find it infested with serpent with dragons, which of course are symbolic of the chaos that typifies this devilish brood. And we're told that Unfirth gave Beowulf his sword, fronting recognizing Beowulf to be a worthier swordsman than he, And so we see some character development on Unforth's part.

He originally scoffed at Beowulf before the fight with Grendel. I assume out of envy that Beowulf may be able to accomplish what he cannot. Well, now there's no questioning that Beowulf was surely the more valiant man, and so Unfirth surrendered unto Beowulf his sword, this great heirloom that had known many victories in battle. Then Beowulf gave a short speech explaining that this is the adventure that awaits him and that he is okay with the outcome, whether

he live or die. And here's a major, perhaps the most important theme of this entire story of Beowulf, and that is our relationship with mortality. All mortals have the same fate. We will all die. The only question is how will we live. And this is how you form a healthy and intentional relationship with death. You begin by recognizing that you will die, that is your fate, and then you use that to propel a life worth living,

a life that makes that death significant. In Contrafoustom, Saint Augustine points out that the real evil of war is not that people die, because again, they're going to do that anyways. They don't need help for that. He says that the real evils of war are love of violence, hatred, and despairing fear. These are the things that do not need to be but very often are. And this is the same kind of idea that we see here in Beowulf. If we die in the adventure pointed to us, then

so be it. It is far worse not to take the adventure. As Sir Balin says in Malory, you must take the adventure that God will ordain you, or as Prince Willian says in the Silver Chair, as Land will be our good Lord, whether he means us to live or die, and all, it's one for that. The realms of fairy are wild and often dangerous, and one should never embark on a quest unprepared and unarmed. Middleborn Arms is a family business that uses the best quality materials in crafting

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mythic to get ten percent off your entire order. That's Middlebornarms dot com and code mythic for ten percent off. Don't go it alone, take a middle Born Arms sword or bookmark with you and now back to the show. And so with that, Beowulf dives into the water and fights the way down to Grendel's mother. He strikes her head with his sword, but it does not avail him, and so he casts the sword aside. And so we are told that he trusted in the strength and the

grasp of his own mighty hands. Such shall a man's faith be when he thinks to win enduring fame and war. No care for his life will trouble him. And so this blade, this heirloom, this tool, this external asset, would not help him. He had to rely on his own strength. And this is an important point. External goods are only ever just that they are external. They may be assets at times, but Beowulf's strength was never dependent on such

external realities. His strength was internal in his resolve to do what is right, no matter what it cost him. And so then with his own hands he cast down the ogress, but she fought back, and she had the upper hand for a time, and Beowulf himself was cast down. But he got back up. And the poet tells us the all seeing Lord, who governeth the heavens on high with ease, did give decision to the right when Beowulf

again sprang up. Now I find this very interesting. Fate is a major theme of the story, and we're told that Beowolf's victories are owed to God's decisions. But notice that it does not say here that God determined or predetermined rather to give Beowulf victory. Now it says that

God made his decision when Beowulf sprang up. Now, of course we could delve into a fuller conversation about how eternal providence works in relation to our experience in time, but that's a better question for Boethius, and so be sure that you sign up for the Beowulf in Boethia's course to get into some of that. But for right now, I think the important point is that Beowulf had a real decision to make in his deciding to get back up and fight, he made a genuine choice that revealed

God's will for him to achieve victory. And so at this point, even before the fight is over, we know how it will end. And this is a important point. I've mentioned this in previous episodes, but it's worth noting again.

This story has a lot of exciting scenes, but the story is not about that kind of excitement, which is why some of these scenes get spoiled, as we might say, before they are over makes me think of Tolkien with the Silmarillion, when he kicks it off by saying, this is the story of the Simmaroles, and they were lost. This is not a story about things happening, even though a lot of things happen. This is principally a story about our relationship with fate, and especially our relationship with

the fate of our mortality. Well, at this point, Beywolf spots some war gear in the layer, and in particular he spots a sword of the Giants, this great Nephelin blade, which he uses to kill Grendel's mother, and then seeing Grendel's body, he cuts his head off to take it back as a trophy. Now, I find it interesting that the noble sword Hunting could not harm Grendel's mother, but this sword of the Giants could. I think that this is a commentary on the nature of evil, that is

that it is self consuming. Evil isn't really a thing privation. It's an emptying out and nothingness withdrawing away from the good. And so the more evil something is, the less substantial it is, and so evil tends to be its own undoing. I think of Huron saying to Morgoth that he wasted his strength on his own emptiness. So too the blade of the giants, these monsters that fall into the same class that Grendel's mother belonged to. This is the undoing

of this particular beast. And then shortly after the fight was over, the blade melted away, which again I assume says something about the tendency of evil to be its own undoing. And I think of in Perilandra, when the demonic unman is glorying in the phenomenon of death that he has wrought on the world. And then Ransom asked how it went for him when Meldel or Christ became

acquainted with death. Evil is its own undoing in the end, Now Bail forsook the wealth that he found in the layer, taking for his plunder only the head of Grendel and the hilt of the sword, which served as trophies of the victory of the good over the evil. His people on the surface were despairing to this point, surely convinced of Beowulf's demise. But up he arose from the waters, now purged of the Helroudant's blight and brought back into proper order, And then with much cheer and good heart.

They returned back to Herot. Beowulf opened the doors of the great meat Hall, I assumed like movie Aragorn, entering Helm's deep, dragging the massive head of Grendel by its locks. He then recounted his venture to Hrothgar as follows, Lo this plunder of the sea, O, son of half Dana, Shielding's prince, we gladly have brought to thee the token of my triumph, which here thou lookest on. Hardly did I save my life therein in war beneath the water perilously?

Did dare that deed? Well nigh? Were there my days of battle ended? Were not God my shield? Nor might I, in that combat with Hrunting ought achieve good? Though that weapon be Nay, the Lord of men vouchsafed to me that on the wall I saw hanging fair, a mighty

sword of all. Often again hath he guided those bereptive friends, And that weapon now I drew slew Then in that strife, when space was granted to me the guardians of the house, thereupon that blade of war, which woven ornament, was all consumed. Even as the blood sprang out gore most hot in battle, the hilt I bore thence from my foes, their evil deeds,

avenged the death and torment of the Danes. Even as was meet this, do I promise thee henceforth, that thou mayest in heralt sleep untroubled, amid the proud host of thy men. Thou in each one of thy knights and captains, the proven and the young, that thou wilt not from that quarter have need to fear for them, King of the shieldings, the bane of good men's lives, as once thou didst Beowulf then presented the hilt of the giant's sword that fell the hell Dame to Rothgar, demonstrating Boulf's

great honor. Unlike the Helrunin, Beowulf does not use his great strength to consume honor and treasures. He does not use it for his own sake, but he instead uses his great God given strength to put the world in order to serve and to secure goodness in this world. His job as a great Northern hero is to stoke the flames of herout and to strengthen the good kink growth Guard's position, that Prothgar himself might better fulfill his

role in turn. And so here we see a hero of great strength and great honor, and one that we would all do well to emulate in our own lives. Now, if you are enjoying this series and you would like to go through it more extensively, with more commentary and more discussion of Tolkien's notes as well as others, then be sure to sign up for the Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethia's course that begins August nineteenth.

This eight week study will go through Beowulf and Boethius's The Constellation of Philosophy, thereby giving you a profound taste of some of the best of medieval thought, imagination, and storytelling. Each of these eight weeks will include at least one video on that section of reading that goes into a commentary that goes into my own analysis and really works with his idea of life, death, and Meaning as we

see it in those pages. And these are videos that you will have access to indefinitely, you can watch any time that you want to. And then we will also have weekly live meetings for anyone who's willing and able to jump on and talk about that section of reading. And if you aren't able to attend the live meetings. Then you'll be able to watch the recording, which will be available shortly after they happen, and you can sign up at Andrew Snyder dot Pattia dot com and you

can find that link in the show notes. Also this week, we are wrapping up my first independent public facing course on the fiction and philosophy of C. S. Lewis. This was a great experience for me and I get the

impression that it was for the participants as well. Although the live course is drawing to a close this week, for the rest of this month, I'm allowing you to enroll at half price to get indefinite access to all of the materials, and this includes course exclusive videos on the following Lewis text We have Out of the Silent Planet, Perilandra, the Screwtape, Letters, That Hideous Strength, the Abolition of Man till We Have Faces, the Great Divorce, and all of

the Narnia books. Also, there will be a short video on The Dark Tower, which was Lewis's first attempt at a sequel to Out of the Silent Planet. To get all of this for half of the normal cost, again, you can go to Andrew Snyder dot Pattia dot com or click the link in the show notes. Also, you may have noticed that I did not run the auto populated ads for this episode, and that's because I had my first sponsor with Middleborne Arms, and I would love

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roads with me. Until next time. God's been