Supernatural descendant of Cain, in ‘Beowulf’ crossword

In the poem "Beowulf," the figure said to spring from Cain holds readers for centuries. The name of this night bound creature, stands for the dark, raw forces that hide inside the human mind. His line goes back to Cain, the first killer in the Bible, doomed to roam the earth in restless violence. The poem calls Grendel a large man shaped monster of vast strength who seeks ruin. Night after night he breaks into the mead hall of the Danish king Hrothgar until the hero Beowulf comes to stop him. The fight between the two is a plain contest of right against wrong, a fight for the life of the realm. Scholars argue over the meaning of Grendel. Some take him as the image of the cruel side of man - others treat him as the wild land set against the order of towns and halls. Yet in every reading he keeps his place as the other worldly offspring of Cain, a core force in the story. The crossword hint "Supernatural descendant of Cain, in 'Beowulf'" shows that the figure still lives in memory. The five letter answer "ORC" does not hold all of Grendel's weight, but it points toward the dense weave of the old epic. As new readers open the poem, the riddle of Grendel's birth will draw them again.