Short Answer

1. Chaucer was the first to write in English.

2. I assume you’re talking about how Chaucer meant the Tales to be +200 tales and now there’s only
26ish tales.

3. The switch to witchcraft came from texts like Daemonologie or News of Scotland which expounded on
how to find witches.

4. It doesn’t matter which order you teach SGGK or Canterbury Tales. Both are from the same time
period and has much to share about the culture of the period.

5. In the Canterbury Tales, we can see gods visit mortals, which is an example of the supernatural.

6. Gawain trusted in the magic of a non-magical sash rather than the power of God. As a knight, he
should have complete trust in God.

7. In the battle of the Dragon, Beowulf’s sword, strength, and fellow warriors all fail him.

8. Beowulf’s trust in his strength causes him to attack the Dragon over and over in the same method,
rather than find the weakness or trust in his companions.

9. He reflects on how he was able to keep his people safe by virtue of his reputation as a strong warrior.
He also talks about how he was honest and how he is leaving a large inheritance behind for his people.

10. Gawain is guilty of doubt. His lack of faith in God is the reason for why he trusts in the sash.
Chris Nielson

One Page essay: On the Nature and Nurturing of a Monster

How is Grendel described? Why does it matter that Grendel has a mother? —What does it suggest about his

nature?

Grendel is described with a lot of words. Monster, spirit, moor stalker, fierce, ravenous and so on. They all describe

a being of hatred who lives away from other people and exists outside of the normal confines of what is standard for

mortals. He is described as strong enough to slay thirty men without much bother; he is easily disturbed by the songs

and sounds of the feasting and joy-making from the hall. This also adds a certain quality to him, the fact that it was

the feasting and loud noises from the hall’s parties that disturbed him, rather than all the other sounds from the same

area with similar volume, like the battles being fought, suggests that there is some jealousy in Grendel’s motivation,

as though he does not wish others to be happy because he himself is described as being “unblessed,

unhappy”(Unknown, 104) by the text!

From here, the question turns to ask why Grendel was raised as thus. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why

Grendel’s mother takes a turn in the text; her presence is supposed to offer, in part, explanation as to why Grendel is

who he is. Or perhaps, her existence isn’t to explain Grendel’s origins so much as it is to remind that, while there are

monsters like Grendel, there are always some bigger fish than the last! Lastly, a final, and more personal, reason for

why Grendel’s mother plays a part in the epic is to point out that when the child is in danger, no matter how

supernatural he is, the mother is always close by to write out a vengeance more terrible than any destruction the

child may have wrought.

Regardless of how one views the presence of his mother, her part in the story does shine on Grendel’s actions. For

instance, while Grendel is a random and vicious killer, uncaring of who is slain or why; his mother is more

methodical and cruel, striking out at the close friend of the king before stealing away the dismembered arm of her

son. Similarly, while Grendel is slain by loss of blood from losing in a wrestling match against Beowulf, it is only

by “a victory bright blade/ made by the giants.” (1557-1558) that Grendel’s mother meets her end. It is almost as

though Grendel, for all his monstrous prowess is merely a young child or adolescent, in comparison to his mother!

There are other interpretations to be taken, that is always certain, but the amount of power, skill, cruelty, and
intelligence that Grendel’s mother shows dwarfs any other action or feat that Grendel accomplishes in the text and

this sort of vast strike in difference suggests not just a difference of experience but of ability!