The Monsters ARE The Critics

The Beowulf Poet Knew Homer · Other Characteristic of the Beowulf Poet: · The Monsters ARE The Critics

Any one who has read a rather famous essay by a decently known expert on Anglo-Saxon and early Middle English, namely J. R. R. Tolkien, will know, I'm alluding to its title "The Monsters and the Critics".

So much, I actually punned ... a more sober description would be, the monsters are the criticisms.

Let's get into what I recall of them from reading that essay, adding own reflections.

Grendel is described as Caines cynne (Cain's kinsman) and that obviously is also valid for his mother.

One can presume the poet either imagined misbegotten people with no full agency over their behaviour being demon possessed to do their evil stuff, or perhaps even imagined Grendel and his mother as undead. You see, the behaviour of Grendel is not totally unlike that of Glam, in Grettir's saga.

If Grendel is supposed to be undead, Beowulf is pretty much defeating a demon. Or two of them, Grendel's mother too.

If there is a line implying Grendel was actually dying only when Beowulf killed him (I think there was), this may be because the poet didn't believe in draugar like Glam, so preferred to make it a living culprit.

On his old age, he's facing a dragon which seems to be of the pterodactylish kind. In this case, Tolkien notes how the poet glides between describing a physical dragon and describing the "old dragon" who is the enemy of our souls.

Now, what are these enemies supposed to be a criticism of? Expendable Danes.

In Ludwigslied, the Vikings are slaughtered as defeated. No pity or remorse over slaying them, even justly in righteous defense, is expressed. They attacked the Franks, Lewis III kills them off, good riddance.

And the Beowulf poet replies:

• Grendel has lost humanity, and acts like a demon, he's killed, good riddance;
• apart from trying to avenger her son, dito for his mother, she's killed, good riddance;
• and a dragon is both a symbol of and guided by the Devil, the dragon's killed, good riddance.

While there is flesh and blood in the monsters, this comes pretty close to an echo of St. Paul who said:

For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places
[Ephesians 6:12]

Or in Tolkien's terms (after describing Orcs as expendibles) "there are no Orcs in real life." (I'll ask a Tolkien scholar what letter).

And if the Pagan Danes were seduced by demons to their unjust attack on Lewis III's West Francia, this is not much better luck for them than Danes being slaughtered by Grendel or Geats being slaughtered by a dragon.

The Beowulf poet was telling people very caught up in chivalrous or warlordlike cultures which glorified battles, "guys, remember we are Christians, remember who's the real enemy!"

It so happens, in one of the lines, he mentions Sigmund the dragon slayer (the poet in the hall, a bit like Demodocus to Homer, in the intention of the poet behind the poem, is foreboding the dragon slaying of Beowulf). A certain Sigfrid (named after another name of the dragon slayer) who came from England (where the poem could be heard) decided, he needed to go and give the Geats the road to real glory. He died as bishop of Wexio, in Smolandia, which may have been part of what earlier on was Beowulf's kingdom. Smolandia in the North borders East Geat-Land and in the West, West Geat-Land or as they are usually named in Latin (and English) Ostrogothia and Westrogothia. If Hygelac and Beowulf ruled Westrogothia and Ostrogothia, wouldn't he have ruled Smolandia too?

For some benighted people who say "Beowulf is Pagan" I'd just like to mention that the Beowulf poet was aware that the Danes and Geats of the time were Pagans, but he didn't go out of his way to mention false gods by name, he just dropped comments like "they knew not their maker" ... the poem is set among Pagans, but it is written by a Christian.

Hans Georg Lundahl
Paris
Feast of the Blessed Name of Mary
12.IX.2025

Festum sanctissimi Nominis beatae Mariae, quod Innocentius Undecimus, Pontifex Maximus, ob insignem victoriam de Turcis, ipsius Virginis praesidio, Vindobonae in Austria reportatam, celebrari jussit.

PS, seems that, given today's feast, Pope Innocent XI was saying, "Ludwigslied has a point too" .../HGL