“It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.” Vengeance is not an undesirable trait throughout the epic. Men who had witnessed killing of friends and family were obligated to seek vengeance on the murderer. An idea of honorable vengeance shows itself throughout the poem. One prime example of this is when Beowulf first witnesses the murder of an innocent man by Grendel before exacting vengeance on the beast. Grendel deserved death, as it had committed acts of murder without a motive more than lust for carnage. Grendel’s mother is then obliged to deal her own evil act of vengeance upon the death of her son. “She had done away with a great warrior, ambushed him at rest.” Gre

ndel’s mother continues the evil cycle of vengeance, when in fact her child’s death was deserved. This killing forces Beowulf to again fight a great battle against a great and evil beast. Beowulf returns from the departed beast’s lair not only returning the “man-price” of Grendel’s mother’s death, but also the victory token of Grendel’s head. The head can be seen as man-price in addition to Grendel’s death, paying for those many lives lost during the 12 years of Grendel’s raiding.

Wergild is defined as the man-price demanded from one who murders another. It can be paid in the form of the murderer’s death or by a compensatory payment equal to the value of the man killed. Beowulf succeeds in every attempt at wergild he enacts; Killing Grendel along with killing its mother. Wergild can be traced back to biblical era,”For the killing of Abel the Eternal Lord had exacted a price.” It was wergild itself that brought Grendel, a descendant of Cain, to existence and that same act that brought it to attack Hrothgar’s kingdom. Grendel however did not show credence to the belief of wergild. Hrothgar himself could not slay the beast in his old age and after Grendel slaughters hundreds of Hrothgar’s men throughout its12 year raiding period it becomes apparent that “No counselor could ever expect reparation from those rabid hands.” Grendel’s refusal to obey wergild brought both Beowulf to

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