Christian And Pagan Ideas In Beowulf

Beowulf, an epic poem from around 1000 AD, has a mixture of Christian and Pagan ideas. Both of these elements combine together to make this a coherent poem. There are some aspects of Beowulf from a Christian standpoint, such as him being a good man and acts as if he is fearless and noble when fighting for his people. He also shows points from a Pagan view like craving the amounts of fame he will receive when he defeats another monster. The poem shows both sides when Beowulf refers to his victory as being from God and then sometimes it happened because of fate. Beowulf uses many ideas from Christian lifestyle that form and shape the way Beowulf acts and how the poem is perceived. Both of these elements define who Beowulf is as a character.
He can be humble and unselfish like man should be. He then at times, loses the Christian characteristic and begins to flaunt his heroic pride. Sometimes he loses sight of why he is actually fighting these monsters and he focuses solely on fame, and his power, and ego. Beowulf does receive an abundance of gifts, which he realizes flow directly from God. This wealth of gifts and power should be shared unselfishly, just like the way God shares his gifts to all people. Christianity is shown throughout the poem, making it the central idea. Hrothgar told Beowulf that success given by God must be used with humbleness. The success and fame that Beowulf receives from defeating the monsters do not happen because of fate, but because of God. He knows but does forget at times that what happens to him is never because of fate, because it is what God has planned for him.