What is "grendel"

Grendel is one of three antagonists (along with Grendel's mother and the dragon) in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (AD 700–1000). Grendel is usually depicted as a monster or a giant, although this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.

Grendel is a long-running series of comic books originally created by American author Matt Wagner. First published by Comico, Wagner later moved publication of the series to Dark Horse. Originally a noir comic in the style of European titles such as Diabolik, it has evolved into, in Wagner's words, a study of the nature of aggression. In 2009, Hunter Rose (the first Grendel) was ranked as IGN's 88th Greatest Villain of All Time.

Grendel is the antagonist in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf.

Grendel or Grendal may also refer to:

In literature:

• Grendel's mother, mother of the above Grendel
• Grendel (novel), a novel by John Gardner that retells Beowulf from Grendel's point of view
• Beowulf and Grendel (book), a 2005 book by John Grigsby
• Grendel (short story), a short story by Larry Niven written in 1968
• Grendel (comics), comic books by Matt Wagner featuring a fictional assassin called Grendel
• Grendels, a predatory alien species in the science-fiction novels The Legacy of Heorot and Beowulf's Children

In music:

• Grendel (band), a Netherlands-based dark electro/hard EBM band
• Grendel (opera), an opera composed by Elliot Goldenthal and directed by Julie Taymor
• "Grendel", a song by Marillion, B-side to their first single " Market Square Heroes"
• "Grendel", a song on the album Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate

In media:

• Grendel (film), a made-for-television motion picture adaptation of the Beowulf poem produced by the Sci Fi Channel
• Grendel Grendel Grendel, an animated film based on John Gardner's novel and starring Peter Ustinov
• Beowulf & Grendel, a 2005 film
• Grendel, the Holy City in the Scrapped Princess anime

In computing:

• Grendel, a species in the artificial life computer program Creatures
• Mozilla Grendel, a Java-based e-mail and Usenet client
• The NSDF designation given to the Soviet bomber class ship in Battlezone
• Grendal, a character in the computer game Mace: The Dark Age

People:

• Grendel Alvarado, a Philippine fashion model
• Erik Grendel, a Slovakian footballer
• Grendel Briarton, a pseudonym for author Reginald Bretnor

Other uses:

• Grendel, a superheavyweight combat robot in BattleBots
• 6.5mm Grendel, a rifle cartridge developed by Alexander Arms
• Grendel Inc., a United States firearms manufacturer which produced among others:
  • Grendel P30
  • Grendel R31
  • Grendel S16
• Grendel's Den, a bar and restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
• Mount Grendal, a mountain in Antarctica

Grendel is a Dutch music group formed in 1997. Their music is in the electro-industrial genre. Their name originates from the beast in Beowulf.

Not to be confused with the Finnish power metal band or Australian heavy metal band of the same name.

Grendel is a 1971 novel by American author John Gardner. It is a retelling of part of the Old English poem Beowulf from the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel. In the novel, Grendel is portrayed as an antihero. The novel deals with finding meaning in the world, the power of literature and myth, and the nature of good and evil.

In a 1973 interview, Gardner said that "In Grendel I wanted to go through the main ideas of Western Civilization – which seemed to me to be about . . . twelve? – and go through them in the voice of the monster, with the story already taken care of, with the various philosophical attitudes (though with Sartre in particular), and see what I could do, see if I could break out". On another occasion he noted that he "us[ed] Grendel to represent Sartre's philosophical position" and that "a lot of Grendel is borrowed from sections of Sartre's Being and Nothingness.

Grendel has become one of Gardner's best known and reviewed works. Several editions of the novel contain pen and ink line drawings of Grendel's head, by Emil Antonucci. Ten years after publication, the novel was adapted into the 1981 animated movie Grendel Grendel Grendel.

"Grendel" is an English language science fiction short story written in 1968 by Larry Niven. It is the fourth in the series of Known Space stories featuring crashlander Beowulf Shaeffer. The short story was originally published in Neutron Star (1968), and reprinted in Crashlander (1994).

Grendel is a 2007 television film directed by Nick Lyon that is very loosely based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. The television film was produced by the Sci Fi channel as an original movie for broadcasting on the Sci Fi cable television network, and began airing in January 2007. In 2010 it was released on DVD by Universal Pictures.

The movie posits Grendel's mother as a monster ("Hag") who demands monthly sacrifice from the Danes; king Hrothgar and his wife Wealhþeow have agreed to the scheme, with the result that by the time the hero comes there are almost no children left, and Hrothgar bemoans the fact that he has become as monstrous as the monster. After she disappears from the scene her son, Grendel, continues her reign of terror. Nickolas Haydock, in the essay "Making Sacrifices" from the Beowulf on Film collection, called the film "highly derivative" and "regrettable".