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Similarities of beowulf and christianity
Beowulf and christianity
The use of Christian elements in Beowulf
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(Beowulf 566-567) The Kenning “the shepherd of sins” is Biblical irony as it represents the Antichrist. Once again, this reiterates the idea that Grendel is from the lineage of Cane. In “Beowulf, the Old Testament, and The Regula Fidei,” Christopher M. Cain illuminates the inherent contradictions and similarities in Beowulf and Bible scripture. Cain notices that “Wyrd is used to translate both fate and fortune.
The portrayal of someone who constantly defied the will of God by the alienated character Grendel and the embodiment of the heroic character Beowulf as someone who greatly admired the Lord show the value of practicing religion in the Anglo-Saxon
In the story of Beowulf, the hero, Beowulf, does not know about the issue until the call. In Beowulf the call is the acts of Grendel. Grendel is a descendant of the cursed son of Adam and Eve, Caine. In the bible, Caine kills his brother resulting in a curse brought upon by God. Due to this, Grendel lives a life of seclusion and rejection.
Godden also points to the Creation story in Genesis as parallel to the building of Heorot and Grendel lurking around as the source of evil. There’s also the story of the Flood on the sword Beowulf uses to kill Grendel’s Mother. I wouldn’t go as far as some critics who see Beowulf or Hrothgar as Christ-like figures, I just don’t see it and if they did refer to Jesus Christ in the poem, if he was anything like the version in The Dream of the Rood then Beowulf would be less
The thing that stands out when reading the stories of Beowulf, Sir Gawain, and the Canterbury Tales is that the writers use Christianity to show conflicts in human nature. Also with these stories taking place in different times with writers who have different opinions about Christianity and how it has influences Society. For example, in Beowulf, the writer chooses to mash up the ideas of Christianity and paganism because during the time that the writer was transcribing the story there were missionaries trying to convert the Anglo-Saxons that lived in Britain, so the missionaries used Beowulf as a way to reach the pagans. This is also been done to other stories like in the Viking legend Thor god of thunder where at the end of the story the world
Throughout the epic poem of "Beowulf," there were Christian influences and elements mixed in. The theory of how the monks were the ones to finally put the orally told poem, makes sense due to the variety of Christian aspects mixed in. The Christian influences were useful in explaining why certain things came to be. Examples of such influences include why Beowulf won certain battles, how Grendel's came to be and God's blessing of Beowulf. Grendel, the first monster Beowulf encounters, was said to be a descendant of Cain, the world's first murderer.
Before the Roman conquest of Britain, the Anglo-Saxon faith was rooted in Celtic paganism. The original scop of Beowulf, although unknown, can be almost certainly tied to this religion. Although Celtic paganism heavily emphasized the importance of Wyrd, or fate, it had no form of an afterlife. Instead, the Anglo-Saxon people took on heroic tasks in hopes of gaining fame. If they succeeded, this fame allowed them to live forever through storytelling.
The poem makes constant references to God’s decrees in general terms; it never discusses Jesus or specifics of Christianity. The hero, Beowulf, would have been considered a Pagan, but it is suggested that Beowulf’s trust in God makes him look like a Christian. The only Christian stories talk about the Old Testament story of Cain and Abel. In Beowulf, many elements of Christianity are shown.
It is evident that the Beowulf poem should not be viewed as a historical document, but it is hard to deny its connections to its context and its time. In this essay I will explore and compare the Norton critical edition of The Beowulf poem and the revised edition of the Poetic Edda. I will look into how the two correlate with each other, some of the common themes and ideals that are evident in the texts as well as how the
The epic poem " Beowulf " was dating back to the ninth century which was the Anglo-Saxon time period when the northern Germanic tribe are starting to travel and settle down in the British Isles. The origin language in the 'Beowulf " was old English that’s why readers often had a hard time to understand some of the lines from the poem because the poem was translated from old English. Another important fact about "Beowulf " is that the characters from the poem are worship to pagans gods, yet there a lot of Christian perspective in the poem. For example, the poem Grendel was said to be one of the Cain clan that is why he was considered as an outcast from humanity just like in the biblical term. In addition, if the readers pay close attention they may fine hint of the great flood story in "Beowulf " poem.
The epic poem, written by an anonymous author around 500 A.D, before Christianity. Beowulf is the ideal hero and he fights to for his honor through his battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. References to Christianity exist in Beowulf, and pagan influences are noticeable. Christianity, however, emphasizes the spiritual wealth of all man-kind. Grendel is the embodiment of cyclical warfare in pagan society.
For the most part, the Norse pagan characteristics of Beowulf seem to outweigh the more trivial traits of it. The various Norse creature such as the dragon and Grendel are far more essential to the structure of the narrative than say, one of the warnings of sin given to Beowulf or the ideas of self-sacrifice that Beowulf portrays that also overlap with Norse ideal characteristics. Even so, it would seem possible that Beowulf could exist as a complete work if any mention of Christianity, primarily in small pieces of dialogue and descriptions of characters, is omitted whereas deletion of the Norse elements, such as all the antagonists, would call for a drastic rewriting of the text. Moreover, the entire nature of Beowulf is far different to the New Testament texts of the Bible emphasized in Christianity and more similar to the Old Testament kings, which also share parallels with Sumerian writing styles and myths. This would suggest that Beowulf would likely have originated a pagan text but was then rewritten by Christians in either an effort to reconcile their cultural beliefs with Christianity or as a deliberate effort to encourage conversions.
The names of Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. are known worldwide. They have lead many fighting what they believe in. One man many people think of when being a leader to fight for his beliefs of the people is Jesus Christ. Jesus is loved by many and hated by the powerful, just like these three other men, but their is one comparison that has been made to a certain protagonist of ancient times. In the epic poem ,Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, is a leader who fights for the betterment of society while being the one that many look up to.
The epic heroic poem “Beowulf” is one successful piece works in the English literature in old English Saxon written between 600-800 C.E. After the crucifixion of Christ, Christianity began to expand baptizing the first Christian Anglo-Saxon during the 7th century which the poem was later written between that era. Since the biography of the poet is inconclusive, there is evidence correlating from the poets writing style in the epic poem from which it could have conveyed the poet being a Christian writer. The poet endeavors its writing technique of the story in Beowulf as the pagan society, but the poet portrays a substantial of hidden Christianity allegory. Therefore, how does the poet distinguish the poem of Beowulf into Christianity elaborating the noble hero Beowulf to portray as a figure of Christ, Grendel as the descendent of Cain, and dragon as Satan?
I believe that Beowulf can be seen as a Christ figure throughout the epic of Beowulf. He shares many characteristics with Jesus. He faces a devil figure, sacrifices himself, and is recognized as a savior by his people. Beowulf to the Danes is a savior, taking away the fear that Grendel will kill all of Hrothgar’s people. In the Christian sense Jesus Christ is a savior to all Christians.