the christianity of beowulf
It is agreed by almost all critics that Beowulf was once a pre-Christian poem but no one is completely sure how it went from pre-Christian to Christian influenced. There are many ideas of how it was written and one of the most popular theories is that the poem was already in poetic form and the author's own beliefs were added. Another theory is that the poem was written by a Christian who heard the story and added some of his own beliefs when he wrote it. A third theory is that the poem was already written and a Christian revised it and added his own beliefs (Blackburn, p.1). Throughout the poem there is an underlying non-Christian feeling with Christian beliefs added in. It is obvious that some of these beliefs were added but no one knows to what amount they were added in. There are comparisons that can be made from Grendel to the Devil and Beowulf to Christ that seem to suggest that the Christian influence may have been more than just a couple words changed around, but these could have been just coincidental. Throughout the whole poem there are non-Christian practices and beliefs told. Some are the offering of sacrificing to idols, the observations of omens, burning of the dead, the many references to fate, and blood reven
Then there is Beowulf, the victorious hero who beats the monsters and dies for his people while doing so. In the story the author has called Beowulf "defending, protecting, and redeeming being" (Klaeber, p104). We can recognize the characteristics of Beowulf as the same or at least related to Jesus. He is the destroyer of hell-like monsters, a brave but gentle warrior, blameless for his actions and a king that eventually dies for his people. ge. These are all things that Christians are against and are often considered sins. Though mostly minor things, these are seen quite frequently and show that the author was familiar with knowledge of the bible and Christian terminology. If the poem was originally Christian, then probably non of these things would be mentioned. On the other hand, there are absolutely no references to angels, saints, the cross or Christ. These are things that are often in Christian stories but fail to show up in Beowulf. In conclusion, Beowulf is almost definitely a non-Christian poem or at least non-Christian story at one time until it was written or just revised. When written or revised, the changes according to the beliefs of the author, which are Christian, were added. Whether these changes were major or minor is unknown. The Grendel to the Devil and Beowulf to Christ references could have been purposely added which would suggest tha
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Approximate Word count = 931
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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