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Examples Of Paganism In Beowulf

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The epic poem Beowulf written in Anglo-Saxon England in the early 11th century is one of the most recognizable written items of its time. The poem takes place during the Scandinavia sixth-century where the religion of Paganism and the beginning entry of Christianity existed. The epic poem characterizes the main character Beowulf as a hero. He shows up to Denmark, where he saves the kingdom from being terrorized in the timespan of 50 years. This poem is written in the non-existent point of view in regards to religion. The day of age in which the Paganism view has the overlook of Christianity foreshadowing the author's view. Even though, some would say since this was one of the first poems ever written that it would have the newer religion outlook of Christianity. On the other hand, others would argue the opposite that it would contain a Paganism view to keep it close to the known knowledge. …show more content…

In the poem Beowulf the element that makes it Paganism is the factor of Grendel the monster and his mother. They are both inhumane creatures that in which the belief of Pagans lies. “Then from the moorland, by misty crags, with God’s wrath laden, Grendel came. The monster was minded of mankind now sundry to seize in the stately house.”(Beowulf, 24) This quote demonstrates one of the many elements in which Pagans only believe and not Christians. This element among others was the main reason as to their reason why everything

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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.

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164 Words | 1 Pages

Religion In Beowulf In different translations of Beowulf, essences of the Christian and Anglo-Saxon religions are sprinkled throughout the epic poem. While the Christian faith had not yet been explored during the era of Beowulf, the presence of a God is mentioned in the translations. Cain, of the biblical story “Cain and Abel”, is mentioned in an early selection from Beowulf when the author describes the wretched monster Grendel. This direct reference to a biblical story suggests that priests may have translated Beowulf to include religious tones. Another religion represented in the epic poem is Anglo-Saxon, which treasured heroism and warriors.

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735 Words | 3 Pages

Of all the great heroes in epics and movies alike, each one of them has his or her great traits as well as fatal flaws. Unfortunately, our hero’s fatal flaw is losing faith in God and he loses his life because of that. In the epic Beowulf, many references to Paganism and Christianity are found throughout the tale due to the author’s belief that faith in God assures victory whereas faith in paganism assures defeat. Paganism and Christianity parallel the struggle of holiness and evil throughout the epic, and in many cases, faith in God is the key to Beowulf´s success as he defeats monsters and protects the village of Herot. Beowulf faces foes such as Grendel and Grendel’s mother who utilize magic spells to fight as read, “that sin-stained demon/

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1006 Words | 5 Pages

Beowulf meets literature Beowulf is an early poem set during the time of England changing from pagan to a Christian culture. Beowulf was told over the years by the Pagan Anglo-Saxons. The poem is about a hero who defeats monsters for the fame. The poem depicts both the pagan and Christian. Beowulf was a hero who dies during battle but still gets his fame that he so longed for.

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892 Words | 4 Pages

Beowulf is a story that has a lot of interesting facts and history behind the story than what it tells you in the poem. The story of Beowulf began to spread in this world before it was even written on paper. People may believe that the story that they read now is not the same story as it was once told because of this reason. For this reason, story of Beowulf is commonly caught in confusion on whether it is Christian or Pagan based. Even if the poem is based on one religion or the other, the reader can still have enjoy the poem due to its action packed battles.

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758 Words | 4 Pages

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon story about a hero who encounters many monsters. Given that the story originated from the Anglo-Saxons, there are morals and values pertaining to Anglo-Saxon history. The early Anglo-Saxons were infantile in knowledge and faith when it came to their Christian beliefs. After the Romans invaded England, the later Anglo-Saxons became more knowledgeable about Christianity. Because of Roman influence, the recorded version of Beowulf, which readers now see today, has more biblical imagery than its original, pagan, oral version.

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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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(REAH, 4) This shows that Paganism was used to enforce laws and social hierarchies. King Hammurabi claimed that he was chosen by the god of justice and by doing this the people of Babylonia followed his rule and accepted their social status because it was purportedly sent from

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451 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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Christian faith was slowly evolving during the middle ages in Europe. The most common principle of Christian faith in medieval Europe revolved around the belief that everything comes from God and is part of a greater plan. As the Christian faith grew more powerful in medieval Europe, forms of non-Christian religions were banned and frowned upon. “Beowulf” is an ancient Germanic story about a respected pagan hero, even though it is the work of a Christian poet. During this time, the idea of a Christian poet writing about a pagan legend seemed like a conflict of religion.

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Beowulf is one of the greatest poems that exhibit the characteristics of conversion in a pagan society. There are beginnings of change, evident in the poem, from a pagan history to an acceptance of a new Christian meaning. This history of a pagan hero was infused with Christian symbols and morals to help smooth the conversion for pagans. When studying Beowulf, it is important to uncover the meanings and symbols of what Grendel and his mother represent in a Christian society with reference to the pagan society, as well as, look at the final fight between the dragon and Beowulf and Beowulf’s pride. History is a major part of understanding Christian symbols apparent in Beowulf and understanding his actions in a pagan society.

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235 Words | 1 Pages

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.

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176 Words | 1 Pages

Beowulf is a literary composition regarded as a literary composition of two differentiating religious beliefs. The original religion held in Europe, Paganism, was centered around the belief that there were many gods, and followers of the Pagan religion prayed to them for a specific outcome of success and fortune. Christianity was spread time-accordingly with the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. It is centered around the belief that there is only one higher power and prayer should be used to give thanks to God, rather than to pray for something an individual desires. Understanding the differentiation in the religions held within Beowulf and in the outer historical events is very important to understand where the English language originated.

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362 Words | 2 Pages

Elements of Paganism and Christianity in Beowulf In this day and age, the pagan religion had not been totally disassembled, and it had been around in the meantime as Christianity. The friar, I accept, was battling an inner fight with himself. Two religions conflicting within him, taking up arms through the very content he was modifying. In the start of the content he includes substantial measures of Christian impact however pagan convictions, for example, superhuman quality, retribution, fate still wait in the midst of the Christian references (Chickering 46).

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1363 Words | 6 Pages

Very little is known about the epic poem Beowulf besides that the story was told during the Anglo-Saxon period, specifically between the years 500-1100. The author is unknown, due to the fact that the story was originally told verbally and not documented until much later. Like many stories told throughout the ages, Beowulf consists of many archetypes. An archetype is a recurring symbol found in literature, such as the Hero archetype. In this epic poem, the hero, Beowulf, travels from his homeland to Denmark to save a kingdom from an awful beast that has been attacking men late at night for over twelve years.

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