Grendel's Grotto

Background
Refers to the grotto which Grendel's mother lives in for the duration of the Beowulf poem up to the point of her death. It is remarked that she has lived in this location for fifty years.

The grotto is located in a mere by the moors near Heorot, a day's journey below the surface of the water. It is "guarded" by a myriad of beasts. It is exceptionally large, not a small grotto:"Then the earl perceived""that he was in some sort of battle-hall""where no water could harm him in any way,""and, for the hall's roof, he could not be reached""by the flood's sudden rush... (ll. 1512-16)"According to the poem, this grotto is apparently filled with bodies of previous victims as well as their weapons. The sword which Beowulf uses to slay Grendel's mother is encountered here.