The following pages of this website are dedicated to discussion of Beowulf's battle with Grendel's mother.

The passage opens with Beowulf's preparation for the battle with Grendel's mother. He is talking to Hrothgar, son of Halfdane, lord of the Danish people. Beowulf asks him for a favor, in case he dies. He wants Hrothgar to act as a father to his people and take care of his companions and his kinsmen. He wants him to send the treasure, which he has received from Hrothgar, to his uncle, Hygelac. Furthermore, Beowulf asks Hrothgar to return Hrunting, the sword given to Beowulf by Unferth, to its owner. After his speech, Beowulf jumps into the water, where Grendel's mother grabs him and carries him off to her lair, at the bottom of the lake. The mesh of the chain-mail saves Beowulf from her fatal grip. In the monster's lair, the battle begins. This is when Beowulf discovers that his sword, Hrunting, does not have any powers over the creature:

	The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell,
	the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength,
	then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm:
	the decorated blade came down ringing
	and singing on her head. But he soon found
	his battle-torch extinguished; the shining blade 
	refused to bite (ll 1518-1524).

Suddenly, Beowulf notices a sword, which belonged to the Giants, in the corner of the monster's lair:

	Then he saw a blade that boded well,
	a sword in her armory, an ancient heirloom
	from the days of the giants, an ideal weapon,
	one that any warrior would envy,
	but so huge and heavy of itself
	only Beowulf could wield it in a battle (ll 1557-1562).

The weapon is so heavy that only Beowulf can lift it. One should recall that Beowulf possesses the strength of 30 men in each of his arms. This sword is special, and with it Beowulf is able to overcome the fiend.

The battle between Beowulf and Grendel's mother is over. Beowulf cuts the head off the Grendel's mother as a proof of his victory, as a celebration of his strength and bravery. However, his kinsmen are no longer waiting for him ashore, thinking that their lord has perished. They long for their protector and wish to have him back:

	The brave Shieldings abandoned the cliff-top
	and the king went home; but sick at heart,
	staring at the mere, the strangers held on (ll 01-1603).

Meanwhile, Beowulf is still at the bottom of the lake, where the monster's corpse lies. Beowulf sees the effect the poisonous blood of the fiend has on the sword. The giant's weapon melts like wax from the strong poison in the monster's blood.

It is time for Beowulf to return to the surface. Although he sees treasure in abundance in the monster's lair, he takes nothing except for the fiend's head and "the inlaid hilt embossed with jewels." Once on land, he is met by his retainers, who help him to remove his battle gear and carry the monster's head into the mead-hall, Heorot, where the celebration is about to begin.