Editing Grendel (section)

====Identity as an eoten====
In 1936, [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics]]'' discussed Grendel and the dragon in ''Beowulf''. Tolkien points out that while Grendel is the descendant of the Biblical Cain, he "cannot be dissociated from the creatures of northern myth". He notes that Cain is presented as the ancestor of beings such as {{lang|ang|[[eotenas]]}} and {{lang|ang|[[ylfe]]}}, which he equates with their Old Norse cognates of {{lang|non|jötnar}} and {{lang|non|álfar}}. He further argues that this blending of traditions is intentional and seen throughout the poem more generally.{{sfn|Tolkien|1936|p=11}} Grendel specifically is described as both an {{lang|ang|eoten}} and a {{lang|ang|þyrs}}, cognate with {{langx|non|jötunn}} and {{lang|non|þurs}} respectively; it has been proposed that the poet and the audience of the poem would have seen Grendel as belonging to this same group of beings as the {{lang|non|jötnar}} of [[Nordic mythology|Scandinavian tradition]].{{sfn|Monikander|2006|pp=145-146}} While {{lang|non|jötnar}} in Old Norse accounts are highly diverse, lacking a single physical appearance, and best thought of as a social grouping, some broadly shared traits have been identified such as living on the periphery of the world, outside society.{{sfn|Jakobsson|2006}}{{sfn|Heide|2014}} In both Old Norse and Old English accounts, these borders between the realms of humanity and those of supernatural beings are often marked by [[Wetlands and islands in Germanic paganism|water, such as rivers or the surface of lakes]].{{sfn|Semple|2010|p=30}}{{sfn|Monikander|2006|p=146}} This is notably consistent with Grendel's depiction as living in marshes and [[Maxims II]], which identifies fens as the characteristic living place for {{lang|ang|þyrsas}}.{{sfn|Monikander|2006|p=146}}{{sfn|Semple|2010|p=30}}{{sfn|Abram|2019}}