Essay on Christian Elements in Beowulf - 1568 Words

Beowulf is one of the great heroic poems in English literature. The epic follows a courageous warrior named Beowulf throughout his young, adult life and into his old age. As a young man, Beowulf becomes a legendary hero when he saves the land of the Danes from the hellish creatures, Grendel and his mother. Later, after fifty years pass, Beowulf is an old man and a great king of the Geats. A monstrous dragon soon invades his peaceful kingdom and he defends his people courageously, dying in the process. His body is burned and his ashes are placed in a cave by the sea. By placing his ashes in the seaside cave, people passing by will always remember the legendary hero and king, Beowulf. In this epic the presentation of the story telling†¦show more content†¦The frequent allusions to the power of fate, the motive of blood revenge, and the praise of worldly glory bear testimony to the ancient background of pagan conceptions and ideals. However, the general tone of the epic and its ethical viewpoint are mostly Christian . There is no longer a genuine pagan atmosphere. The sentiment has been softened and purified. The virtues of moderation, unselfishness, consideration for others are practiced and appreciated. The author has fairly exhaulted the fights with Grendel, his mother, and the dragon into a conflict between powers of good and evil. The figure of Grendel, while originally an ordinary troll is conceived as an impersonation of evil and darkness, even an incarnation of the Christian devil. Grendel is a member of the race of Cain, he is a creature dwelling in the outer darkness, a giant and cannibal. When he crawls off to die, he is said to join the route of devils in hell. The story of a race of demonic monsters and giants descended from Cain. It came form a tradition established by the apocryphal Book of Enoch and early Jewish and Christian interpretations of Genesis 6:4. Many of Grendels actions are unquestionable epithets of Satan such as enemy of man kind, Gods adversary, the devil in hell, and the hell slave. His actions are represented inShow MoreRelatedChristian and Pagan Elements in Beowulf926 Words   |  4 PagesMarà ­a Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN ELEMENTS IN BEOWULF The poem Beowulf is full of Pagan and Christian elements, this combination gave place to many discutions about the origin of the poem. On the one hand some scholars have said that this is the result of a transcription made by some monks where they added the christian elements, on the other hand it is believed that the poem was written in a period in which the Anglo-Saxons were being converted from their worship of GermanicRead More Epic of Beowulf - Contradictory Christian Elements in Beowulf1964 Words   |  8 PagesContradictory Christian Elements in Beowulf  Ã‚        Ã‚   In Beowulf the Christian element, which coexists alongside the pagan or heathen, sometimes in a seemingly contradictory fashion, is many faceted.    Certainly the Christian element seems to be too deeply interwoven in the text for us to suppose that it is due to additions made by scribes at a time when the poem had come to be written down. 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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 po em. An example is when Beowulf says â€Å"God must decide who will beRead More Beowulf: Christian Vs Pagan Influence Essay1652 Words   |  7 Pages The European epic, Beowulf, was written sometime in the eighth century in England. This time period provides us with an idea for the mixture of Christian and pagan elements because of an English society that was in the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. Examples of Pagan and Christian traditions are presented all throughout literature. Many of the influences deal with what it going on in the world, when the piece is written. 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Everywhere Cain walked, monsters and shadows arose from the ground in which Grendel s mother is a result of. It is interesting to note that the story of Beowulf effortlessly contorted the Christian story of Cain by adding Pagan