Beowulf: A Christian Book
Beowulf, a poem written around the 10th to 11th century, is a very detailed poem describing some of the actions a character by the name of Beowulf does. It takes place in Anglo-Saxon time (British Library, n.d., p. 1). Throughout the first episode, characters are very boastful and like to roast each other as well. This poem later gets pretty violent and gruesome. However, many people think Beowulf is a Christian poem. Others say it isn’t. Beowulf is a Christian poem and not a pagan one for many reasons. These include that God is talked a lot about throughout the whole poem, even that pagan parts to this book have a different meaning than what is said, and Beowulf is made after Jesus Christ. First off, throughout
…show more content…
For example, throughout the first episode, people are being terrorized by Grendel. Beowulf comes along and slays the beast to save all the people, acting as a savior to all these needy folks. He barely knew these Danish people yet he came and saved their lives. The Danes thought of him as their savior sent to them by God. He came out of nowhere and saved their lives. He put himself in harm’s way to protect the group of people he barely knew. Jesus did that in His life by saving all of us (Matthew 18). He came and defeated the beast which was death and rose again on the third day. Though Beowulf didn’t die and come back to life, he did do some very Christ-like actions as a man. He saves lives just as Jesus did. Now, Jesus Christ was long dead by the time this poem was written. However, if this book was a pagan book, how could the Anglo-Saxons even find ways to compare Beowulf to Jesus Christ. They wouldn’t even know who he is. The author of this book knew who Jesus was and based his main character after Him. Who could be a better main character than a man who resembles Jesus Christ? Really nothing can beat that. The author of the poem had a genius thought when writing it by letting Beowulf be like Jesus. This proves again that Beowulf is a Christian book and no a pagan
Beowulf has both pagan and Christian influences. Throughout the story there are many elements of Christian teachings: that man survives only through the protection of God, that all earthly gifts flow from God, and that the proper bearing of man is to be humble and unselfish (csis.edu, 2011). While many pagan influences appear in the poem, Christian overtones are more prevalent, exhibiting many elements of Christian heroism in the poem. An example is when Beowulf says “God must decide who will be given to death's cold grip” (Norton, lines 174-175). He knows that God has already created an ending to this battle with Grendel, and he is lavished with peace. He shows true Christian character, bravery, and faith in the manner in which he
Finally, Beowulf is portrayed as Jesus Christ from the Christian Bible multiple times throughout the poem. There are exact instances in Beowulf that parallel almost precisely with stories of Jesus Christ in the Christian Bible. Beowulf says, “Light glowed out and illuminated the chamber / with a clearness such as the candle of heaven / sheds in the sky (1569-1571). This parallels well with the scripture from the Holy Bible “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!’” (The MacArthur Study Bible, Matthew 17.5). Another example is at the end of the Epic poem when Beowulf is giving his life to fight the dragon for his kingdom, and his men abandon him in his time of need. The text states:
Beowulf was written in England about sometime in the 8th century. This provides us with an idea of that when the poem was written during a time when society was in the process if being converted from the Paganism Religion to the Christianity Religion. The Christian influences were combined with the early folklores and heroic legends of the German tribes, that whether or not Christian and bible influences were added later on to the original document. The fact that Christianity and Paganism were so closely intertwined with each other in the poem is the reason that Beowulf has both of the influences of Christianity and Paganism influences. The Pagan elements in the poem of Beowulf are shown by the character’s having superhuman personifications. Beowulf is depicted as a superhero, who takes it upon himself to save the great Danes from the monster Grendel. In his battle with Grendel, Beowulf chooses not to use weapons against the monster Grendel. He wants to fight him in a fair fight, he relies on his super strength to win the fight. During the fight, his strength takes over and he wrestles with Grendel until he is able to rip, Grendel’s arm out of socket. Let’s start with how Christianity was introduced, by the character Beowulf always trusting in god as his protector and how that God uses him as an epic hero type to slay the monsters Grendel and the other monsters as well that are hurting King Hrothgar and his people. Beowulf’s courage and faith is shown throughout the story,
Beowulf incorporates numerous Christian references across the poem. Beowulf instantly starts off with a Christian reference, “The Song of Creation”. This is a significant Christian reference as it is the first thing the reader sees, stated in the first passage of Beowulf. Immediately the reader acknowledges that the “unknown author” of Beowulf is inclined to Christianity. In addition to “The Song of Creation”, Beowulf expresses a symbolism of Heaven
Within the poem Beowulf, the poet utilizes the Christian religion to symbolize the elements of good and evil and Heaven and Hell. Beowulf is the oldest known English epic poem. The manuscripts date back to about 1000 A.D., when two scribes wrote it down for posterity. The poem was handed down from the Anglo-Saxon period, and through the retelling of the poem, it changed a little each time. The poem creates an oral depiction of an epic hero who strived to fight against the forces of evil. There really was a “historical” Beowulf who helped the Geats and Danes fight off pirates, but he was neither King of the Geats nor Danish hero at any time. In fact, he was not considered a man of any
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.
Christian symbolism in Beowulf within the poem Beowulf, the poet utilizes the Christian religion to symbolize the elements of good and evil and Heaven and Hell. Beowulf is the oldest known English epic poem. The manuscripts date back to about 1000 A.D., when two scribes wrote it down for posterity. The poem was handed down from the Anglo-Saxon period, and through the retelling of the poem, it changed a little each time. The poem creates an oral depiction of an epic hero who strived to fight against the forces of evil. There really was a “historical” Beowulf who helped the Geats and Danes fight off pirates, but he was neither King of the Geats nor Danish hero at any time. In fact, he was not considered a man of any extraordinary qualities,
During this time frame of this poem many writers where religious and enjoyed making a biblical connection with the work. The poem Beowulf has no titled or any known author. The author might be a Christian because of the several insertions that reference, the bible. Supernatural themes where commonly added to poems, which happened outside of the normal world, that enhanced the story to make it more popular. The story is a mythos for the people of their time just like today we have Greek Gods and other mythology.
The epic poem Beowulf, was written sometime in the eighth century by an unknown author. It was based on legend passed down over time. Prior to the time the poem was written, Anglo Saxons had converted from Germanic Paganism to Christianity. Some people argue that it was a Pagan poem rewritten by a person or persons educated in Christianity. “ has come down from heathen times and acquired its Christian character gradually and piecemeal from a succession of minstrels.” ( Hector Monro Chadwick as quoted by Brodeur 182), while others believed that Christianity and Paganism both belonged in the poem. “almost without exception so deeply ingrained in the very fabric of the poem that they cannot be explained away as the work of a reviser or
Beowulf is a Christian poem because it tells you the background of what happened in the Bible. In Beowulf, Grendel is a descendant of Cain. In the Bible Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel, but in the text Grendel’s mother and the unknown father made Grendel.
Scholars have argued about the religious stance of the epic poem Beowulf for centuries. Although the man who put the poem down on paper, known as the Beowulf poet, was a devout Christian, the actual poem itself is pagan. There are many clues in the epic that lead us to this conclusion such as the numerous references to pagan symbols, namely the symbol of fate. Also, the central idea of revenge in the poem opposes the ideas of Christianity. The poem also contains many breaches of the Ten Commandments, which prove that the story is not Christian. However, the biggest clue to the paganism of Beowulf is the scene that contains the burial of Beowulf and the building and idolization of the tower, all of which go directly against the
Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon literary work, encompasses elements of both Christianity and paganism. Originally a polytheist group, the Anglo-Saxons began to embrace monotheism after learning about Christianity. Although they embraced monotheism, elements of paganism and polytheism still lingered in their society as they tried to adapt to their new belief. A combination of Christianity and paganism in Beowulf is the result of the unknown poet’s view of the change in beliefs in Anglo-Saxon society. Regarding the poet, Mr. H. L. Rogers states, “The past fascinated him, but his faith told him that God ruled over the race of men in those days, as He still does” (22). Many think that Beowulf is a pagan poem because of its references to
Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic that was transmitted verbally for hundreds of years before it was written down. Around the time of its composition, Christianity was beginning to gain prominence in England and was quickly replacing the animistic religion of the Celts. As a result of the dueling religions of the time, the poem includes influences from both Christianity and paganism, leaving its readers to wonder which religion had the most sway over the poet. Beowulf is a fundamentally more Christian epic on account of Beowulf’s resemblances of Jesus Christ, its allusions to the Bible, and its intimation of a supreme, monotheistic religion.
Beowulf demonstrates a significant Christian influence, whilst still maintaining distinctive pagan impacts. The poet represents Christian beliefs through Beowulf’s “mighty strength” (1270) and heroism. The poet presents Beowulf as an allegory for Jesus Christ through his sacrificial nature, and the struggle of good vs. evil. The representation of Beowulf as a savior ties into the parallel of Beowulf and Jesus.
The epic story of Beowulf is bursting at the seams with examples of paganism and Christianity, the presence of religion in Beowulf is extended throughout the epic, it can be seen through kennings, characters, symbolism, and events. During the time of the Anglo Saxons, when Beowulf was written, Christianity and paganism coexisted while Christianity was changing thoughts throughout Europe. The Europe of the past maybe distant in time but not by morals, Both present-day Europe and the Europe of the past are Christian based societies with pagan tendencies. The unknown author was most likely a Christian monk recording a primarily pagan story, in which a beautiful blend of religions was created that come together to forge an epic poem. From the late 6th century towards the end of the Anglo Saxon period, through monasteries and missionaries, Christianity spread north and westward. By the time Beowulf was written down, the religion was well-established in England. Nevertheless, Beowulf himself embodies characteristics of both, occasionally his actions say he is one more so than the other. Religion can be seen throughout this piece making itself present through the actions of characters, diction chosen by the author, and symbolism between Christ and main characters such as Beowulf and Grendel, as well as the soldier's religious beliefs.