In eighth century Anglo-Saxon society, history was passed down as oral stories, as writing historical events was too troublesome as there were too many dialects. In addition, in eighth century Anglo-Saxon society, there was an important transition from the old pagan traditions to the new theology of Christianity. Thus, as new stories were being told, to make them apply to the audience, Christianity had to be incorporated. Coming out of this age of transition, Beowulf has various Christian colorings along with the pagan traditions of old. Consequently, there have been debates over the ages whether the poem is a wholly Christian or Pagan poem. Hence, in an anonymously written Beowulf, the poet intermingled a range of Christian and Pagan elements and tradition to demonstrate the blending of theologies in eighth century Anglo-Saxon society.
To understand why Beowulf contains shadings of Christian and Pagan elements, one must first understand late eighth century Anglo-Saxon society. In the late eighth century, Christianity was just becoming the standard religion for the people. However, pagan traditions were still being followed and respected however to a lesser degree. Consequently these where interesting times to live in, where on one side of town there would be a hidden pagan community worshiping in the night or in hidden rooms. However, on the other side of town there would be Christians proudly celebrating their new religion, beholden to the traditions of old. This juxtaposition led to the literature of the time being overtly Christian, yet having just enough undertones of paganism so that not to alienate a part of the audience. Therefore Beowulf’s poet being from this period had an obligation to “treat, present, and interpret t...
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Moorman, Charles. "The Essential Paganism Of Beowulf." Modern Language Quarterly 28.1 (1967): 3. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Feb. 2012.
Phillips, James. "In The Company Of Predators Beowulf And The Monstrous Descendants Of Cain." Angelaki: Journal Of The Theoretical Humanities 13.3 (2008): 41-52. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.
R.W., Chambers. BEOWULF AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE POEM WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE STORIES OF OFFA AND FINN. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1967. 353. Print.
Wentersdorf, Karl P. "Beowulf: The Paganism Of Hrothgar's Danes." Studies In Philology78.5 (1981): 91. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.
Wilson, Douglas. "The Anglo-Saxon Evangel." Touchstone: A Journal Of Mere Christianity20.6 (2007): 30-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.
The theology which appears in the Christian allusions in Beowulf is very vague and indefinete: there is no mention of Christ, the saints, miracles, Mary His Mother, specific doctrines of the church, martyrs of the church, the New Tes...
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Francis, Erik Max. Beowulf. From The Harvard Classics. Volume 49. P.F. Collier & Son, 1910. Etext version by Robin Katsuya-Corbet. Online. Internet. November 26, 1998. Available HTTP: http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/beowulf/
In the epic of Beowulf, Herot is plagued by the monster Grendel. A hero, Beowulf is summoned to defeat the beast. Beowulf is a Christian and Pagan based poem that includes several examples of each element. There are several biblical illusions in the text that give insight into the use of Christianity but just the same, there are several references to the Devil and Hell and Cain. Therefore the poem must be both Christian and Pagan because it represents both.
Different religious values are emphasized throughout the poem, in which Pagan values are included. Throughout Beowulf we see that the pagan people value the heroes just as Christians value God. Pagans focused more on power and fame. “Behavior that’s admired is the path to power among people everywhere” (24-25). The quote conveys the fact that power is of great importance
Damrosch, David, and David L. Pike. “Beowulf.” The Longman Anthology of World Literature, Compact Edition. New York: Pearson, Longman, 2008. 929-970. Print.
"Beowulf." U*X*L Encyclopedia of World Mythology. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 177-182. Gale World History In Context. Web. 27 Sep. 2011.
...hem greatly. The Beowulf poet makes sure to include small but meaningful references to the paganistic background of the epic poem. There are too many pagan symbols scattered throughout the work to be ignored, and too many rules of the Christian religion are broken by the characters of the poem for an argument to be made against the paganism of Beowulf. Also, we must not forget that ideas such as fate and revenge, which are shunned in Christianity, are two of the main themes in this story. Consequently, even though the Beowulf poet may have been Christian, as for the poem itself, all signs point towards paganism.
It is common opinion that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. This was probably true because at the time when it was written, most of the few people who knew how to read and write were in the clergy. There are various references within the poem to elements of the Christian religion. However, the story is about Pagan people and certain aspects of their culture are even glorified. The ambiguity of Beowulf’s religious content has caused confusion as to what significance religion had in inspiring the author and in what manner the author meant to inspire or influence his audience. I do not think that Beowulf is a Christian allegory because Beowulf had very little in common with the Biblical figure of Jesus Christ. I think that religion was not the primary thematic concern of the writer. Although there are discrepancies between the two styles of thinking, Beowulf seems to praise values which were considered moral and good among all humanity, both Christian and Pagan.
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Robinson, Fred C. “Apposed Word Meanings and Religious Perspectives.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Beowulf is one of those stories that make the reader think. Although the unknown author of Beowulf develops the main protagonist to represent both paganism and Christianity, the ideals conflict and create a unique epic poem. Throughout the story, the reader sees a mix of Christian and pagan ideals telling a story of an epic hero. Because the reader cannot decipher whether he is pagan or Christian, it is only logical to assume he represents both. The author develops Beowulf to speak as if the two religions work together to create one. Although it is hard for the reader to understand, Beowulf seems to understand exactly what he believes in. The author clearly knew what he was doing when he wrote Beowulf into life. Beowulf's beliefs made him into the great epic hero that he is.
Beowulf was written in the time when the society was in the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. In this epic poem, these two religions come through the actions of its characters. The acceptance of feuds and the courage of war are just a few examples of the Pagan tradition, while the Christian mortalities refrain from the two.
Beowulf has been estimated to have been written over twelve hundred years ago. According to The Norton Anthology Of English Literature, “It is now widely believed that Beowulf is the work of a single poet who was a Christian and that his poem reflects a well-established Christian tradition,” (37). This conclusion was likely drawn by accounting for the time at which Beowulf was written and factoring in most people in the area of where it was believed to be written had already been converted to Christianity. In a way, this provides the best explanation for why Beowulf contains a high level of Christian influences for the story to have taken place when it did. Dr. J. Michael Stitt of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says that, “Much of this epic poem is dedicated to conveying and exemplifying the heroic code which values such attributes as strength, courage and honor. Conflicting with this ideology are other factors such as Christianity, and these tensions affect the lives and decisions of the narrative's characters.” If the one of the main focuses in Beowulf is the heroic code and the heroic code convicts with the authors beliefs than why did he write it? This is not to say that authors do not write about things that they ...
Beowulf. Holt elements of literature. Ed G Kylene Beers and Lee Odeel. 6th ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2008. 21-48. Print.