Week 14 Story: The Cloak of a Thousand Furs

Once upon a time, the beloved Queen Aurora and King Philip ruled over a happy kingdom. The people rejoiced when their first child, Prince Adalrico was born and a few years later rejoiced again At the birth of Princess Aurelia.

This happiness could not last, however. Queen Aurora became sick and weak, and on her deathbed, King Philip promised that he would never forget her and would not even marry again unless it was with her unique golden hair.

The kingdom mourned the loss of their queen but soon wished for a new Queen to take on royal duties. King Philip at first was adamant he would not marry, but when his advisers said someone must fulfill the Queenly duties, he remembered his promise to only marry with the unique golden hair of his wife. Reluctant, the advisers searched through the lands for a woman with the same hair as the prior Queen, but none were to be found. This passed on for multiple years and in the meantime the young Prince Philip and Princess Aurelia grew into their teens. When the grieved King Philip met with his children one day, he saw that his daughter Aurelia had inherited her mother's hair and decreed that she must become his bride. Despite the adamant protests of such an abominable act from the royal advisers, the priests, and his children, King Philip was not deterred.

Princess Aurelia understood her father had gone mad. She decided to buy herself time by saying that she would agree to marry her father if he gave her special gifts. Three dresses spun from the light of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, as well as a cloak made from one thousand furs given freely. However, King Philip managed to complete these tasks with the help of the Royal Magicians. In despair, Princess Aurelia was forced to flee into the forests surrounding the castle, only able to grab the three dresses and don the cloak on her shoulders.

Aurelia found a small abandoned house in a rural village and decided to rest there. However, shortly after she arrived, news from her father reached the village. The Mad King claimed that Princess Aurelia had been kidnapped with the help of their prince, who was thrown into the dungeons for his treachery. Any that could find the princess and return her safely would be granted a grand reward, such as a noble title, land, and gold.

And so Aurelia was forced to flee the kingdom and ran for many days through the wilderness into a neighboring kingdom until she, at last, stopped to rest in a hollow tree. A stick poked her awake. It was a royal envoy led by none other than the neighboring King Cedric. Aurelia was asked questions, such as who she was and why she was sleeping in the middle of nowhere.

Aurelia had heard of King Cedric's kindness and wished she could petition him for aid to stop her father and save her brother. However, would King Cedric help her and risk an international conflict or turn her in and be granted a favor. Aurelia knew that the best way to determine one's character is to see how they treat their inferiors. She decided to lie and tell the envoy she had gotten lost on her journey to find work. Out of some intent, more likely pity, Aurelia was hired to work as a kitchenmaid in the palace.

However, the life of a princess did little to prepare her for brunt work. Along with her clumsy attempts to clean the dishes, Aurelia was often scolded for covering the floors with hair from her fur cloak. They become more disapproving when Aurelia was adamant to never take it off. After all, her golden hair was a recognizable trait of her family. When the head kitchen servant petitioned the King to fire her, King Cedric agreed, but not before giving Aurelia another job.

"Your fur cloak is always kept so neat and clean. Why don't you help groom my horse," the king had said.

And so Aurelia began to attend the King's personal steed, with a daily visit from the king. Although the King only stayed for a few minutes, Aurelia took those moments and analyzed the King's true character. Aurelia discovered that King Cedric was as good as the tales claimed, and she resolved to ask him for assistance, not as the servant with the funny cloak, but as Princess Aurelia. And she knew just when to meet with him.

A week-long ball would take place at the castle, which gave Aurelia plenty of time to meet the King. On the first night of the ball, Princess Aurelia donned her sunlight dress. When she entered the hall, heads turned at the golden lady. The crowd part for her and Princess Aurelia made her way to King Cedric. When she asked if they could speak privately, King Cedric asked if they could have a dance first. Aurelia missed her palace life and dancing at balls, so she agreed. The two danced until the night was over, and Aurelia had to return as a servant for the next day of work.

The next night, Aurelia donned the moonlight dress and the night after that the starlight dance. However, each time, Aurelia became so happy to dance with a kind, handsome partner like King Cedric that all of her troubles melted away. However, one the last night, those troubles returned, when she overheard politics at the ball about her father's erratic behavior and the execution of her brother! It was here that Aurelia asked King Cedric to listen to her. However, King Cedric didn't need to be told!

"I apologize, Princess Aurelia, but I already saw through your disguise. Wisps of your golden hair would sometimes fall in front of your face, which is how I recognized you.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid that you would leave. Aside from your excellent company, you sometimes acted like a cornered animal and from the rumors I've heard, I can understand why. A princess wouldn't be working as a servant unless she was afraid of going home. I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would run away and put yourself in danger. Though by the look on your face you have been able to handle yourself this whole time. I apologize for my presumption."

Aurelia and Cedric's conversation continued with a promise from King Cedric to stop Prince Adalrico's execution. With King Cedric's aid, an attack on Aurelia's old home led to the capture of Mad King Philip and the rescue of Prince Adalrico. News of King Philip's madness spread and the people rejoiced when Aldelrico was crowned king. Aurelia stayed in her home country and helped govern but soon she caught herself thinking to kind eyes within a graceful dance partner. King Cedric courted Princess Aurelia for a few years and the two married, living happily ever after.

Author's Notes:

Originally the princess was named Allerleirauh. I decided to change this because I had an idea where only the royal family is allowed to have certain names, such as those meaning "dawn," "gold," etc., which is because of the bloodline's special golden hair trait.

I chose Aurora as the dead queen's namebecause it means "Dawn" and its the name of the goddess of dawn in Roman mythology (though I did hear this name first from Disney's Sleeping Beauty).

Aurelia means "golden" and sometimes "dawn." Both Aurelia and Auroura are named for their golden hair.

Adalrico means noble, powerful and rich.

Cedric means kind and loved.

In the original story, the dying Queen asked her husband to not marry unless he found another woman with the same golden hair she did. I thought this was a strange thing to ask on your deathbed so instead, I decided it would be more interesting if the King had imposed those conditions on himself. Initially, it would mean, I will marry again only if its with you, my Queen," only for the King to twist this intent to marry a woman with the same hair had his prior wife when he has to marry again.

Another change I made was what job the princess had. In the original, the Princess continued to work in the kitchens, but I thought no cook would risk all that animal fur getting into the food. I decided she would work in the stables because animal hair from the horses is already there.

I decided to make the king more of a threat. In the original, the mad king is never mentioned again after the princess flees to another kingdom. I thought, if the people knew the king went mad, they would surely agree that another person should hold the crown. However, I also wanted the princess and neighboring king to get together, which would be difficult if they rule separate kingdoms. For this, I created Aurelia's brother, Adelrico, who would become a king. However, I also thought: Why didn't Adelrico stop his father? I decided to fill this plothole by the King pretending that his son had been killed and that his daughter had been kidnapped and offering a rich reward to anyone who brings her back unharmed. This gives a motivation for the people to find the princess and reason for the princess to flee all the way to another kingdom. This also makes the King a threat so the princess has a motivation to stop him.

Bibliography:

Original Story: "Allerleirauh" from Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (1884), translated by Margaret Hunt. Source.

Image Information: Allerleirauh illustration by Otto Ubbelohde. Source.

Week 14 Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Hunt), Part B

Snow White and Rose Red Illustration by Herman Vogel. Source.

Original Story: "Snow White and Rose Red" from Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (1884), translated by Margaret Hunt. Source.

A poor widow lives in a cottage with her two daughters gentle Snow-White and playful Rose-Red. In front of the house is one white rose bush and one red rose bush.

One evening the two girls were playing and would have an off a cliff if there were not distracted by a beautiful boy in a shining white attire.

Later, one winter evening, a bear shows up at the door and asks to be warmed by the fire. The mother lets him in and the two girls brush the snow out of his fur. The girls like to play with the bear and the bear scolds them when they play too roughly. When the ground thaws, the bear must leave and protect his treasures from greedy dwarfs who were before blocked by the cold hard ground. Snow White thinks she catches a glimpse of gold on the bear.

The long-bearded dwarf is stuck by a tree by his beard trapped. Snow White cuts cut beard free, which only makes the Dwarf angry because he loves his beard. A similar event happens when the dwarf is fishing, only for the fish to be too strong and for his beard to be tangled with the fishing line. The third time with a bird, the girls notice the dwarf has precious jewels.

The fourth time they see the dwarf, their friend the Bear kills him and transforms into a handsome golden prince. Snow White marries the golden prince, and Rose Red marries his brother.

Retelling Ideas:

Shouldn't the girls have been more curious about how their friend the bear has treasures? Wouldn't they think that the mean dwarf they met is one of the evil ones, especially when they see the dwarf has jewels?

What is the beautiful boy who was the second prince?

What if girls keep the dwarf trapped, with Rose Red staying with the dwarf and Snow-white seeing if she can find the bear to tell him about the dwarf?

What if the second prince had more of a story. Either as a cursed animal or as a human who asks the girls to help him find his brother?

I've been calling Snow White and Rose Red girls the whole time so it feels weird that they got married. Maybe age them up or no marriage at all? Maybe they get royal rewards of education?

Week 14 Reading Notes: Brothers Grimm (Hunt), Part A

Allerleirauh illustration by Otto Ubbelohde. Source.

Original Story: "Allerleirauh" from Household Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm (1884), translated by Margaret Hunt. Source.

Queen with beautiful golden hair is dying and asks that her husband not marry anyone else unless they have beautiful golden hair like she does.

The people want a Queen to rule over them again, but no noble lady or princess in any kingdom has beautiful golden hair like the queen. Except for the King's daughter who inherited her mother's looks. His advisers are shocked and try to dissuade him from forcing the princess into marriage with him. However, the king had gone mad. The princess came up with impossible challenges for the king to fulfill, such gifts like

"golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as bright as the stars; besides this, I wish for a mantle of a thousand different kinds of fur"

However, the King accomplished this and rather than be forced to marry her father, the princess ran away from home, covered her self in soot, and when she was tired, the princess fell asleep in a hollow tree. She apparently ran far enough to go to another kingdom into the royal hunting grounds. The King there sees her and hires her to serve in the castle kitchen out of pity. Different feasts are thrown at the castle, and each night the King sees her in two of the dresses and falls in love with her. Finally, the princess makes the King soup and putting her ring in. This happens multiple times with multiple golden objects but each time the princess says A third ball comes and the princess wears a dress and puts on the coat, the King forces her to reveal her identity.

Retelling Ideas:

The King forces the princess to reveal her identity. Don't include this.

The Princess is dependent on the King because she does not have anywhere else to go besides back home to marry her father. Don't include this.

The Princess decides to enlist foreign aid to overthrow her mad father. The mad father has threatened everyone into silence and killed the seamstresses and most anyone who kno=ew he wanted to marry his daughter. He pretended to be a loving father whose daughter has been kidnapped and offers a reward for her safe return. The Princess knows this is a lie but does not want to hide forever. She decides to keep her disguise as a fur-covered beastly woman to see how the King treats his inferiors. Once she decides he is trustworthy, she petitions for aid. An international council is called and the Princess becomes Queen and her father is put inside an elderly home in hopes he will recover from his insanity.

Week 13 Story: King Arthur Will Not Allow Any Nonsense In His Court

Original Story:  Original Story from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang. Source.

Author's Note: This week, I really struggled with what kind of story I wanted to rewrite. I thought about having a point-of-view narrative from Arthur's adoptive father, about a land corrupt with slavery and a peasant named Arthur who rises and becomes the wisest king ever known. I thought about making the Sword in the Stone be lifted by a person of pure-heart and not because of bloodline because I believe there should be something more special about a protagonist than who their parent was. However, several rough outlines of these plot points in, I was running out of time. Instead, I decided to try a cometic, light-hearted tone of a King Arthur who will not put up with any nonsense in his court. One of those things being how all his knights abandoned Camelot's people to search for the Holy Graal, which they would never be able to find because of their sins. Another thing was how Merlin knew how the woman he loved, Vivien, would one day kill him, but Merlin does nothing to prevent his own death. In short, people made stupid decisions which caused a lot of chaos to befall Camelot later down the line, so I decided to make King Arthur put a stop to these stupid decisions. This is a very bad rough draft I had no time to polish so PLEASE tell me how you think I can improve it. Thank you!

King Arthur (1903) by Howard Pyle. Source.

_____________

The Holy Graal

For Christmas dinner, the Knights of the Round Table had gathered in the revered halls fo Camelot to toast merrily for their good fortune and good fortune to come. However, the ruckus stilled as a brilliant light filled the halls. There was the Holy Graal, which Jesus had drank from during The Last Supper. A warm feeling filled the hearts of the people near it and felt bereft as the light dimmed and the Holy Graal vanished from sight once more. The ruler of these halls, King Arthur, felt grateful for the miracle and was about to announce for the party to commence when his right-hand-man Sir Lancelot stood.

"My King, forgive me but I ask that you pardon my oath to serve you and Camelot. The high purpose to find the Holy Graal is a calling I shall not ignore!"

To Lancelot's bold degree, all the other knights too proclaimed their wish to search for the Holy Graal.

"No. You are nor pardoned and as knights, you must still fulfill your obligations to me."

"What do you suppose will happen to Camelot if you suddenly leave? Bandits and foreign armies will march in and harm the people we swore to protect. And do you really think any of you are worthy to find the Holy Graal when I can see your own lust for honor through such a quest?'

The knights looked down, ashamed.

King Arthur spoke, "My friends, let us instead enjoy the company we have and should you still wish to go on this quest for the right reasons, train someone to take your place so the land will not be without protection."

The knights agreed.

____________

Merlin's Lover

King Arthur was looking over reports t his desk when his old friend Merlin the Wizard scrambled into the room. However, something was very different about his serious friend. For one thing, Merlin's pupils were heart-shaped which King Arthur was positive was impossible. However, King Arthur had no time to think on the matter further, for Merlin began to speak.

"Oh, Artie! She is just the most wonderful creature I've ever beheld. I just wish we could stay together forever! You know..."

King Arthur blinked. 'Ah, so Merlin is talking about Lady Vivien again, is he? Honestly, who would have thought the old wizard could act like a puppy in love." Something clicked into Arthur's mind.

"Merlin, what did you just say?'

"I said that Vivien is the heart of my body, and that--"

"No, before then."

"Before--oh, you mean how I said that I will gladly accept her face as the last I will ever see?"

"Yes, that. What does that mean?"

"Well, you see, Vivien plans on killing me with a spell that I'm currently teaching her! She's so talented at magic!"

"Merlin, come here real quick."

Merlin walked towards King Arthur and was promptly knocked out by a hit to the head.

Later that evening, Lady Vivien was charged with poisoning Merlin with a love potion and was charged with treason for her plans to weaken he crown by assassinating Merlin.

Week 13 Reading Notes: King Arthur Part B

 Original Story from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang. Source.

King Arthur (1903) by Howard Pyle. Source.

King Arthur's knights of the round table decided to search for the Holy Grail, which left the kingdom unattended and weakened.

King Arthur took a pilgrimage to St. Augustine and experienced a glimpse of holiness with singing and light. However, Arthur decided to be inspired to become a better man and better king.

The Holy Graal suddenly appears in Camelot's halls briefly. While the King is glad to have experienced a bit of its wonder, all the other knights want to search for it so shirk their duties in order to bring themselves honor. They vow to find it, and vows cannot be broken. King Arthur and the entire court is disheartened that the knights of the Round table are disbanded.

Sir Galahad is a perfect knight. In his quest to obtain a shield, he comes across an Evil dead man who cannot use his powers on Galahad because, "'I see about thee so many angels that my power dare not touch thee."' He is the son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic. (Elaine raped Lancelot by pretending to be his lover Queen Guinevere, also known as King Arthur's WIFE. Sir Galahad was conceived because of foreknowledge of his maternal grandfathert that he would become the greatest knight ever. Yet, Galahad also shirks duties by searching for the holy graal.

Sir Lancelot can not get close to the Holy graal in the old chapel because his sins are heavy and weigh him down. (Sins of worldly adventures for worldly desires. He tries to search for the Holy graal as if it is a worldly thing.) The holy graal heals another old knight.

Seige perlious to be sat by the knight who finds the Holy Graal.

Knight of a King to the Knight of God transition? Earthly, sinful knights are weak compared to heavenly, righteous knights.

Half of the Knights of the Round Table are killed in the Quest for the Holy Graal. Sir Lancelot goes back to Camelot after seeing his son, but Galahad continues the quest.

Galahad had a vision with the Holy Graal and sees much more joy in eternal life in Heaven compared to life on Earth. Galahad becomes prays to go to Heaven already, so he dies.

Morderd, Arthur's son and nephew, plots to kill Arthur. Arthur is wounded, Excalibur is returned to the lake it came from (despite one knight's plans to keep Excalibur for himself). Arthur sails to Avalon to be healed but is as good as dead to the mortal world. Guenevere becomes a nun and reject's any further affair with Lancelot (funny how she respects marital fidelity when her husband is dead compared to when he was alive). Lancelot also dies later. The end.

Retelling Ideas:

Lancelot was tricked into sleeping with Elaine, so how can sucha union be the prophetic conditions for the greatest knight who ever lived. Also, How was Galahad the greatest knight who ever lived if he decided to stop helping people when he was young to go to heaven a few decades earlier?

Kign Arthur tells the knights to care for their people more! Help their fellow men instead of mudering people to find the Holy Graal.

Week 13 Reading Notes: King Arthur Part A

 Original Story from King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang. Source.

King Arthur (1903) by Howard Pyle. Source.

Uther Pendragon was the king but then died. The land fell into chaos over the right to succession, every knight wanted to become the new king. Merlin and the Archbishop revealed the Sword in the Stone in the Great Church. Whoever can pull the sword from the stone is the rightful king of England. However, people (nobles, knights, and other high-born) decided people could win the sword in a tournament. Sir Ector and his son Sir Kay enter the tournament. Except they forgot the sword from the inn so Ector's foster son goes back. However, inn is locked so Arthur decides to get sword from the stone. Arthur learns he is the rightful king of England and that Merlin brought him to Ector's house when he was a baby. Ector didn't know the son of Uther Pendragon lived in his house until that moment.

Except people don't want to except a boy as their king so months pass as knights travel far and wide to pull the sword from the stone. Over time, Arthur is crowned and promises to be a great king for the people. The scabbard has power so Arthur doesn't lose any blood.

Sword of Stone was for birthright. Excalibur from Lady of the Lake is magical and only used by Arthur in a deux es machina moment. Lady of the Lake asks a favor ( that she will not say) in return for excalibur. Arthur accepts.

Merlin visits in disguise and says that his sister's son will be his worst enemy one day.

King Arthur fights against a great knight and almost dies, except Merlin cheats for him so knight loses.

King Arthur asks Merlin for who to marry, he is most infatuated with Guenevere, the daughter of daughter of Leodegrance, King of Cameliard. Cameliard holds the round table, which apparently was a gift from Uther Pendragon. Merlin says if he can not be faithful to Guenevere, he could find other women as beautiful as she is that he could be faithful to. The round table is given as a dowry.

Sir Lancelot is to escort Guenwvere for the wedding preparations.

Merlin falls in love with a maiden (Nimue, Vivien) that he knows will kill her. However, Merlin continues to spend time with her and refuses to change the fate he saw. Merlin teaches Vivien magic, and Vivien buries Merlin alive.

Morgan le Fay is the sister of King Arthur. King Arthur killed a knight she loved and Morgan wantts revenge. She steals the scabbard of excalibur. King Arthur wants to punish her for treason, but almost accepts a gift from her that will kill him.

People decide to find the Holy graal despite Arthur's wishes and the kingdom is neglected in favor of the impossible graal.

Week 12 Story Lab: Crash Course Myth Videos

Crash Course Myth videos. Watch these videos and record your thoughts in a blog post: Overview of Mythology (3 videos, 40 minutes total). These are most useful for the Myth-Folklore class, but I think they can be useful for the Indian Epics class too.

What Is Myth? Crash Course World Mythology #1

This video talked about how due to the age of myths, there is a lot of interpretation. Beyond the multiple versions of myths found, we do not know exactly how a myth was created. Does a myth originate from a twist of truth, are they made up fictional stories for entertainment or to teach a lesson, or were they simply a way to explain natural phenomena? I thought the part of the video that started on the theory of myth was fascinating, and I better understood why our Mythology and Folklore class contains story-telling, as myth from "mythos" means "story." In this class, we are making up our own interpretations of myths as many have done for thousands of years. And myths aren't only old, they are integrated into our societies, such as the "Rags and Riches" example the video provided. The way we use myths in society further explains how we think and how we experience life.

Theories of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology #12

This video talked about how myths have been and are studied. Myths are powerful because of their ability to survive centuries by people believing that their stories are worth passing down. However, not everyone was in agreement. One example this video used was how the criticism of myths has happened for thousands of years, even back in 500 B.C.E. Before I saw this video, I thought everyone in ancient Greece worshipped the Greek pantheon, so I was very surprised to hear that figures such as Plato and Euhemerous disregarded the myths as having any factual truth. Plato called myths another type of lie, which is a connotation that still exists today. Strangely enough, people pretend that they are the most evolved being and that humans in the past were lesser, such as Euhemerous who said people made up myths because they did not have science. However, I thought the field studies (as problematic as its view of a 'primitive' society) told the most about how myths function in society. They teach morals, rules, and beliefs for people to live by. It is really in the context of where the myths are told that tell us more about how they influence us. I thought this was fairly obvious but it didn't occur to me how mythology was affecting history. The connections found between languages created modern mythology of the Aryan people, who, despite having no evidence of existence, created a gateway for superiority thought that fueled Nazi propaganda. This made me think of the modern mythologies we take for granted in our own lives. The internet is a tool that doesn't discriminate with information allowed on it. Such as the following:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34568674

The above is a link to a story of a model who did work for a plastic surgery advertisement. However, people made up a false story behind the photos the model was a part of, and soon the model, Ms. Yeh, had a lot of trouble finding work because of the rumors surrounding her. The moral of the story: Think carefully and critically about what you read before you hit "Post."

The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth: Crash Course World Mythology #25

The main idea this video focused on was that a hero is someone that answers the call to journey from home and undergoes many deadly trials. During this process, the hero surpasses their mentor or gains the approval of their mentor. Once all their challenges are complete, the hero returns home or continues to ascend from humanity. In either case, the hero gained hard-earned peace. Throughout this description of "The Hero's Journey," the hero is put in parallel to ourselves. We all want to find our place in the world, and the hero's trials can act as analogies to the struggles in our everyday lives.

Then "The Hero's Journey" continued past just going home because they need to be accepted again into the community. It reminded me of"The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien. One of the lines was about how people who go on adventures may not come back and if they do they will not be the same. This was seen in Bilbo Baggins as he became a social outcast of the shire because of his adventure. I thought about how my own adventure was going, and I remembered coming home for the first time as a college student. Everything was both familiar and strange because I had grown as a person and the people back home had done some growing without me.

That's it for my Story Lab. Here is a personal photo of a sunrise.

Week 12 Reading Notes: Beowulf Part B

Original Story: "The Story of Beowulf" by Strafford Riggs. Source.

Beowulf resolved to stay awake, but Grendel's strange magic causes him to drift halfway into unconsciousness. However, as the other warriors completely fell asleep, Beowulf broke free of the spell

Grendel has trunk legs and milk-colored eyes. Shaped like a man but somehow disfigured that you can never describe him as human.

Grendel succeeds in killing and eating one soldier and takes the metaphor of grind your bone to dust much too seriously.

Meanwhile, Beowulf was struck with fear and could not move at the sight of Grendel. However, the sight of Grendel eating Honscio forces him to action. Grendel and Beowulf wrestle and by the end, Beowulf has torn Grendel's arm off. Grendel flees and the lords in the drinking hall wake up. The people rejoice and Grendel's arm is shown in front of everyone. However, Grendel's mother steals the arm back. Unferth, who insulted Beowulf and did not believe he could kill Grendel now gives Beowulf Hrunting, a magic sword. Beowulf assembles a company and sends off but he decides to go into the monster cave of Grendel's mother alone. On the way down, Beowulf battles jellyfish and a one-hundred-armed monster.

Grendel's Mother has hissing snakes for hair. Beowulf tries to use Hrunting but Grendel's mother has magic of her own that overpowers it. Beowulf ends up killing Grendel's mother with an old blade. Beowulf burns Grendel and his mother in a fire. Grendel was in the scene the whole time, but seemingly dead. Beowulf returns to the surface but most of the men gave up on his survival and left. Only his close company remained and when they saw the water at the entrance to the cave turned red, they feared it was Beowulf's blood. However, Beowulf comes and everyone is happy.

Retelling Ideas:

What if Unferth did not defend his people because he was secretly working with Grendel all along. He pretends to support Beowulf and give him a so-called magic sword that he knew would be ineffective against Grendel's mother.

Grendel's Mother is Medusa from Greek mythology.

Grendel is an old murderer who was cursed to be as monstrous outside as he was inside.

What if Beowulf did not freeze when he saw Grendel eating a person. What id Beowulf killed Grendel with his bare hands as he wanted to?

Illustration of Grendel by J. R. Skelton Found in Stories of Beowulf (1908) by H. E. Marshall. Source.

Week 12 Reading Notes: Beowulf, Part A

Original Story: "The Story of Beowulf" by Strafford Riggs. Source.

Illustration of Grendel by J. R. Skelton Found in Stories of Beowulf (1908) by H. E. Marshall. Source.

Hygelac is the King of Geatsland and his Queen is Hygd, the Wise and Fair.

Clans fought wars, and monsters roamed the land. Somehow, minstrels who traveled avoided the monsters. Overall, the monsters stuck to their own lairs. When the fearsome warlords of the land gathered in their home, they behaved as any other people with family, friends, and dogs. They would tell stories and dream or boast of their adventures.

Beowulf is Hydelac's nephew who learned how to do war and set sail. Beowulf became incredibly strong, so much that he could not control his strength. The other boys laughed at his inability to handle a weapon but were actually very jealous of him.

After some time, Beowulf sits near the King and some people complain. One "ancient warrior" says that Beowulf is destined for greatness. Meanwhile, Beowulf is upset because he is too old to kill young dragons and his Uncle doesn't rage a war.

A Wanderer Minstral appears and sings many songs, one of which about the monster Gretel who stole into the drinking hall, Heorot, which belongs to Hrothgar, the King of the Danes. Grendel has attacked for twelve years so far and must be stopped. Beowulf is eager to prove himself and so volunteers to kill Grendel with his bare hands. The people who once scorned Beowulf now cheer for him.

Retelling Ideas:

Beowulf was isolated from others because of his very strength. You would think that this strength would cause admiration but it did not. What if Beowulf was isolated for another reason?

Grendel has defeated many warriors over the years. What if someone other than a warrior were to defeat Grendel?

Minstrels can go through monster-ridden lands. What if they had special techniques to slay monsters. Except no one accepted their advice because their career is not that of a warrior, so how would they be an expert in killing? Or assasination methods of minstrels are not honorable. Think minstrels as assassins, spies, able to spread information in a spy network.

Beowulf was weak and tried hard to become a warrior. He meets a minstrel and this becomes his inspiration to become one himself. Beowulf then knows techniques on how to kill monsters-via assasination methods and not direct combat.

Except, Beowulf only lives with his uncle because of his strength. Change this to Beowulf's parents were killed by monsters and Hygelan took Beowulf in as his nearest kin.