#That One Thing That The SPN Fandom Doesnt Ever Notice Somehow

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

okay! fair warning, I am a Beowulf scholar at a fairly serious level (archeology major, medieval studies minor, presenting at a major conference in February) but I will do my best to keep this brief and easy to understand. (update: failed miserably, this is VERY long, but the controversy, and the spn of it all, is very complicated to explain)

I assume the controversy you've run into is that nobody is quite sure what Grendel's Mother IS, as she and her son are never given physical description, or clearly labeled as any type of creature. Scholars have debated whether they are human, monstrous, nature spirits/Fae, or even pagan gods. The text describes them as related to giants (lit. "Jotun"), elves, "evil phantoms", etc. However, they are confirmed to have one clear relative in existing mythology- Cain.

They're descendants of Cain, and they bear Cain's curse to:

-wander forever, on the edges of civilization, never to settle

-keep the company of monster and ghosts in forgotten places

-die violently and tragically

-be hated by God for some reason, to the point that God blesses & protects those who try to kill them (genuinely what did they do to deserve this. they're just a couple of *SPECIES REDACTED* trying to live their lives)

....hey does this sound familiar?

That's all we know for sure about what Grendel & Mother are in terms of species. For Grendel himself, we get a few physical details:

-he's a giant. unspecified HOW big, but far bigger than any human has right to be.

-he eats people and drinks their blood

-he's extremely strong, immune to weapons (so, swords/blades/arrows, given the time period), and likely has a tough hide and/or claws.

-he has extremely enhanced hearing, and his ability to hear the local vikings partying it up a few miles away seems to be what drives him to seek out and eat them. many/most later interpretations of Grendel have the noise prevent him from sleeping and/or invoke some kind of religious agony due to his nature as a child of Cain (vikings in this era were just beginning to be Chrisitan- and doing it very loudly)

HEY DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR.

as for Mother, we get little-to-no clue as to what she looked like. She has some degree of magic, and is an extremely skilled combatant. while she has claws (and is likely very large herself) she prefers to use what the poem describes as a "broad-whetted knife", opting to get on top of Beowulf and stab at him from above.

re: plot, Mother shows up after Beowulf mortally wounds Grendel. the giant flees home and dies on the shore of the lake where he & Mother lived. Driven by grief for her son, Mother attacks the hall, and kills King Hrothgar's top advisor, leaving his severed head on the edge of her territory as a "fuck off" message. this is important because it follows the viking law of "weregild"- if someone kills your kin, and doesnt pay you for their life, you can kill one of their kin. She took one man in payment for her son, and DESPITE THIS, Beowulf tracks her to her own lair, her own HOME, engages her in combat, and kills her- this breaches the law and social code of the time.

in terms of her name: she doesn't have one. Her entire identity and existence is defined by her son- her protection of him, her rage and grief at his death, and the revenge that leads to her own slaughter.

hey.... does this sound familia- *drowns in my own tears*

however she has two main "kennings", which are like titles or nicknames.

the first one is "Merewif" or "Mere-wife". A "Mere" (pronounced "meer" or "mire") is a swamp, bog or briny area. Think of this as something like "Mermaid MILF" with a swampier vibe. or, think of throwing pronunciation out the window, using "Merie"/"Mere" as a nickname, and crying about it. ....that's what I do.

the second kenning is much more complicated because it uses two words that have no modern equivalent*

the kenning itself is "Ides, Aglaecwif"

"Ides" or "Idis" is a title of respect for a queen or noblewoman, and is used to refer to other female royalty in Beowulf. it is also used commonly to refer to female goddesses, especially Valkyries, in other sources (good luck getting the image & thematic implications of Valkyrie!Dean out of your head)

"Aglaecwif" is a combination of "wif" (wife or woman) and "Aglaeca"

"Aglaeca" is.... sure one of the words ever. nobody knows the true root, but its theorized to come from roots meaning "pain/warlike/ache" and "demonstrate/perform/ritual". it is used to describe supernatural (sry I have no better word to use here) or awe-inspiring combatants (and in extremely rare cases, ppl who are impressive for other reasons) but can be used for both heroes and villains. "Aglaeca" is used to refer to:

-Beowulf

-Grendel

-Mother

-the dragon that eventually kills Beowulf

due to this ambiguity, a lot of modern translations opt to translate "Aglaeca" differently depending on who its referring to, meaning that its modern definition is best listed as:

"hero, warlike, brave, valiant/ wretch, demon, monster, accursed"

or you could just define is as "Winchester" and be right. ....and then cry about it.

*ok, technically the best possible translation of "Aglaeca" is "Supe" but I don't have to like that fact.

overall, "Ides, Aglaecwif" has been variously translated as "monster woman", "hell-bride", "warrior woman", "warrior queen", "hag/ogress"

(or if you're me and can't be normal about ANYTHING, "Soldier Girl, Bride Of Hell". its technically an accurate translation.)

so um. yeah.

THIS IS FUCKING DEPRESSING.

and. idk. it gives me so many emotions. agh. oh my heart. why can they never escape this cycle of wandering, hiding, hunting, death, maternal grief, rage and revenge. let them be. just let them be

...she has no name or identity outside of her son. she clearly loved him but they were never able to find peace bc God cursed them and he grew to be so much bigger than her and she couldn't keep him away from eating people and then he-

fuck. fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

WHAT RIGHT DOES A 1500 YEAR OLD POEM HAVE TO CAUSE ME THIS MUCH *PAIN*

Fun fact of the day, anytime someone compares Dean Winchester to Mother Mary, I take -20 psychic damage

It ruins me horrendously, keep doing it