Page "Beowulf" Paragraph 34

In the late 1920s, Heinzer Dehmer suggested Beowulf as contextually based in the folktale type “ The Hand and the Child ,” due to the motif of the “ monstrous arm ”— a motif that distances Grettis saga and Beowulf and further aligns Beowulf with Irish parallelism.

James Carney and Martin Puhvel also agree with this “ Hand and the Child ” contextualisation.

Carney also ties Beowulf to Irish literature through the Táin Bó Fráech story.

Puhvel supported the “ Hand and the Child ” theory through such motifs as “ the more powerful giant mother, the mysterious light in the cave, the melting of the sword in blood, the phenomenon of battle rage, swimming prowess, combat with water monsters, underwater adventures, and the bear-hug style of wrestling .”