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Christianity In Beowulf Essay

1066 Words5 Pages

The poem Beowulf had roots in the medieval era and was circulated by word of mouth. The story was first a pagan poem, however, this epic was then retold by Anglo-Saxon Christians who emphasized the Christian trends within it. Throughout the poem, pagan comments can be found, but a Christian element ultimately comes through. The author incorporates the elements of Christianity within Beowulf to allude to various scriptures within the Bible and provide insight on Christian ideals and themes.
One commentator, James Cahill, remarks that Beowulf has “a Christian resonance to it” (252). Beowulf, the main protagonist, is brought up against heathenistic monsters that must be defeated. As stated in Beowulf, Hrothgar, the King of the Danes, refers to Beowulf as their savior and proceeds to claim that Beowulf was sent by God, not fate (123 lines 476-479). This remark by Hrothgar points to the Christianity of Jesus Christ, the savior. In Rereading Beowulf, Edward …show more content…

This beast’s actions are similar to the story of Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel were the children of Adam and Eve who were given specific jobs. The difference in sacrificial offerings causes Cain to become jealous and murders his brother. This behavior generates anger within God to punish Cain, making him an outcast and wanderer for life, including his descendants (New American Bible Genesis 4.1-26). In Margaret E. Goldsmith’s article, Grendel is a descendant from Cain who is full of “envy and murderous hatred [intent] within” (74). He is associated with being” literally demonic” (Niles 17). In Beowulf: The Poem and Its Tradition, John D. Niles reminds the reader that Grendel is a vagabond who is not accepted into society and will be rejected from ever coming in (17). As evidence of this, “Grendel is God’s adversary, a servant of hell, of the Devil’s company, and feuding with God” (Robinson

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He shows no remorse for the violent crimes he commits and acts as the main source of what barbaric truly is to the audience. The author introduces him in the poem by writing, “Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters” (Beowulf 101-104). He is the farthest thing from God and everyone that encounters him can immediately identify him as someone who has no morals. Grendel’s outright defiance of all that is good is what leads him to own his demise because he is the reason Beowulf comes to the Danes.

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He is portrayed in the poem as a horrendous beast with human characteristics, but looking closer to the text, he is a human out-casted and raised to be a monster. Although Grendel is written as a monstrous villain who kills with no remorse, he is actually a complex human with a repressed anger exploding in bursts. Grendel is often described in a negative way. He is reffered to as a demon in the text “from Beowulf”

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Grendel was a being sung about in the songs of the shaper, who twisted tales to fit his own means. In the song Grendel was made out to be a wretched monster, without intellect, who only sought to kill. This wasn’t the case entirely. Grendel was determined to enter society, to be a part of their gatherings, instead at every turn he was chased away, cursed, and attacked. He was only a monster to those in the mead hall, a beast who could never be a part of them.

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Today, many works incorporate religion in order to thrive during their time period and region. The incorporation of religion into literary works has occurred for thousands of years. In Seamus Haney 's Beowulf, a Christian narrator is present in order to spread throughout Anglo-Saxon culture. While the narrative presented in Beowulf is that of the Vikings, the narrator can be identified as Christian, an element that would best appeal to the audience of Anglo-Saxon England. After exploring the historical influence of Christianity on the Anglo-Saxons, an analysis of the first descriptions of Grendel in Seamus Heaney’s translation will reveal that it was best to have a Christian narrator in order for the audience to fully understand and appreciate the poem’s morals and themes.

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His violent nature grew so much that he became crazy with the need to kill the humans. Therefore, Grendel’s actions reflect that his existence has drifted away from its partially civilized nature and into the barbaric. Grendel had no choice in becoming more beast than human because external forces constantly push him towards that fate. Whether it was the dragon, the actions of the humans, or Grendel’s own unconscious tendencies, he never really had the opportunity to make a choice, human or beast. What Grendel said and thought always clashed with the situations he encountered until there was simply no possibility of becoming the good in the way

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Because of his choice to not trust in God, Beowulf ends up dying, but he is still not aware of his mistake, (Death ln 160-161). God could not let him continue life with His blessing upon him if Beowulf could not keep his faith in God. This ends up being his fatal mistake that results in his death. Through the epic Beowulf, the reader realizes the author’s use of paganism and christianity is to reflect the idea that putting faith in worldly things and not putting faith in God leads to a person’s ultimate demise.

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He is a descendent of Cain, who killed his brother Abel. Because of this, God marked Cain and his descendents to all be despised by men. As seen in Beowulf, the story suggests that Grendel is related to Cain: “..monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished / by God, punished forever for the crime / of Abel’s death” (Beowulf 20-23). Moreover, society does not accept Grendel for the way he is; therefore they retaliate and fight against him because he is different from everyone else. As the King talks to Beowulf for the first time, he exclaims that Grendel “has brought them much trouble” and “surely Lord Almighty / could stop his madness and smother his lust” (Beowulf 209, 212)

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The cultural influences of Christianity can be traced to the presence of monsters in Beowulf. The depiction of the monster Grendel is a reflection of demons in Biblical nature. His existence itself “among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts” (David and Simpson 44) prove that as Grendel is a descendant of Cain, who killed his own brother Abel, he is an evil figure that stems from a Christian symbol of evil. Nonetheless, as Grendel is a spawn of Cain, Goldsmith argues that the poet wants to show the battle with Grendel “is part of the uncompoundable feud between God’s people and the race of Cain”(Goldsmith). Furthermore, while the battle to defeat Grendel is one to protect home and hearth by banishing evil, it is also an inevitable battle that will be forever connected between Christians and Cain’s offspring.

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Grendel was this grim beast who haunted the moors and secluded fens; this troublesome one had long lived with monsters since the Creator had declared his exile. Grendel had been punished and separated from the company of man and God through the sins of Cain. Being a descendant from Cain, Grendel is full of evil and deceitfulness. This fuels his hatred, and a desire to destroy goodness from the world of which he can have no part in. His first night of violent attacks was describe as “The unholy creature, grim and ravenous, was ready at once, ruthless and cruel, and took from their thirty thanes; thence

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Readers can learn some things about Grendel in Beowulf but in order to dive deeper into the character and who he is, people go to the book Grendel. The book takes a closer look at Grendel and how he discovers the order and disorder of people and the world (Sanchez). Grendel is thought to symbolize the dark side of humanity, or the sins of man (Farrell). It’s easy for readers to sympathize with Grendel at points because he is a natural outcast of society. He is said to be the son of Cain and because of that he was labeled from day one (Sanchez).

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1466 Words | 6 Pages

By the time this monastic scribe began his work, the stories of Beowulf were already legendary tales of this era; legends that were passed down orally. The poet cautiously uses this information to compose an epic poem while also combining the notions of the pagan wyrd (fate) and dom (worth), along with the Christian ideals of refinement and final judgement. A pagan poem in its own right, steeped in ancient Germanic culture, yet it is baptized in lax Christian comments and passages. However, while the passages are referred to as Christian, there is never any reference within the poem, to Christ Himself. When we are first introduced to Grendel, we see the first signs of Christian passages appearing: God had condemned them as kin of Cain.

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1478 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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488 Words | 2 Pages

Many scholars who have read and studied Beowulf claim it to be a Christian allegory. Beowulf, the hero of the story, comes to be the sole savior to King Hrothgar just as Jesus came to save his people from sin. Rather than having to defeat sin, Beowulf is challenged to defeat Grendel, a monster, who terrorizes Hrothgar’s people. Beowulf comes out of the duel with Grendel victorious, just as Jesus did. Sadly, this joy was short-lived for Grendel’s mother soon came for revenge making Beowulf’s victory temporary.

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Being an epic hero, Beowulf was very brave and battled many immortal creatures. One monster he came across was Grendel. “Conceived by a pair of the monster born of Cain, murderous creatures banned by God..,”(44), Hrothgar’s men would say. This is a reference from the Bible, showing the evil portrayed in the monster Grendel. This monster went to Herot and killed thirty men just because he was hungry.

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Grendel is classified as a monster due to his outsider status of being an outcast, unreligious, and dishonorable, which establishes him as the antithesis of Anglo Saxon culture. As an outcast of society, Grendel represents the idea that in Anglo Saxon culture unity and cooperation is what holds society together. In a world classified by kinship and strong family lineage, Grendel is “conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God” (Heaney 22). In a society focused upon blood lineage and strong family ties, to be related to a “monster“ in any form is something sinful, and cause enough for complete hatred.

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