Pagan And Paganism In Beowulf

     In the story of Beowulf, there is a noticeable struggle between Christianity and Paganism, and the characters personal battle between the two. Throughout the story the characters display actions that lead towards Paganism and Christianity. Contrary to Pagan belief Beowulf is seen as the epitome of good and beneficent to all of mankind. In Beowulf, the people showed their faith and love in God, however due to horrific events, paranoia caused them to look for a quick fix and turns them to Paganism.

Pagan ideas and values were a large influence in the creation of Beowulf due to the period it was created in. As the narrative was passed down by mouth Christianity views were slowly developed into the story. The poem was written after Anglo-Saxons were Christianized, but it is evident that pagan views were still in their mindsets. With these ideals still present, paganism and Christianity were woven into the story, and we see a mix of heroic ideals and self-sacrificing virtues that create a story filled with religious influence. Fame, fate, and revenge are concepts tied with paganism that are shown throughout Beowulf alongside Christian values of loyalty, humility, sacrifice, and the negative consequences of greed and pride. No matter how

Beowulf is one of the most well-known poems in the world. It is considered the “mother poem” of England and has been for centuries. Christianity and Paganism do not go hand in hand as they are both well distinguished, but opposites throughout Beowulf. In the poem, the Christian monk reveals how the characters react to different situations using both religions. The core values of Paganisms believe in retaliation and vengeance, whereas Christianity’s core values signify forgiveness. Both of these attributes contradict each other through the course of the poem because the warriors look to God for guidance and protection before battle. However, when things do not go as planned they then blame it on fate. The “unknown author” in Beowulf distinguishes both religions in the poem by providing symbolism and ideologies for both Christianity and Paganism and how they contradict one another.

The themes found in Beowulf include heroism, good vs evil, and Religion. The two religions found in Beowulf are Paganism and Christianity. The theme of heroism is found because the story has evil beings being slayed by a courageous, noble and honorable warrior, in this case, Beowulf. The theme of good vs evil is found because Beowulf slays and rids Herot Hall of evil by slaying Grendel and his Mother. Christianity is found because of how much God is mentioned in the story and Paganism is found because the story contains elements of the pagan culture.

In the story of Beowulf, there is a noticeable struggle between Christianity and Paganism, and the characters personal battle between the two. Throughout the story the characters display actions that lead towards Paganism and Christianity. Contrary to Pagan belief Beowulf is seen as the epitome of good and beneficent to all of mankind. In Beowulf, the people showed their faith and love in God, however due to horrific events, paranoia caused them to look for a quick fix and turns them to Paganism.

“Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster, God must decide who will be given to death’s cold grip. Grendel’s plan, I think, will be what it has been before, to invade this hall and gorge his belly with our bodies.” (Lines 268-273) This quote was said by Beowulf a little while before he fought Grendal. This quote shows that Beowulf is ready to risk his life to save his people from a monster that has killed many people. He does this throughout this epic; fighting battles with different monsters that put his people’s lives in danger. Also during some of the fights he has faith in God and he believes that God will be there to help him when he needs it. Beowulf is a blending of Christian traditions and beliefs such as

The expression “Jesus take the wheel” is quite common in today’s world, but just because it is a modern saying does not mean that it did not have any relevance in earlier time. Throughout the story of Beowulf, a comparison between Christianity and paganism had always been a topic discussed both within the text and spoken aloud in the classroom. Likewise, in this instance, man-made issues serves as a mirror of paganism and trust in God becomes Christianity. Many factors throughout section three revert to paganism rather than Christianity because there was no trust in God. Details such as pride, arranged marriage, and death are the major aspects of man-made issues in this section.

The significance of Paganism and Christianity are both present in Beowulf. Beowulf was written between the 8th and 10th century’s, when the Anglo-Saxon society was beginning to change from Paganism to Christianity. Many believe that this is essentially a pagan work since the Christian faith hadn’t fully arrived in the Anglo-Saxon society. However, according to Douglas Wilson, “The poet could easily have known individual Christian Anglo-Saxons who had converted from paganism”(page.31); this showing how the author would have been able to retrieve information about the customs and morals of Christianity. Christianity is a religion based upon monotheistic beliefs, belief in one personal and transcendent God and based through Jesus’s teachings. This religion teaches that God has a path for everyone, that people may choose to follow and live by him. The epic poem through the years, has been based upon Christianity but still contains a good deal of Pagan elements. Paganism is a religion founded before Christianity, having no belief in a personal god and based more on the concept of fate, that people do not have control over their life. In Beowulf, God is praised for all of his works by Beowulf himself, and the other characters. While also believing that fate controlled the character’s lives.

Beowulf is written by an unknown author but is suspected to have been written by a Christian monk around 700-1000 A.D. This poem is known as the mother poem of England and one of the most influential works. All throughout the poem, we are introduced to the religions Christianity and paganism. Paganism is a “dark mystical religion from dark ages and is polytheistic religion and worship more than one god in the wilderness and they make idols out of wood or stone that they pray to.” Christianity is the “Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit.” Christianity and paganism contradict each other many times during the poem and they both work together to show how Beowulf reacts with both fate and God at his side. The unknown author does a remarkable job at combining the two to show how other characters also react to both. Although never precisely told which religion Beowulf is, the unknown author shows the mix of Beowulf's religion is paganism, Christianity, and is even able to combine and show the cross of the two and how it affects him.

In eighth-century Anglo-Saxon society, an important transition occurred from the use paganism to the new traditions of Christianity. Beowulf is an epic poem in which the main character Beowulf has an internal conflict regarding two religions. To further understand why Beowulf has both Christian and pagan influences you must first understand the Anglo-Saxon culture. In the eighth century, Christianity was evolving into the orthodox religion for the people. However, aspects of pagan culture were still being observed, but to a lesser extent. This connection led to many works of the time being of both religions. Beowulf was written by an anonymous Christian monk; the ideals of the epic poem represents Christianity, paganism, and coexists as both faiths.

Throughout the book Beowulf, the character known by the name of Beowulf is a strong and victorious warrior. However, Beowulf often implies that he is a follower of God. For many of his victories he often says that it was Gods will that saved him and allowed him to be victorious, because of Beowulf’s popularity many of the Getes and Danes that respect him trust and believe all that he says.

Throughout the story of Beowulf, the great warrior does many things for many reasons. The question is, does he do these things as a Christian hero with god in mind, or does he do it as a Pagan hero, for fame and wealth. In the epic, Beowulf battles against three noteworthy monsters that had their fights detailed in more than a passing mention such as the many battles and wars that he fought in. These three monsters are Grendel, Grendel’s mother, who was not named, and the Dragon. Beowulf, when contrasted with these Pagan monsters, appears Christian. However, the first question we must ask is “are the monsters Pagan?”

Many critics have argued whether or not Beowulf is a Christian epic, but I believe that the answer is fairly clear. Although the characters in the poem are pagan, it is believed that the poet may have been a Christian monk, which alone hints that it may be a Christian poem. In my opinion, Beowulf is a Christian epic because of key Biblical references, the sorrow that the poet expresses for the characters, and the praise the poet gives to his God.

Some people around the world fail to realize that most holiday traditions practiced are of Pagan origin. Many aspects of traditional Christianity - holidays, practices and doctrines, came not from Christ or the Bible but from ancient Pagan religion. Most of the Paganism in Beowulf is depicted through the lens of Christian ideals of what they believed Paganism was. In various scenes like when Grendel is depicted as a monster with untouchable skin, and when Beowulf was cremated the two beliefs collide.

Beowulf truly is an epic story that has been retold and passed down since the first half of the eight century, and has been enjoyed via many thru different mediums of art such as; movies, books, and spoken word. It is a story that has its roots deeply buried in the idea of heroism in a day long before the pagan rites were snuffed out by Christianity, but has primarily maintained its faithful paganist overtones of the story even after passing through many generations of Christian retelling. To this day it is unrealistic to think one could count the amount of books, movies, or songs that this story has influenced and will influence in the future. There is no way of knowing the author of the story and whether it is a true retelling of