Grendel is a mythical creature that has captured the attention of many people throughout history. The character appears in the Old English poem Beowulf, which was composed between 700 and 750 CE. Grendel is a descendant of the biblical Cain and is an outcast, doomed to wander the earth.
Grendel is envious, resentful, and angry toward mankind, possibly because he feels that God blesses them but that the ogre himself never can be blessed. Grendel especially resents the light, joy, and music that he observes in Hrothgar's beautiful mead-hall, Heorot.
Of Monsters and Men: What Is the Grim Being Known as Grendel from the ...