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Essay / Elements of Christianity and Paganism in the works of Beowulf
The question posed is whether Beowulf is a work of paganism with Christian remarks or whether it is a Christian work with pagan remarks. The unknown author of Beowulf creates a mystery regarding their beliefs; however, Dream of the Rood, also an unknown author, had a clear Christian influence. “The poem is an excellent illustration of how the conventions of Old English heroic poems like Beowulf were adapted to the doctrines of Christianity.” The fact that Beowulf had influence from the poem Dream of the Rood does not mean that he was influenced by Christian or pagan beliefs. Rather, it is a matter of the heroism of an epic being adapted to Christian dogmas. So, is Beowulf about Christianity or paganism? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original Essay From a macro perspective of Beowulf, some might see that the original author of the tale could be told from a Christian perspective as the author may have done so. I use the story as a lesson, just like how a Bible story has moral meaning behind the stories it tells. Firstly, Beowulf can be seen as a Christ-like figure because of the values he held dear to his heart. “A member of the lord's comitatus – his band of warriors – was expected to follow a rigid code of heroic behavior emphasizing bravery, loyalty, and the desire to avenge the lord and his comrades at all costs.” Beowulf's morality represents a faith - a faith from Christianity applied to the fundamental principles of government. For example, Christian faith is to God as a knight's faith is to the king. The characteristic of the main protagonist is probably that of a Christian methodology. Furthermore, in the macro perspective of Christianity in Beowulf, Goldsmith asserts “that the hero Beowulf is the poet's ideal. Many notable scholars have convinced themselves that Beowulf is presented as the savior of his people, as a Christian knight, or even as Christ himself. In the last stanza of the poem, there is a parallel with the story of Jesus: Then the warriors rode around the mound, twelve of them in all, sons of athelings. They recited a funeral song to declare their sorrow, spoke of the man, wept for their king. They praised his manhood and the prowess of his hands, they exalted his name; it is right that a man should generously honor his lord and friend, should love him in his heart when the exit from the house of the flesh finally comes to him. The most obvious parallel in this stanza is the author's reference to twelve of the athelings. 'the sons. The twelve sons are a derived representation of the twelve disciples in the Bible. In the biblical sense, disciples refer to someone who is in the process of learning; they could be considered students of a leader. The parallel is that the character of Beowulf was created from the reputation of Jesus. These twelve warriors learned from Beowulf his chivalrous morality and mourned him because he was a savior who slew the dragon for their safety. Beowulf sacrificed his life like Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus anticipated his death: Beowulf also anticipated his death, “yet his spirit was dark, eager for death, wandering…”. Most certainly, Christ's burial resonated in the final lines of Beowulf. It's honestly interesting that the author didn't go so far as to suggest a resurrection for Beowulf. The third and most ironic example from the Christian perspective is how the story is told from athird person omniscient view. An omniscient narrator seems to have divine characteristics. Because the narrator knows everything, surprises generally do not occur unless the narrator deliberately restricts them from the reader's knowledge, thus creating a limited third-person perspective; however, because the narrator does not use the limited third person, the omniscient point of view is ironic. Perspective manifests an authorial voice and is also a traditional way of telling stories. The Bible itself says in the third person because an all-knowing God inspired the Bible. It seems that the story of Beowulf was shaped from a biblical perspective with this supernatural element. Furthermore, the story of Beowulf comes from the Anglo-Saxon epic oral tradition which later evolved into a fully written work; therefore, the story could have been distorted by the opinions of whoever narrated the poem. Whether Christian or pagan, Beowulf influenced both. Beowulf could potentially be told by many different people, resulting in a mixture of points of view. That being said, pagan remarks are also prevalent in the story. “Beowulf, however, offers an extraordinary dual perspective. First, despite its acceptance of the values of the pagan heroic code, it also refers to Christian concepts which in many cases come into conflict with them. However, paganism arose from nothing. Many elements of Christianity that were intriguing will still be used. Paganism, in a sense, goes its own way, but from a Christian's point of view, paganism is simply the gospel lost in a web of lies. A good example of paganism would be that of the reign of Nimrod. According to the biblical account, Nimrod was a very powerful man, especially when cities were growing, like Babylon. Nimrod was the ruler of Babylonia, "he made the laws, and these laws decreed that the Babylonians should not regard the God of Noah as their ruler, but should be ruled by human governments. Nimrod also taught them that Satan should be honored by worshiping objects they could see, such as the sun, serpents, and other kinds of things. Their society held on to certain principles, philosophies and truths that they passed down, otherwise their society would never have existed. What had been interesting to people would have been a strength of a pagan society simply because it intrigued people's hearts and minds, as what defines an honorable life - for which Beowulf is a great story representing these values, but as the Bible says there is no greater love than to give yours for another. So, in a culture where Christianity and paganism intersect, they will be assimilated. Additionally, more paganist references are also included in the work. A sword named Hrunting which had a well-respected respect was used by Beowulf when he goes to fight Grendel's mother. An inanimate object like a sword had a living element: among these powerful aids was not at least the hilted sword that Hrothgar's spokesman, Unferth, lent him in his hour of trial. Hrunting was his name; unique and ancient, its edge was made of iron, annealed with venom and soaked in blood; in battle he never failed any hero whose hand took him. It was until the battle that Beowulf actually used the sword and it failed to live up to the standards it claimed to be. Reliance on elements of superstition, for example, luck, is generally wrong. “Superstition is a belief, half-belief, or practice for which there appears to be no rational substance. Those who.