Beowulf: Non-Christian Ideals

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The Anglo-Saxon time period, also known as the “Dark Ages” fostered radically different pagan ideals and themes than we see in our modern day society. The story of Beowulf, set around 500 A.D., takes place in Denmark and Geatland (a region in what is now southern Sweden), and works to combine its pagan ideals along with ideals that many of us believe in today, such as Christianity. “Beowulf” is a renowned story that blends both the Anglo-Saxon beliefs of honor and glory along with Christian beliefs, and also manages to teach Christian principles such as being humble and sacrificing yourself for others to even its own pagan believing society. Upon hearing of the horrific dragon attacking his people, Beowulf had absolutely no qualms about…show more content…
Although in Christianity, the dragon represents Satan the devil and sin. These feelings are expressed in Revelation 20:2 where it states, “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” As shown from the text, the Bible is comparing the fire-breathing monster to Satan the devil, who is the cause and ruler of all sin, thus having the dragon be associated with all that is sin. The pagan tale then combines the two different beliefs and morphs them into one, thus allowing its non-Christian readers to be able to fully understand its hidden Christian principles of what is sin. Another example of a Christian element would be when Beowulf is dying and gives thanks, some of his last few words being “To the everlasting Lord of All, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people so well endowed on the day I die.”. By thanking God for all of the victories and the treasures that he earned all throughout his life, it demonstrates how he is not taking full glory for all that he has obtained. Instead, he gives full praise to God, something unheard of in the Anglo-Saxon…show more content…
Grendel is described as being completely inhuman, a ferocious beast that has no capacity to think or act rationally, and is instead driven to destroy and feed on human flesh. When introducing the ravenous demon, the poem states, “Grendel was the name of the grim demon haunting the marches…he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel….” It is no wonder then that the Christian scribes had this disgusting creature symbolically descend from Cain, the first murderer on Earth. And while Adam and Eve are the first sinners, thus passing on the sin to their offspring as well as to the thousands of generations to come, Cain was the first to sin on his own, murdering his own brother in cold blood due to an act of jealousy. Grendel’s blood is completely tainted with Cain’s sin, as well as his own, thus symbolizing all that is evil in this world. For years humankind was doomed, yet there was one person who was able to put an end to the cycle: Jesus Christ, who the Christian scribes portrayed as Beowulf. Jesus had been the only one to be able to end the gruesome cycle, and, likewise, Beowulf is the only one who can defeat Grendel. Jesus and Beowulf are both extremely pure, doing everything in their power to help their people,
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