Beowulf: An Epic Hero's Journey
Beowulf is an epic that follows the main character, Beowulf, and his quest for glory. Throughout his journey, Beowulf fights three monsters to protect the citizens of Denmark and Sweden. When this story was first told by the Anglo-Saxons, their main religion was Paganism. Paganism is a polytheistic religion which believes in animism, that spirits control every part of existence. As time went on, Paganism began to fade and Christianity started to take over. Beowulf is a prime example of dual authorship in literature since monks who wrote down the journey of Beowulf incorporated Christian ideals into the originally Pagan story due to the spread of Christianity. The first fight the reader encounters in the story is Beowulf’s battle with Grendel.
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For example, Wiglaf referred to Beowulf as “the shepherd of our land” while attempting to get the men to assist Beowulf in what becomes his final battle (Heaney line 2644). Christ is often referred to as a shepherd and his followers his sheep, so by calling Beowulf their shepherd, they are connecting being a shepherd to being a savior, just like Christians do with Jesus. In addition to that, Aoife Moloney told us in his analysis, “Christian terminology is found in the speeches of various characters throughout the poem even regarding the final burial of Beowulf himself; ‘then let us bring the body of our lord, the man we loved, to where he will lodge for a long time in the care of the Almighty’” (Moloney). By claiming Beowulf will be “in the care of the Almighty” implied that the writers did believe in God and an afterlife for their king to be living in after his earthly self has passed. The use of Christian terms during Beowulf reflected the increase of Christianity through the Anglo-Saxons. As Christianity spread through the culture of the Anglo-Saxons, the monks wrote down the religion’s ideas into the epic. The fact that the monks incorporated Christianity into the Pagan epic shows how the religion slowly started to spread among the culture during that time period. As the decline of the Paganism started and the rise of Christianity began, it was important to include the ideas of the newly found religion into the literature to please those who have converted. The monks were successful in adding the Christianity aspects into the Pagan-told story and the ideals are still noticed and sought out
For example, Wiglaf referred to Beowulf as “the shepherd of our land” while attempting to get the men to assist Beowulf in what becomes his final battle (Heaney line 2644). Christ is often referred to as a shepherd and his followers his sheep, so by calling Beowulf their shepherd, they are connecting being a shepherd to being a savior, just like Christians do with Jesus. In addition to that, Aoife Moloney told us in his analysis, “Christian terminology is found in the speeches of various characters throughout the poem even regarding the final burial of Beowulf himself; ‘then let us bring the body of our lord, the man we loved, to where he will lodge for a long time in the care of the Almighty’” (Moloney). By claiming Beowulf will be “in the care of the Almighty” implied that the writers did believe in God and an afterlife for their king to be living in after his earthly self has passed. The use of Christian terms during Beowulf reflected the increase of Christianity through the Anglo-Saxons. As Christianity spread through the culture of the Anglo-Saxons, the monks wrote down the religion’s ideas into the epic. The fact that the monks incorporated Christianity into the Pagan epic shows how the religion slowly started to spread among the culture during that time period. As the decline of the Paganism started and the rise of Christianity began, it was important to include the ideas of the newly found religion into the literature to please those who have converted. The monks were successful in adding the Christianity aspects into the Pagan-told story and the ideals are still noticed and sought out