Paganism In Beowulf

Beowulf Beowulf is an epic poem written by an unknown Anglo-Saxon somewhere from the 5’th to the 11’th century in England. It tells the story of a hero named Beowulf, who is also the protagonist . Beowulf is a loyal subordinate of the King Hrothgar, the King of Danes. During the Anglo-Saxons rule in England, the lords would gain their subordinates’ trust and loyalty by offering them many gifts, which is why lords in that period of time were also nicknamed the “Ring-Givers”.The story starts off with Grendel, a monster descendant of Cain, the first murderer, who is stated in the Bible, attacking the mead-hall called Heorot. The Anglo-Saxons were very religious pagans, meaning they worshipped many different gods, which is why the epic Beowulf

Also, mead is the name of a popular beer-resembling alcoholic beverage from the time. The mead-hall was a hall where people would gather to have fun and pass the time. They would forget about their worries, drink mead, eat the buffet, sing and be merry. As Grendel,the prowler through the night, attacks the mead hall, he annihilates the villagers inside and takes a part of his booty back to his lair. The second time Grendel storms into Heorot for his second attacks, Beowulf had already been called for savior and after a vivid battle, Grendel flees, mortally wounded by the hero, to his mother’s lair,where he perishes. After some time, the frightened villagers go back to their daily lives and are not afraid of celebrating in the mead-hall anymore, for they believe the menace has been taken care of. However, they ignored the existence of Grendel’s mother, who was also a blood-thirsty monster, whose lair was in the deep waters of a lake. After having attacked Heorot in her turn, she was pursuied by Beowulf,who then heroicly plunged into her lair to kill her. He succeeded after a close call, for his sword did not work in injuring the gruesome monster. In order to kill her, he needed to steel a magical sword from Grendel’s