Grendel is an adaptation of the 1971 John Gardner novel of the same name, which retells the Old English epic poem Beowulf ...

Thane: They look like marks made by giant claws, my Lord. Beowulf: They must be the work of Grendel. Hrothgar: Beowulf - I am Hrothgar! You are welcome in our land but you have come at a sad time.

Written sometime between 650 and 1000 C.E., “Beowulf” is the oldest epic poem in English. It depicts a swamp monster, Grendel, terrorizing a kingdom until Beowulf, a prince of The Geats ...