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Grendel Grendel Grendel

Initially narrated by the titular character through a flashback, Grendel (Peter Ustinov), the "Great Boogey", recounts how he first left his cave as a child and encountered the Danish King Hrothgar (Ed Rosser) and his thegns. After being rescued by his mother, Grendel ponders over the similarities he shares with the Danes, yet laments on their not being able to understand his language. He watches as Hrothgar's power and wealth grows, disgusted at his excesses and the royal Shaper 's (Keith Michell) revisions of history that present the king's underhanded and brutal achievements as glorious victories. Desperate to find meaning in life, Grendel encounters the dragon (Arthur Dignam), who informs Grendel that his sole purpose in life is to terrify humanity, thus stimulating human imagination and encouraging social cohesion.

Grendel accepts his new role and regularly visits the king's mead hall to frighten Hrothgar's people and devour them. He stops short of killing the king himself and the warrior Unferth (Ric Stone), whose delusions of grandeur and passive opposition to the king amuse Grendel. Feeling sympathy for Hrothgar's miserable wife Wealhtheow, who is also the object of Unferth's secret affection, Grendel decides to finally kill Hrothgar and take her to his lair. Before Grendel can arrive, the meadhall is visited by the hero Beowulf (also voiced by Dignam), who kills Unferth on the increasingly paranoid Hrothgar's orders. Beowulf then ambushes Grendel and tears off his arm, leaving the monster to die outside, pondering over the accidental nature of his death.