1/28/20 Martin Zeng PD1

1/28/20 Martin Zeng Period 1 Modern Mythology 2020 Blogger #32 Aim: How does Beowulf fail to illuminate the humanism of Grendel’s Mother? Do Now: Describe Hrunting - the history, the symbolism. Paulina - The gift of Hrunting is honorable and admits defeat and overcomes the spite and pettiness between Unferth and Beowulf. The failure to kill Grendel’s mother perhaps reflects the character of Unferth Victoria - The gift from Unferth is bad because it was used to kill his own brothers Jun - Unferth May have given Beowulf a faulty weapon to sabotage him Anling - Reflects Norse values of overcoming adversity and triumph Sword symbolism - Hrunting - Pagan - Pagans believed in the goddess (Mother Earth) Hrunting can’t kill Grendel’s Mother What can kill Grendel’s mother? Jun - As Christians, they are more likely to promote God’s power, finds it weird that it’s weird for giants and monsters like Grendel in a story transcribed by a Christian, God can punish the descendants of Cain again. It is written that a flood destroyed the giants (devourers) on the hilt of Hrunting Jacob - the devourers is a metaphor and not meant to be taken for face value The flood cleanses the world of sin (pagan gods) to make way for the Lord almighty Many days of the week come from the names of the Norse gods, Thunor (Thursday) Anglo-Saxons became Christians from Christian monks such as Saint Patrick who convinced the people of Scotland to Ireland. 597 AD Pope in Rome sends Augustine to Kent who convinces the king to convert. Over the next 100 years, Christianity gained more traction with churches and monasteries. People were exhausted by the idea of Valhalla which made it easier to convert The crusades, the scarcity of food, the popularity of Christianity, and naval blockades converted many people Hrunting’s failure - the book describes Hrunting’s power in too much great detail for Unferth to have intentionally given Beowulf a defective sword. Grendel’s lineage is just immune to weapons made by man. Only a weapon made by god could defeat Grendel’s lineage. What motivated Grendel’s mother, who was living in the swamp for over 100 years, to reclaim Grendel’s claw and kill another Dane? My opinion - Her motherly nature caused her to want to avenge her son whos death was caused by Beowulf Lillian - Even though Grendel’s mother is not the idealistic motherly character it makes sense that she would do these things Paulina - This is similar to the sexism present in other mythologies from phrases such as hag. The stereotype of the tendency of women to show more emotion and lashed out to kill Beowulf Ms. Fusaro - She only kills one person instead of everyone, the equivalence of vengeance. What are your thoughts on this behavior? My opinion - I think that it was justified from a motherly perspective because in her shoes I would do the same thing but morally, it is not right to seek vengeance and take an eye for an eye What symbolism and thematic points can be elicited? My opinion - The recurring theme of God punishing the descendants of Cain is crucial in understanding the cleansing of sin from the world by God. Grendel’s lineage symbolizes the sins of Cain and Beowulf symbolizes the wrath of God brought to rid sin. Reflection: What did I learn? I learned about the significance of the interaction between Beowulf and Unferth and the possible motivations behind the change of heart in Unferth’s character. Unferth’s sins could have possibly been the reason why his powerful sword, Hrunting, was unable to hurt Grendel’s mother. This recurring theme of punishment for the sins committed by people transitioned into the interpreted meaning of the Great Flood. The Great Flood is to have been God’s way of cleansing the entire planet of sin and to renew the world. Many times, Christianity resorted to harmful measures in order to convert people. Why did I learn it? I learned about the interactions that happened in Beowulf because of its importance as a highly regarded classical text. By reading Beowulf we can understand early Anglo-Saxons who have had a great impact on humanity that still stands today. Through the interpretations of the text and understanding the historical context we can also learn how Christianity managed to influence all of Western Europe and parts of Eastern Europe. By understanding the rise of Christianity we can see the effects that this had on the fall of polytheistic beliefs, including the Roman, Greek, and Norse denominations. How will I use what I learned? I will use what I learned to further my understanding of heroes and villains in future media I have consumed and will consume. This will allow me to truly appreciate nuances present in almost all forms of media that we consume. Furthermore, learning about how Norse mythology faded gave me closure regarding the extinction of belief in Norse, Greek, and Roman gods in order to allow Christianity to truly flourish. What we learned about Christianity, in tandem with what we learned earlier in the year, allows me to learn more about Christianity which has great influence even in our society 2 Millenium later.