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How Christianity and Paganism Coexisted in Beowulf Essay

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Beowulf is a great example of how Christian beliefs and pagan views could coexists so well in a poem. The poem Beowulf written by an unknown Christian monk around A.D. 700 compares the beliefs of many to the new beliefs that are beginning to form around the world. The poem shows how the people of the time thought about their world and how the things around them happened and they think that the devil controls these things.In Beowulf, we explore both Christian and pagan beliefs, and how they were able to coexist at the time. In the poem, Christianity is shown though the understanding of symbolism to create the ideas of Christianity. The “Song of Creation” is made famous in Beowulf as the first Christian reference in a poem. The poem make…show more content…
The poem on lines 588-92 referrer to her house as hell: “Then he realized, suddenly,/That she had brought him into someone’s battle-hall,/And there the water’s heat could not hurt him, Nor anything in the lake attack him through/The building’s high arched roof...” In Beowulf Hrothgar’s subjects are told to be pagans by their belief that the devil can rid Herot of Grendel. In lines 90-94 their beliefs are shown: “And sometimes they sacrificed to the old stone gods,/Made heathen vows, hoping for Hell’s/Support, the Devil’s guidance in driving/Their affliction off. That was their way...” Materialism in the Anglo-Saxon society was honorable idea at the time for warriors that travel to other nations to battle and when they succeed at their task the ruler would give them treasure to take back to their home nation. This is noted in lines 389-91 explain how materialism is viewed: “Keep it free of evil, fight/With glory in your heart! Purge Herot/And your ship will sail home with its treasure-holds full.” At the end of Beowulf when he is fighting the dragon all of his men but one deserted him in battle and he is able to injure the dragon enough that Beowulf deliveries the killing wound. In the poem the pagan references are noting how the followers of Hrothgar and Beowulf believe that the devil holds the power to change what is happening around them and make it better. Hrothgar and Beowulf
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