Analysis

Grendel cannot be killed by any human weapon, but he can be killed by a human. The Viking Sword cannot slay the “God-cursed brute”; however, it does shed light on the weapon of choice used by higher ranking warriors (Beowulf, line 121). The sword was a common weapon and yet it could not destroy the one thing it was meant to; evil. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare heads suggesting that man’s will is what killed Grendel rather than the weapons we use to disguise our strength, a sword. The essence of the sword is to defeat evil, but more deeply it is man’s ability to defeat evil urging the idea that through a medium, such as a sword, warriors can defeat mans evil. Grendel is more than man’s evil, he is represented in the poem as the “God-cursed Grendel” the “shadow-walker” and the “bane of the race of men” meaning he can only die by the hands of good, the hands of man (Beowulf, line 703, 711, 712). “Only the warrior who is first defeated by his own weakness can become the prey of Grendel and his evil” and Beowulf did not allow the weakness of pride and self-doubt to defeat him (Bandy, 243). The seal and the manuscript illustration emphasizes the importance of honour and bravery that every knight/nobleman is endowed with because they slay the beasts. Grendel in the chosen passage and in the poem as a whole is portrayed as an evil savage while the sword is represented as being heroic. The sword is used by someone of a high ranking positions, such as Beowulf, who was a heroic fighter that won many battles by using a sword, maybe even one with a protective talisman. It is of belief that Grendel did not choose to be evil but was made evil by the opinions and treatment of him. Grendel was never given a choice in the matter simply because he is the descendant of Cain therefore he must be evil. The same goes for a sword, it does not choose whether or not it works for the good.  The passage is about the horrors and pain that Grendel inflicted on the Danes and while the artifact may not have killed Grendel it depicts the weapon used and explains the importance of who used it.