Grendel

Grendel observes that winter will soon arrive; he has been raiding the meadhall for 12 years now. He smells the dragon in his presence as he notes that he has not yet “committed the ultimate act of nihilism” (93), which would be to murder Hrothgar’s queen, Wealtheow.

The thought of Wealtheow causes Grendel to recount an incident that took place during his second year of raids: At that time, another king, younger than Hrothgar, threatened Hrothgar’s reign, and Hrothgar gathered an army. At the camp, men gathered in huge numbers, and Grendel spied on them. One night, Hrothgar and Unferth led the army to the hall of the enemy king. The king came out, with a bear on a leash, offering Hrothgar his respect and gifts of gold. Hrothgar insisted that the gifts were a delay tactic and that they must fight, but the young king offered him a treasure Hrothgar could not resist: his beautiful red-haired sister, whose beauty and youth affected Grendel deeply. Hrothgar accepted the young king’s offer and took his army home as Grendel struggled to reconcile his feelings for the young woman.

Grendel remarks that this was a “bad winter,” recalling that he was unable to attack the meadhall for a time, and the winter months were lonely.