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Grendel

Monster or giant in the poem Beowulf

Entityliterary character mythical characterQ29372

Instance of: literary character
1
Sources
1.Stated in Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend (2002 edition)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, mythical character

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. He is one of the poem's three antagonists, all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as both an eoten and þyrs, types of beings from wider Germanic mythology. He is also described as a descendant of the Biblical Cain and "a creature of darkness, exiled from happiness and accursed of God, the destroyer and devourer of our human kind." He is usually depicted as a monster or a giant, although his status as a monster, giant, or other form of supernatural being is not clearly described in the poem and thus remains the subject of scholarly debate. The character of Grendel and his role in the story of Beowulf have been subject to numerous reinterpretations and re-imaginings. Grendel is feared by all in Heorot but Beowulf, who kills both him and his mother.

Overview

All data

18 statements · 28% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Present in work: Beowulf
1
Sources
1.Stated in Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend (2002 edition)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Mother: Grendel's mother
1
Sources
1.Stated in Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend (2002 edition)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Sex or gender: male
1
Sources
1.Stated in Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend (2002 edition)
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Killed by: Beowulf
Different from: Gretel

On other databases

11 identifiers linking Grendel across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

28%

externally sourced

Source last edited November 13, 2026. AIDb refreshes this page daily.

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AIDb. (2026). Grendel (Q29372). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/grendel-Q29372