There, Beowulf later engages in a fierce battle with Grendel's mother, over whom he triumphs even if only thanks to a sword found on-site. Finally Beowulf tears off Grendel's arm, mortally wounding the creature.

He trusts that God has given him strength to defeat Grendel, whom he believes is God's adversary. He also places no reliance on his companions and had no need of them. Beowulf uses neither weapon nor armour in this fight. As Grendel attempts to disengage, the reader discovers that Beowulf is that second warrior. Grendel grabs a second warrior, but is shocked when the warrior grabs back with fearsome strength. The first warrior Grendel finds is still asleep, so he seizes the man and devours him. He then makes a sudden attack, bursting the door with his fists and continuing through the entry. Grendel stalks outside the building for a time, spying the warriors inside. Afterwards Beowulf and his warriors bed down in the mead hall to await the inevitable attack of the creature.

He is warmly welcomed by King Hrothgar, who gives a banquet in celebration. To add to his monstrous description the poet details how Grendel consumes the men he kills 'now that he could hope to eat his fill.' īeowulf hears of these attacks and leaves his native land of the Geats to destroy Grendel. Grendel continues to attack the Hall every night for twelve years, killing its inhabitants and making this magnificent mead-hall unusable. He is unable to bear it any more and attacks Heorot. Grendel, being cursed as the descendant of the Biblical Cain, is 'harrowed' by the sounds of singing that come every night from the mead-hall of Heorot built by King Hrothgar. Grendel is a character in the poem Beowulf, preserved in the Nowell Codex. Beowulf's author often uses various substitute phrases for Grendel's name like this one, the mearc stapa ('mark-stepper'), an inhabitant of the borderland.

Grendel beowulf michael morpurgo