What Role Does Christianity Play In Beowulf

Beowulf would be an extremely different poem without christian references. As the geats await Grendel's arrival in the mead hall the author makes it clear that God rules all. Beowulf claims that, “The truth is clear: Almighty God rules over mankind and always has.” Allowing the reader to understand that all things are decided by God. This poem would lose the ability to reach a reader's beliefs without the christian references. Not only do they reach out to readers but God helps Beowulf throughout the poem. Instances of this are shown when the magical sword used to slay Grendel and his mother appears, or the strength Beowulf was gifted. Beowulf also makes many references to God being his protector and friend. Not only does Beowulf refer to 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.

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.

   In Beowulf the Christian element, which coexists alongside the pagan or heathen, sometimes in a seemingly contradictory fashion, is many faceted.

The expression “Jesus take the wheel” is quite common in today’s world, but just because it is a modern saying does not mean that it did not have any relevance in earlier time. Throughout the story of Beowulf, a comparison between Christianity and paganism had always been a topic discussed both within the text and spoken aloud in the classroom. Likewise, in this instance, man-made issues serves as a mirror of paganism and trust in God becomes Christianity. Many factors throughout section three revert to paganism rather than Christianity because there was no trust in God. Details such as pride, arranged marriage, and death are the major aspects of man-made issues in this section.

Throughout the ancient society of Anglo-Saxons, the pagan beliefs commonly caused people to do things for their own personal gain of fame. On the other hand, Christianity, which had just started to emerge in this society taught values of selflessness and respecting God. Although the story Beowulf was written down by Christian monks, pagan beliefs are prevalent throughout the epic. Beowulf is a character who acts on many values promised by paganism that make up the who he is.

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.

The significance of Paganism and Christianity are both present in Beowulf. Beowulf was written between the 8th and 10th century’s, when the Anglo-Saxon society was beginning to change from Paganism to Christianity. Many believe that this is essentially a pagan work since the Christian faith hadn’t fully arrived in the Anglo-Saxon society. However, according to Douglas Wilson, “The poet could easily have known individual Christian Anglo-Saxons who had converted from paganism”(page.31); this showing how the author would have been able to retrieve information about the customs and morals of Christianity. Christianity is a religion based upon monotheistic beliefs, belief in one personal and transcendent God and based through Jesus’s teachings. This religion teaches that God has a path for everyone, that people may choose to follow and live by him. The epic poem through the years, has been based upon Christianity but still contains a good deal of Pagan elements. Paganism is a religion founded before Christianity, having no belief in a personal god and based more on the concept of fate, that people do not have control over their life. In Beowulf, God is praised for all of his works by Beowulf himself, and the other characters. While also believing that fate controlled the character’s lives.

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 arrived in Northern Europe over one thousand years ago. This is evidenced by some of the earliest pieces of literature that we have. The epic poem, “Beowulf”, shows many references to the influence of Christianity on English culture. There are many parallels between characters in “Beowulf” and characters from the Bible. Many Christian themes and virtues are also portrayed in “Beowulf”. Throughout “Beowulf”, the theme of Christianity manifests itself through Christ-like images of Beowulf as well as his strength in God allowing him to ward off monsters of paganism.

All throughout history there have been examples of religion and other teachings being displayed through literature. During the settlement, Christian missionaries spread the word of Christianity to the Natives through text. According to an article, “their professed goal was to spread the gospels throughout the Americas”. The influence of religion on the Native people was intended to convert them from their “savage” way of living to a more civilized and religious one. The poem Beowulf, was translated by Christian monks to spread the word of Christianity, and to convert the old practice of Paganism. The monks, much like the Christian missionaries, used literature to speak to the people in that transitional time period. By using a heroic figure, the monks were able to influence the Pagans into following the word of God through the spokesman of a hero (Clark).

Written by a christian poet, the epic of Beowulf clearly outlines that failure to avenge an assault is considered shameful. However, Christian values say to just “turn the other cheek”. It is interesting how this epic poem can have both values at once, because of their clearly cut out contradictions. Throughout the epic of Beowulf, Christian philosophy is represented in many ways, like how God protects them from being killed, how God provides them with everything they need in life. However, there is also a strong, contradicting sense of pageanism and heroic code displayed by Beowulf which is mostly conflicting with christianity.

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

Given, the current high profile debate with regard to dating the epic poem Beowulf, it is quite surprising that some scholars go as far as placing it during the Vendel era around 550 - 793 CE. Even though it is considered as a kind of folk tale, many are those who believe it happened towards the early Vendel era. As a rebuttal to this point, it might be?convincingly argued?that this period is also referred to as the Germanic Iron Age. Moreover, this era saw the rise of Norse mythology, which is very fatalistic in nature; it focuses on a world coming to an end in a great cataclysm. Along with this fatalism comes the willingness to die. That is why warriors would go to fight in battles and combats. Surprisingly enough, not only the heroes die but so do the Gods. Therefore, the central value of this culture is glory and heroism.

The Christian images and representations clear in Grendel, his mom, and the harmonies in the middle of good and underhandedness. A brief history of the sonnet is offered because of the way that the peruser ought to know why the second a portion of the ballad is so far from being obviously true. By taking a gander at the battle with the mythical serpent and Beowulf's pride it is clear that there was a movement from the Old Testament to the ethics of Christian philosophy and of Beowulf's starting to his end. He battled in a general public where battling was life. He started a legend battling abhorrent and passed on with pride in battling. Beowulf is the presence of Christian transformation. It is neither completely agnostic, nor completely Christian,