The
anonymous author of
Beowulf claims that the
monster Grendel was a
descendant of Cain.
...fief of the giants
the hapless wight a while had kept
since the Creator his exile doomed.
On kin of Cain was the killing avenged
by sovran God for slaughtered Abel.
Ill fared his feud, and far was he driven,
for the slaughter's sake, from sight of men.
Of Cain awoke all that woful breed,
Etins and elves and evil-spirits,
as well as the giants that warred with God...
Beowulf, Book I, 5-7 (Translated by Francis B. Gummere, 1910, copyright expired)
This seems a bit
inconsistent on the part of
Anonymous, at least in the context of the bible, wherein it explictly states that God offers Cain some of his most robust protection anywhere offered in the
Good Book:
Whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.
Genesis 4:15,
And then later he offers Cain's descendants even better protection:
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech {Cain's Great Great Grandson} seventy and sevenfold.
Genesis 4:24
One can't help at least flirting with the notion that these are some seminal examples of
God's Subsidy of Evil. Perhaps Beowulf's death at the hands/claws of the
Dragon was God's revenge for messing with one of Cain's
kin.