Epic of Beowulf - Christian Morals in Beowulf

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Christian Morals in Beowulf

Beowulf is an epic tale that has been changed over time to try and

express a christian moral. While this transformation over time has added a

new variable to the plot, it is still impossible to try and erase the

original pagan plot completely. It has become evident that the original

epic was pagan and had no mention of the biblical references or the

christian morality that it contains now. However, it is also evident that

the original story dealt with the concept of a higher being or beings.

The overriding christian view has many facets and deals with them

all as a new way of proposing christianity into the theme of the story. The

reason that Grendel becomes outraged is that the bard in the mead hall is

singing a song that has to do with creation. This shows Grendel's apparent

disregard for God and he proceeds to go to the hall and capture men and eat

them while they are asleep. As we progress into the story, we learn that

Grendel carries the curse of Cain with him. "He bore the curse of the seed

of Cain/ Whereby God punished the grievous guilt of Abel's murder." Cain

was the son of Adam and Eve and was the one who murdered Abel, his brother,

out of a jealous rage for God's favor to Abel. This shows us that Grendel

had more than just a dislike for the men, the song was showing Grendel that

his ancestor was looked upon as the bad person and was therefore the

underlying concept for Grendel's rage. This was the constant reminder to

Grendel of his evil past and thus his reasoning for his actions. We learn

to see Grendel as a less than human being, but in actuality, he is a

monster who has a degree of humanity in him and that is the reason that he

is so hard for Beowulf to kill. He has the human emotion of pride which

ultimately is the cause of his downfall. While this seems to be a major

part of the story line, it can be removed and the story will only lose the

background of Grendel's evil side. This could have been where the real

story of Grendel originally was.

As with many of the classic medieval stories there is a sense of a

higher being and fate is a major factor in Beowulf.

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