Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics most important article ever written about the poem. Scholars of Anglo-Saxon agree that the work was influential, transforming the study of "Beowulf". J. R. R. Tolkien's essay ""Beowulf": The Monsters and the Critics", initially delivered as a lecture in 1936, is regarded as a formative work in modern "Beowulf" studies. In it, Tolkien speaks against critics who play down the monsters in the poem, namely Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon, in favour of using "Beowulf" solely as a source for Anglo-Saxon history. Tolkien argues that rather than being merely extraneous, these elements are key to the narrative and should
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