The text of Beowulf clearly shows that at some point in time Biblical allusions were added to it, and suggests that someone learned in Christianity helped shape the story. The initial depiction of Grendel regarded the beast as “a fiend out of hell,” and claime

d, “…he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts.” References to hell, Cain, and “the Creator”, make it evident that Christian elements were present in the story. More importantly, the reference to “the Creator” shows that monotheistic theory was incorporated into the text. Grendel’s relationship to this “Creator” is further elaborated on, in which case the author refers to the latter as “Eternal Lord”, “Almighty”, and “God.” All four of which are common ways to refer to the individual Christian God, and were capitalized as would have been in the Bible.

In lines 1723-1768, the narrator lectures the reader on the perils of Beowulf’s lifestyle. He warns the reader about indulging in wealth and pride. The narrator pleads with Beowulf to find his salvation in the afterlife and not with material wealth or fame. This creates an obvious problem when all of the actions and words of the characters suggest that wealth and fame are noble pursuits. The narrator see Beowulf as a noble savage, someone with noble and respectable qualities but who was still damned because of his sin of pride. Beowulf’s pride does result in his undoing, “the prince of rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague. He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all of its courage or strength.” Beowulf could probably have survived the battle had he not been too proud to prepare himself better. Beowulf also asked to see the treasure before he died which shows how important it was to him. Beowulf also wished be cremated which is a more Pagan ritual.

The narrator of the poem definitely leans toward the Christian side of this religious balance. This is probably a result of the writer’s own religious convictions. The characters tend to swing more toward the Pagan side. This is because the European society at that time was only just becoming Christianized. Pagan values were still important among the people of this time, even the Christian ones. I think that the Christian values dominate slightly in the poem because of the gr

Some topics in this essay:
Pagan Christian, Unferth Beowulf’s, Christianized Pagan, Beowulf Biblical, God Satan, , Pagan Fates, Beowulf Christ, Jesus Christ, Beowulf Christian, christian values, wealth fame, pagan christian, christianity teaches, christian ideas poem, “the creator”, fame wealth, ideas poem, religious content, understand religious, beowulf christian allegory, beowulf written,