Christianity In Beowulf Research Paper

     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

“Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster, God must decide who will be given to death’s cold grip. Grendel’s plan, I think, will be what it has been before, to invade this hall and gorge his belly with our bodies.” (Lines 268-273) This quote was said by Beowulf a little while before he fought Grendal. This quote shows that Beowulf is ready to risk his life to save his people from a monster that has killed many people. He does this throughout this epic; fighting battles with different monsters that put his people’s lives in danger. Also during some of the fights he has faith in God and he believes that God will be there to help him when he needs it. Beowulf is a blending of Christian traditions and beliefs such as

Instances of fate are scattered throughout Beowulf. Something seems to be in control of Beowulf's life, and it drives him to achieve things that no one else has ever been able to achieve. Though he is a mere mortal, he defeats monsters even when it seemed like he was doomed to failure. Further, he rises to the level of King of the Geats even though he is not directly in line by birth to do so. Whether Beowulf is meant to be a Christian piece or a pagan one or not a religious piece at all, Beowulf becomes the

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,

Religious undertones are prevalent in the literary texts of times past. The writers of that time often penned those stories specifically to teach a moral lesson based on his or her religious beliefs. Beowulf is no exception to that. Though not all scholars believe Beowulf’s author to have been a Christian himself, it is undeniable that Christianity influenced the text. At one point in the epic, Cain, Eve’s son, is directly referenced. With deeper analysis, one can see parallels between the monsters in the story and Satan. It’s also possible to draw similarities between Beowulf and Christ, Himself. There are numerous other examples of Christian undertones scattered throughout the text, and all of them have a cumulative effect that influences the entire epic. Such influences include prompting the reader to approach Beowulf as if it were an allegory (that is, to treat all elements of the story as a potential symbol representing a Biblical idea), indirectly alluding to Biblical stories, and encouraging introspection on the reader’s part by illuminating potential negative traits they may have.

Christianity is shown through Beowulf being like Christ in his sacrifice and deeds. Although Beowulf was not the Son of God, and Christ was not the most powerful warrior in the world, there are many similarities between the two. Both Beowulf and Christ give up their lives to save everyone: “Seeing him stretched on the ground … A torn and bloody corpse. But Beowulf’s Killer was dead, too,” (Line 2823\ Line 2825) This parallels Christ dying to save humanity from sin. The dragon is symbolic of the devil because in the same way that Christ defeats the Devil through his sacrifice, Beowulf defeats the dragon through his sacrifice. There are other symbolic parallels between Christ and Beowulf like the twelve apostles and the twelve mourning Geats: “And then twelve of the bravest Geats Rode their horses around the tower, Telling their sorrow, telling stories Of their dead king and his greatness…”(Line 3169\

In eighth-century Anglo-Saxon society, an important transition occurred from the use paganism to the new traditions of Christianity. Beowulf is an epic poem in which the main character Beowulf has an internal conflict regarding two religions. To further understand why Beowulf has both Christian and pagan influences you must first understand the Anglo-Saxon culture. In the eighth century, Christianity was evolving into the orthodox religion for the people. However, aspects of pagan culture were still being observed, but to a lesser extent. This connection led to many works of the time being of both religions. Beowulf was written by an anonymous Christian monk; the ideals of the epic poem represents Christianity, paganism, and coexists as both faiths.

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

Beowulf kills the monster Grendel, but because of the overlay of Christian principles, it could be that Grendel represents sin. Beowulf defeats sin, the same as Jesus Christ defeated sin

Beowulf is an exciting tale about a Scandinavian man named Beowulf, who saves the Danes from an unconquerable monster called Grendel. It is not known who the author of Beowulf. It is theorized that the book had more than one author over a period of time. Another theory is that Beowulf only had one author and other writers changed or added content to the story. Beowulf has many Christian aspects. God is brought up many times throughout the book. The different monsters also represent the different sins that humans commit almost daily. Grendel is envy and anger, Grendel’s mother is feuding, and the dragon is greed and hoarding. Beowulf was written in the time when England was being converted to Christianity from paganism. Because of this, there are doubts that the authors of Beowulf knew about God. Throughout the book, there are many indications that the author(s) of Beowulf knew about God’s existence. While it is doubted, they still praised God, acknowledged that he

The epic poem Beowulf plays a major role in understanding history during the Anglo-Saxon period. The anonymous authors of the poem began this writing only fifty years after the Anglo-Saxon civilization converted from Paganism to Christianity. Therefore, it is implied that the epic would still hold pagan beliefs carried throughout the fifty-year gap. Although Beowulf is swayed by paganism, it is strongly influenced by Christianity, more specifically the story of salvation. Salvation plays a major role in the Christian belief because followers of Christ believe Jesus died in order to redeem sinners. Jesus is described as a leader who is wise and self-less, he lived to serve others and cleanse the earth of sin. These same characteristics are seen in the warrior Beowulf. During the course of the epic poem it is seen that Beowulf is an allegory of redemption.

This could be used to portray hell, because today we visualize hell as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death. When Beowulf first encounters Grendel’s mother, he leaped into the lake where which Grendel's mother lived. “For hours he sank through the waves; At last he saw the mud of the bottom”(Pg.4). “For hours”, no normal human can hold there breath that long, just like no normal human could enter hell and come back out alive. Beowulf is no normal human, this makes it easy to compare him to God, and how only God could enter hell and come back out alive. At the climax of this battle, Beowulf is knock of his feet, by Grendel's mother. Thinking this battle could be over at any moment by one blow from her dagger, Grendel sees something, “God, who sent him judgment For truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens, One Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting.”(Pg.5). God helped him to get the strength to continue fighting. At this moment, Beowulf sees a sword hanging on the wall and took the opportunity to grab it. He then Defeats Grendel's mother, by cutting her head off, this is also another representation of how God is the only one able to defeat the

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

The representation of Christian Theology in Beowulf is uncanny all throughout the story. Although, the story of Christianity may not be what some people pull out of this story, there is some evidence that Beowulf maybe the same, or resemble God. Throughout the story, Beowulf is faced with Monsters and Creatures that threaten his people's safety. These creatures being so evil and cruel, could be represented as Satan himself. As the story progresses the portrayal of Beowulf makes him out to be almost immortal and Godlike. Nevertheless Beowulf and Christian Theology have many corresponding themes.

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.