Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics of the hero by accepting Grendel and the dragon." In Tolkien's view, the poem is essentially about a "man at war with the hostile world, and his inevitable overthrow in Time". The underlying tragedy is man's brief mortal life. Grendel and the dragon are identified as enemies of a Christian God, unlike the monsters encountered by Odysseus on his travels. What had happened is that Northern courage, exultant, defiant in the face of inevitable defeat by "Chaos and Unreason" (Tolkien cites Ker's words), fuses with a Christian faith and outlook. The "Beowulf" poet uses both what he knew to be
Wayland the Smith back on this promise. The saga also tells of the birth of a son, Wideke/Viðga, to Wayland and Nidung's daughter. This son goes on to become one of Thidrek/Didrik's warriors. The Old English poem "Deor", which recounts the famous sufferings of various figures before turning to those of Deor, its author, begins with "Welund": Weland had fashioned the mail shirt worn by Beowulf according to lines 450–455 of the epic poem of the same name: The Franks Casket is one of a number of other Old English references to Wayland, whose story was evidently well known and popular, although no