In the anonymous, alliterative Anglo-Saxon epic "Beowulf" Hrothgar, the king of the Danes is assisted by the legendary hero of the Geats, Beowulf. The monster Grendel has been marauding their mead-hall and generally making mayhem.

As is the habit of heroes, Beowulf slays the monster, but Grendel's mother (who is never named) returns for revenge, and raids the Mead Hall, known as Heorot, signifying "Stag".

Her triumph is transient, and she herself is slain.

Debate rages on concerning the character and nature of the creature, who is originally identified as both "ides/dis" meaning "lady" and "aglaecwif" meaning warrior. Traditional translations have not been kind, terming her a troll, and monster, a descendant of Cain, a hell-bride and a hag, but some subsequent scholarship notes her nobility, and views her as a variant Valkyrie.

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