Beowulf & Grendel: The Truth Behind England's Oldest Legend

The book reads a little like a college essay. Some of the author's points are better supported than others. In several cases he assumes the reader must agree with him and no further proof is needed. In some cases no real proof is available because the lack of historical data. However, the author discusses some very interesting topics and writes in an accessible style. If you have any interest in Beowulf or Germanic, Norse, or Celtic cultural roots, this book is certainly worth a look. I enjoyed reading it and was motivated to further explore the topic when I finished the book.

Mr. Grigsby's book is supplemental material for me as a historian exploring genealogy. A (fee-based) genealogy website that I use has detailed entries of the "Anglo/Swedes" back to a possibly semi-mythological figure named "Yngvi King In Turkey" b. 193 in Noatun, Sweden. Going further back, his antecedants are in fact listed as originating from Turkey, Macedonia, Persia and Mesopotamia, and many of them closely related to ruling families in those nations. I have been reviewing the history of this region and period, and there certainly were some displacements of large groups of peoples, especially with the expansion of Roman hegemony. Is it possible that some of these peoples migrated north along already known trade routes to Scandinavia, to become the parent group of the Anglo-Saxons? Mr. Grigsby makes several references to Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon rituals, e.g. references to a barley god, which he believes shares some similarities to rituals from the Middle East. Another comparison is to the depiction of a solar disk above a boat, which is clearly reminiscent of Egyptian artwork. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the earliest known history of the English-speaking peoples, and possibly a few others as well.

John Grigsby, in his book Beowulf and Grendel has accomplished a monumental feat, pulling together and enormous amount of information, covering a vast period of time, and fitting it into a recognizable whole. He begins with the most ancient worship of fertility goddesses in Sandinavia and northern Europe, continues into the development of Odin worship and creates a context for the events of the Beowulf Poem. There are lots of interesting excusions into other world mythologies, fairy tales and even bog mummies and the book includes photos and drawings of artifacts that bring the facts to life. I happened to read the book shortly after seeing Gunnarson's movie, Beowulf and Grendel and it really brought the story into focus, dangling bits and pieces of storyline formed themselves into a comprehensible pattern thanks to his research. Easy to read, yet backed with lots of academic references it is essential fo anyone interested in Norse mythology, the Beowulf Poem or the myths at the foundation of Tolkein's Lord of the Rings

I recently saw the movie Beowulf and Grendel directed by Sturla Gunnarson, starring Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgaard, etc at the Vancouver IFF..Loved it- however it was one of those movies that has you looking up info, makes one curious, etc. This book was published on the day I saw the movie and was thrilled to order it..It came 2 days ago and I am thoroughly enjoying it! My knowledge of the migration period and pre-Roman occupation of Northren Europe was sadly lacking.. This book is a very easy to read, interesting and entertaining take on the original poem- especially for non-scholars..comprehensible. I've read in several places about JRR Tolkien being influenced by this poem in writing the Lord of the Rings-I can see why now. Therefore I suggest that LOTR and Beowulf enthusiasts read this book!