Comparing Beowulf's Faith And Belief In God

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.

Written at a time when Pagan and Judeo Christian beliefs were both in the Scandinavian region, Beowulf provides a unique blend between the two, creating a vibrant and fascinating world full of monsters, magic sword, and mighty heroes who save the innocent. God plays an immense role in Beowulf as defender of men, giver of victories, and provider of Beowulf. What is unique about the God in Beowulf is He is not truly Christian or Pagan, but rather a blend created from the beliefs of the Celtic people. This God upholds righteousness and condemns immorality. He decides the outcome of battles through Fate and guides leaders decisions on vital matters. “But the Lord was weaving a victory on His war-loom for the Weather-Geats”(696-697). This clear

Beowulf shows his wisdom in two other ways in this same battle with Grendel. For instance, Beowulf fights with only his hands (Beowulf 48). Countless warriors have tried to defend themselves against Grendel with swords and shields. Beowulf knows this and knows that not once has Grendel been touched by a blade. So, Beowulf fights with only his hands in this great and terrible battle. Beowulf does not rely on any weapon or anyone besides himself and it works wonders for him. Beowulf also makes another strong strategic decision. He never releases Grendel’s arm (Beowulf 48). If Beowulf had released the monster’s arm there is no doubt he would have died. Beowulf would have been ripped apart by Grendel’s sharp claws. Instead, Beowulf proves his battle wisdom and never lets his grip slip off of that arm until it is severed from Grendel’s body. Beowulf shows that he has that trait of being able to use his wisdom in battle during his fight with Grendel.

The story of Beowulf is one of a great hero. Beowulf is a very generous person who is always willing to help out when people are in need. Over the course of the story, Beowulf ends up in three major battles: the battle with Grendel, with Grendel’s mother, and with the dragon. All of these battles were different in their style and the way Beowulf approached them was different. Beowulf also had different reasons to participate in each of the battles.

Throughout the story of Beowulf, the concept of religion plays a significant role. The Christianity ideology views state that man can survive and do great things through the protection of God. A strong desire of pride is also represented in the form of a hero in Beowulf, which in a sense goes against Christian morals. This clash with Christian morals in Beowulf was in the context of pride vs. humility and selfishness vs. sacrifice. In the book, Hrothgar first explained to Beowulf that pride without humility will only kill him. Beowulf struggles to find his roots as a follower of God, as well as maintaining his views and actions of Paganism.

First, Grendel is an angry demon who has been attacking Hrothgar’s Kingdom and hurting the villagers for twelve years. Some people refer Grendel as, “Grim demon”. Beowulf is informed about Grendel destroying the kingdom and hurting innocent people. One night Grendel had struck Beowulf’s men with his brutal strength. After Grendel slaughtered all the men, Beowulf walked up to Grendel tried to grab, but Beowulf grabbed Grendel’s arm and held onto him with a firm grip. Grendel was trying his best to escape Beowulf because of his brute strength. For example, “you could hear Grendel’s claws cracking.” Beowulf through Grendel’s urge to rip Grendel’s whole arm and part of his chest off. Beowulf watched as Grendel died slowly from the amount of blood loss.

Beowulf also appears to be very religious and, unlike other proud warriors, he always puts his faith in God and gives Him the credit of his victories. Before facing Grendel, Beowulf exclaims to the others in the hall, "... Let God in his wisdom/ Extend his hand where he wills, reward/ Whom he chooses" (lines 685-687). In addition, after his fight with Grendel's mother, Beowulf returns and tells Hrothgar that he would have died if God had not helped him, "...I'd have been dead at once/ And the fight finished, the she-devil victorious,/ If our Father in Heaven had not helped me" (lines 1656-1658). Even at the very end of his life, Beowulf proclaims to Wiglaf that everything he had acquired had been through the will of God, "For this, this gold, these jewels, I thank/ Our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth--/ For all of this, that His grace has given me..." (lines 2794-2796). Up until the end, Beowulf demonstrates

Beowulf was brave enough to think that he could kill Grendel, and so, he did. Beowulf killed Grendel with just his bare

Warriors are considered among the bravest of men. In the Anglo-Saxon community, the warriors were of the most respected class, and made up the foundation for their way of living. Anglo-Saxon warriors would not stop fighting until either they were victorious or they were dead. Written during this Anglo-Saxon period, the epic Beowulf contains many pagan ideals, in addition to several references to Christian philosophy. Beowulf is a tale of dual ordeals; an external fight against treacherous enemies, and an internal struggle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, and betrayal. The story intertwines them with both pagan and Christian beliefs.

Through the lens of Christianity,Beowulf demonstrates how one's character faith gradually descends throughout each rigorous challenge the character faces in this story while the number of preparation increases during the course of each battle. In the first battle between Grendel and Beowulf. Beowulf prepares for the battle by boasting and saying that he will not use a weapon to conquer this demon because Grendel himself does not use a weapon. Which to show that he is confident and honorable and has faith that God will give him this victory and this works out for him during the battle

The hero Beowulf once proclaimed, “I shall gain glory or die.” The powerful warrior experiences the aid of God throughout his accomplishments, however, towards the end portion of his life he appears to desire more power and fails to trust in God. Beowulf destroys the man eating creature, Grendel, and his mother with the security of God. His actions led the people into assuming that he was a loyal ruler, although, due to the lack of spirituality and the gaining of arrogance, he began to turn away from God. As the reverse position, he is told about Queen Modthryth, who murdered warriors that dared to look her in the eyes and then following her remarriage she was a pleasant queen. Many men of the nation notified Beowulf concerning the probability of him turning into a self-important warrior. Did the trust in God truly affect the outcome in Beowulf’s situation?

In the epic Beowulf, Beowulf is portrayed as an internally conflicted character who- while avenging Escher’s death, appealing to God for victory and reveling in his own glory, vacillates between adhering to Christian and pagan values.

The passage that I analyzed spans the action when Beowulf returns to the halls of Heorot after a harsh battle with Grendel’s mother. He returns to king Hrothgar in the great hall of Heorot to say that he has successfully completed his boast and killed Grendel’s mother. Beowulf states that it has been a very difficult underwater battle and that he has barely escaped with his life, “The fight would have been ended straightway if God had not guarded me” (Donaldson, 29). Beowulf mentions this due to the fact that the sword given to him by Unferth, called Hrunting, was powerless against Grendel’s Mother. Hrunting is

This heightened importance of the characters is continued in the descriptions of Beowulf. We can liken Beowulf to a religious man. He seems to be a man ordained to carry out God's righteousness. When he arrives in the land of the Danes, the first thing he and his crew does is thank God for a safe passage (225-226). Wulfgar shortly after Beowulf's arrival says, "I am convinced that Holy God, of His great mercy, has directed him to us West-Danes and that he means to come to grips with Grendel" (378-381). Hrothgar also says, "Yet God can easily prevent this reckless ravager from committing such crimes" (471-472). These men of the Danes are completely convinced that God has brought Beowulf

When he arrives to the hall he opens the door with his hands at an incredible speed: “Duru sona onarn/fyrbendum fæst/syƿðan he hire folmum onhran” (ii. 721 - 2) basically translated into “The door quickly opened on fire-hinges fastened when his matter by which he seizes, and consume’s the warriors, even their “fet ond folma” (ii. 7,45) feet & hands. Grendel also detained Beowulf as onlooker, grasping his hand, which Beowulf clutches his own, buttressing himself up on hisarm: "Forð near æstop,/ nam ƿa mid handa/higeƿihtigne/rinc on ræste,/him ræhte ongean/feond mid folme;/he onfeng hraƿe/inwitƿancum/on wið earm gesæt". Therefore, t is than that Grendel’ discovers that Beowulf’s grip is stronger than any other warrior he has battled with priorly, or anteriorly, continuing on and on with more and more hand imagery (p. 750-754). Therefore Beowulf breaks the fingers of the monster, “fingras burston” (760) after grasping his foe. It’s Beowulf’s hand knitting with Cain’s that allows the heroine to tear off the monster’s entire arm through the shear strength of his hand. Thus, the scene is concluded with Beowulfs’