Christian and Pagan Virtues Displayed in Beowulf Essay

     While many pagan influences appear in the poem, Christian overtones dominate. Many of the characters exhibit Christian characteristics. Beowulf has a Christ-like behavior in his good-heartedness and charity. Beowulf understands the plight of the Danes that are being oppressed by the evil monster Grendel just as Christ knew of the oppression of the Jewish people. Both set out on a venture to save their people. To free themselves from the monster, the Danes need a savior, and Beowulf, through his desire to disperse their suffering, comes to save them. When Beowulf battles Grendel, he exhibits a sense of fairness when he refuses to use a weapon. The idea throughout the poem of living right, of loyalty, and of being a good leader can all be seen as traits of Christ. Just as Beowulf exemplifies Christ, Grendel mirrors Satan. Beowulf and

The intriguing cultural identity of Beowulf has strong ties to the cultural of Paganism. Paganism was a very broad religion that did not have any main book or scripture to follow. It was a polytheistic

Beowulf should be considered not as a pagan text, but rather a Christian one because

The story of Beowulf deals with life, death, violence, kings, and monsters. Written around 800 CE, and then picked up hundreds of years later to be rewritten by a monk, it is written well after the coming of Christ. It could be simply read as an action adventure, filled with conquests and elaborate feasts, as were common of Old English tales. The story is not that simple though, and gives us a peek into a culture going through some drastic changes. Once built upon a Pagan belief system void of Christ and saturated with values such as revenge and violence, the Anglo-Saxons did not immediately adopt all of Christianity. There was a lengthy time in which both sets of beliefs were muddled and weaved together haphazardly, where no one religion was distinct. Beowulf is an example of these cultural influences crashing together. While Christianity in Beowulf, the Old English epic poem, looks different than the Christianity we recognize today, the story is built with Christian values.

In the story of Beowulf, there is a noticeable struggle between Christianity and Paganism, and the characters personal battle between the two. Throughout the story the characters display actions that lead towards Paganism and Christianity. Contrary to Pagan belief Beowulf is seen as the epitome of good and beneficent to all of mankind. In Beowulf, the people showed their faith and love in God, however due to horrific events, paranoia caused them to look for a quick fix and turns them to Paganism.

The Pagan components in the epic Beowulf are clear in the characters superhuman representations. Beowulf is portrayed as a hero. Beowulf willingly saves the Danes from Grendel. In his fight

In the story Beowulf, there are a few different religions that are represented by the author. All the religions are portrayed in the story through the author’s eyes and his beliefs. The author makes clear what religion he believes in and his views. Some instances in the story also relate to the conflict between Christianity and the code of warriors. Throughout the story, the author is faced with the challenge of trying to portray his beliefs with a character whose actions are in conflict with his beliefs. Beowulf, in this story is based on the total opposite of the author’s beliefs and there are instances when his behavior is shown, and after there is symbolism of Christianity, to show its conflict with his behavior.

The character Beowulf embodied the Pagan heroic code (comitatus), but he also exhibited Christian values. Overall, he was a warrior and a hero who sought fame and reputation. Most of his actions were motivated by his desire to be remembered after his death as a courageous and loyal warrior. When Beowulf hears about Hrothgar’s trouble he goes to help him. He wants to help him for a few reasons, all of which relate to the comitatus. He wants to acquire fame and he wants lifelong honor. By beating Grendel he would receive honor and his reputation would be enhanced. Also, Beowulf wants to repay Hrothgar for settling a feud for his father years before. Beowulf is willing to do battle for the old king even though it means that he could die.

The story of Beowulf is that of a warrior that turns into a saint by sparing the Danes from the creatures, Grendel and his mom. Beowulf turns into a ruler of the Gates and winds up battling a mythical serpent for his people, a demonstration that slaughters him. The poem contains numerous components of agnostic affiliations additionally contains numerous Christian references. The story/poem contains numerous components of pagan affiliations additionally contains numerous Christian references. The reader can see that there are strains between the Christian and the pagan components of the story/poem.

Beowulf, is an epic poem with no known author. It was first told in a Pagan society through oral tradition in the middle ages, and as times changed, the poem was altered by the community’s views and beliefs. When Christianity began to spread in Daneland, ideas of morality, good and evil, Heaven and Hell were added to the plot. This blend of Christianity with a folk story that praises loyalty, faith, honesty, and courage in the face of extreme danger and even death stuck with the poem. To this day, Beowulf presents a model of the human being who is willing to die to deliver others from terrifying evil forces, and is a true example of a hero throughout time.

As he recites the experience of defeating Grendel’s mother in the lake, he feels the need to thank God and praise him for what He is allowing him to do: “My life was almost lost, fighting for it, / Struggling underwater: I’d have been dead at once, / And the fight finished, the she-devil victorious, / If our Father in Heaven had not helped me.” (1655-1658). Beowulf believes that if it was not for God, the monster would have most certainly won that battle.

Regarding pagan religion Beowulf

Beowulf is based on the old pagan warrior culture with the influences of christianity. Beowulf has a lot pagan themes and values but the poets also tried to add many christian values to influence christian readers. Some christian values that were added into Beowulf are: people can not survive without God's protection, all earthly gifts come from God, and that we have to be humble in front of God. All of these christian values were just words and were not properly used or shown in Beowulf because they would contradict the christian values throughout the poem.

Beowulf travels around the land, battling the huge, malicious creatures that debilitate his kingdom. He does so for the benefit of his kingdom and at the same time, he improves the situation his own reputation. In Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero is all around characterized by the actions of Beowulf. The qualities mostly seen throughout the Anglo-Saxon period are strength, bravery, loyalty and belief in God. Beowulf states “So I praise God in his heavenly glory...” this shows Beowulf’s faith in God and how religion was an important characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon period (Heaney, 1778-9). Clearly, Beowulf is a perfect representation of an Anglo-Saxon hero. His strength and courage are unparalleled, and he is much more honorable than any of the corrupted knights around him.

In addition, Beowulf exemplifies many features that define him as a Christian hero as well by specifically resembling a Christ figure. The monster Grendel instills an overall feeling of fear of death on the citizens of Heorot. When Beowulf arrives and defeats Grendel, he subsequently and momentarily releases the people of these bonds of fear, much like Jesus releases the people from the fear of death by dying for their sins and ensuring an eternally ideal afterlife. Additionally, the author portrays Grendel as an incarnation of the Christian devil throughout the story. Many of his characteristics resemble those of Satan. This includes the fact that he belongs to the lineage of Cain and the fact that his and his mother’s home provokes images of hell. However, another enemy of Beowulf also resembles Satan: the dragon. The bible describes Satan as “the great dragon…the serpent of old”. This description draws an interesting comparison between Beowulf’s battle with the dragon and Jesus’ experience in the garden of Gethsemane. In Matthew 26:36-56, Jesus tells his eleven disciples not to fight the people that capture him and willingly sacrifices himself for the good of the people despite the betrayal by Judas, one of his own. Similarly, eleven men follow Beowulf when he faces the dragon. Just like Jesus knew his predetermination to die for his people, Beowulf recognizes his mortality and knows his time on earth is ending. Beowulf slays the dragon, but the cost is his life. While