The Religious Context of Beowulf

Many flaws originate from this change, however. According to Kl‘ber, "heathen practices are mentioned in several places, such as the vowing of sacrifices at idol fanes, the observing of omens and the burning of the dead, whic... ... middle of paper ... ...s in Beowulf do not hold the same sentiments about Christianity that the poet holds. If Beowulf truly possessed the Christian ideals that the poet often insinuates, he would not find it necessary to be cremated, nor have his tomb adorned with riches. These elements reveal to us the difficulty of infusing a Christian dogma into a heathen society. The Beowulf poet is successful with this task in some respects, but in the case of cremation he is somewhat remiss.

Consequently, there have been debates over the ages whether the poem is a wholly Christian or Pagan poem. Hence, in an anonymously written Beowulf, the poet intermingled a range of Christian and Pagan elements and tradition to demonstrate the blending of theologies in eighth century Anglo-Saxon society. To understand why Beowulf contains shadings of Christian and Pagan elements, one must first understand late eighth century Anglo-Saxon society. In the late eighth century, Christianity was just becoming the standard religion for the people. However, pagan traditions were still being followed and respected however to a lesser degree.

(3) Which is a contradiction of terms. 2 There were several reasons why I felt I had to write this paper. In fact, there were so many that I could not list them all without boring you. I will however discuss them all to one extent or another. The first and foremost reason was the fact that the Christian religion refuses to accept where its roots came from and still slanders the source of its roots, paganism.

It is common opinion that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. This was probably true because at the time when it was written, most of the few people who knew how to read and write were in the clergy. There are various references within the poem to elements of the Christian religion. However, the story is about Pagan people and certain aspects of their culture are even glorified. The ambiguity of Beowulf’s religious content has caused confusion as to what significance religion had in inspiring the author and in what manner the author meant to inspire or influence his audience.

Celtic Paganism has spells and rituals (essentially prayers) that are performed to heal, bring abundance and wealth, and other whatever other desires a person may have. Celtic Paganism actively practices witchcraft. There are two big disagreements between Christianity and Celtic Paganism. Christianity feels that to be Pagan means they worship the Devil. This misconception, while understandable because the Christian faith feels any ungodly act is that of Satan, is a sore spot for many Pagans simply because they do not believe in the Christian Devil (Satan) and thus cannot be a devil worshipper.

The poem and Beowulf both show paganism and Christianity ideals and beliefs. In Beowulf there is fate, humility, fame, loyalty, and so much more that did not even get mentioned. Although the poem appears to be originally a pagan story, there are many clues in the text that point to Christian influence and traditions. In addition to Beowulf and his heroic deeds against Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon the author combines elements of Christian ideal and pagan ideal. The combination of Christian and pagan elements and references now shows Beowulf’s position in English history.

King Lear is a Christian Play About a Pagan World It is evident that King Lear contains references to both the Christian and Pagan doctrine. However, they seem to be expressed in entirely different styles. King Lear is purposefully set in a pre Christian era with numerous references to classical Gods but conversely there appears to be a striking resonance of Christian theology throughout the play. These echoes appear in various forms including the idea of Edgar being a Christ-like figure and also the presence of a supposed divine justice. Therefore there is truth in the view that although King Lear has a pagan setting, its significance is ultimately relating to Christianity.

Pagan Aspects in Beowulf Scholars have argued about the religious stance of the epic poem Beowulf for centuries. Although the man who put the poem down on paper, known as the Beowulf poet, was a devout Christian, the actual poem itself is pagan. There are many clues in the epic that lead us to this conclusion such as the numerous references to pagan symbols, namely the symbol of fate. Also, the central idea of revenge in the poem opposes the ideas of Christianity. The poem also contains many breaches of the Ten Commandments, which prove that the story is not Christian.

Many within both the evangelical and non-religious world seem to be offended at such a thought as this. Half offended that the story of the gospel could be hidden within the confines of a book of witchcraft, the other half offended that a book of witchcraft and wizarding could carry a Christian message. Yet to Rowling herself the Christian themes seem to be quite obvious. Whatever party one may find stand in, it is clear the Harry Potter series is a Christian work, because of JK Rowling’s deliberate use of Gospel themes, biblical references, and biblically allegorical figures placed throughout the books. When asking whether the Harry Potter series is a Christian work or not it is important to clarify what exactly the determining factors are that deem something a Christian work.

This fact seems to point to a heathen work which has undergone revision by Christian minstrels. The Christianity of Beowulf is of a vague type. The minstrels who introduce the Christian element probably had but a vague knowledge of the faith, and on top of that they were under pressure from the audience to give them the interesting old pagan stories. At the beginning of the poem, there is the account of the pagan funeral rites of Scyld Scefing, and at the close of the poem we see the heathen rites of burial for Beowulf himself, including cremation, deposition of treasures and armor, etc. with the corpse in the burial mound overlooking the sea.