by JohnD » Fri Dec 20, 2013 9:14 pm
neufer,
You confuse Grendel with his mother, an equally fearsome and destructive thing, although in the likeness of a woman. She nearly defeated Beowulf!
Ofsæt þa þone selegy(st), 7 hyre sea[x] geteah,
brad, brunecg. Wolde hire bearn wrecan,
angan eaferan. Him on eaxle læg
breostnet broden; þæt gebearh feore,
wið ord 7 wið ecge ingang forstod.
"She straddled her hall-visitor and drew her broad, bright-edged knife.
to avenge her son, her only child.
But on his shoulder was braided mail;
that saved his life, it stopped both point and edge."
She isn't well-described, this monster-mother, warrior-slayer, but she sure didn't look like Angelina Jolie. For a start her skin was so thick that even Hrunting, Beowulf's borrowed sword, can't cut it. Only a giant's magic weapon can do that, and even that is destroyed when Beowulf uses it on Grendel.
Of course, its this lack of definition that make "Beowulf" all the more effective, Like radio instead of film or TV, the pictures are better!
John
neufer,
You confuse Grendel with his mother, an equally fearsome and destructive thing, although in the likeness of a woman. She nearly defeated Beowulf!
Ofsæt þa þone selegy(st), 7 hyre sea[x] geteah,
brad, brunecg. Wolde hire bearn wrecan,
angan eaferan. Him on eaxle læg
breostnet broden; þæt gebearh feore,
wið ord 7 wið ecge ingang forstod.
"She straddled her hall-visitor and drew her broad, bright-edged knife.
to avenge her son, her only child.
But on his shoulder was braided mail;
that saved his life, it stopped both point and edge."
She isn't well-described, this monster-mother, warrior-slayer, but she sure didn't look like Angelina Jolie. For a start her skin was so thick that even Hrunting, Beowulf's borrowed sword, can't cut it. Only a giant's magic weapon can do that, and even that is destroyed when Beowulf uses it on Grendel.
Of course, its this lack of definition that make "Beowulf" all the more effective, Like radio instead of film or TV, the pictures are better!
John