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Religion In Beowulf

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Barbora Štěpánková
Mgr. Filip Krajník, Ph.D.
AJL14000 English Literature of the Middle Ages
31 May 2023
Christian Beowulf and the Battle of Pagan and Abrahamic Religions in Beowulf
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem, written approximately one-thousand years AD. This indicates that the document was written when there was Christian influence and in Anglo-Saxon territories. Nevertheless, it would be expected that pagan religions have stronger appearance within the poem since it follows the story of “the Spear-Danes” (Heaney, line 1) and is set in pagan Scandinavia. Therefore, it is expected of the characters to worship gods such as Thor, Freya, Loki, and others. Nonetheless, in the revised manuscripts, the majority of the verse indicates a more …show more content…

The concept of hell is introduced in the New Testament and therefore, the poem includes the teachings of Judaism and alongside Christian principles, supporting the claim that the substitution of religions probably allowed the poem to act as a religious text utilized to convert the pagan population to monotheistic religions and predominantly Christianity. In addition, it must be noted that although Norse paganism and Abrahamic religions have several differences, such as the polytheistic and monotheistic aspect, they also possess numerous parallels. For instance, both religions share the belief in an afterlife and acknowledge the existence of omnipotent beings that bring blessings, and both believe systems outline a concept of a concluding apocalyptic event that poses a threat to humanity (Ragnarök and the Christian End Times). As mentioned before, the New Testament establishes the idea of heaven and hell that shows similarity to the pagan concepts of Valhalla and Helheim. These parallel resemblances may have aided the conversion from Norse paganism to Christianity. Hence, the most probable purpose of the exchange of religions in the transcription was to induce religious …show more content…

Beowulf's triumph in his battles over the evil depended upon God’s aid. Therefore, Heorot was eventually transformed to embrace Christianity and salvaged from its perilous state due to God’s intervention. Same as Grendel was cursed by God, Beowulf was blessed by the Him. The similarly between Christ and Beowulf is significant as both confront biblical evil and lead humanity to a form of salvation.
However, there is still the aspect of the approach to the said confrontation. Whereas Christ preached forgiveness and is generally seen as peaceful, Beowulf is a natural fierce warrior fighting for the Danes and protecting them from diabolic forces with the help of God. Thus, the allegory to Christ is not impeccable

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